Family Camping

In June we camped at Lake Carlos State Park near Alexandria (before the shutdown, thank goodness) with my aunt and uncle, parents, and two cousins and their kids. Despite constant rain the first evening, we had a great time huddling together under the tarps my uncle had the foresight to set up.

We had an army worm infestation as well, rendering some of the picnic tables useless. While the girls spent a lot of time picking out pets and naming them, the rest of us flicked the worms off each other and tried to keep them out of our tents.

The six kids ran like wild throughout our campsites, hung from trees, and reveled in all the time together.

Saturday dawned much drier, if still pretty windy and not exactly warm.

We went for a pontoon ride, one of my mother's favorite activities in the world.

Then we gave in to the kids' begging and let them swim and play in the sand.

We adults didn't even bother changing into our swimsuits, but instead sat on the shore and read (or pretended to read) while supervising the kids. It was cold.

Fishing was the sport of the weekend. Between the boat, the canoe, and the kayak, someone was always out on the water. Spearhead by Ben and Deanna, enough fish were caught to feed everyone that night. Mmm!

Apparently, fishing can be a dangerous sport in which helmets are needed?

I am so glad we've already reserved our sites for next year!