Our long-awaited camping trip with our dear friends has come and gone. We packed and packed and packed and packed for this trip until the very last minute before pulling away from our house.

It's unbelievable to me how much. . . stuff. . . we needed for such a short trip. But we used it all. We could have used an air mattress that didn't have a hole in it, but that's a story for a different kind of blog.  

We swam at a lovely lake, hauled fire wood, slept in a tent, ate the obligatory s'mores roasted on an open fire, sang camp songs, devoured delicious food, and woke with the birds at 5:30 in the morning. The big girls played their made-up games while the little girls watched them. The grown-ups cooked, set-up, organized, took-down and in between mediating 4-year-old squabbles, tried to just chill.

It was tiring, but fun, and most importantly, the kids had a blast. And that's what really matters. That, and having an intact air mattress to sleep on.