Gone Camping!

This weekend we had Jenny's friend Amy come and visit us for a few days. At the same time we had a camping trip already planned, so it turned out we combined the two and took Amy camping with us. We spent one night up north at the Rifle River State Recreation Area, the same place we camped last year. This year we had a much better campsite, and overall a much better time. No rain this time!
We went on a nice nature hike around a pond, and then later took the kids swimming in a nice scenic lake. Ben and Megan love camping, and their favorite part is always just playing in the tent. I don't know what it is, but they're fascinated by it when it's put up. We also had fun making different kinds of smores. We made the classic smores, hershey's chocolate and marshmallows, but also we made smores with Andes mints, and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. It was tasty! As an added bonus to the trip, we got to hear lots of loons. Not the baseball players this time, but the real thing. It's a very pretty sound if you've never heard it. The loon is kind of an icon of the northern woods in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
The park is nothing fancy, but it works for us for several reasons. It's only an hour north from us, so we don't have to drive to far...and if the kids just aren't in the mood we can easily pack up and go home. Also, the park offers you some scenic views, northern lakes, some hiking trails, and pretty woods...so you feel you're farther north than you really are. It's very convenient for us...especially with the kids at the ages they are right now.
Anyway, the next day we headed back home. The kids were all exhausted. The night got a little colder than we expected and I don't think anyone slept well. But they would all go again in a heartbeat I'm sure. It was a fun getaway.