little lulu & brother bear: Camping w/ the Cousins

Making our second annual appearance for the cousin camping trip...we pushed out of the driveway later-than-hoped on Friday night. We drove into the night...and the woods - reaching our spot at about 9:20 pm. It was a bit daunting at first - my stomach had hardened miles back thinking about setting up camp in the dark - but silly me - this is camping with the cousins - the FULL SERVICE cousins!! The only people that have managed to drag me out into the woods in many many years! (and you'll soon understand why).

We had barely shut off the motor when Uncle D appeared in the lights - with a rake - getting our spot ready. Cousins C & T weren't but a few moments behind - at the ready to help pitch the tent. This year I brought maternal reinforcements as well - Auntie Grace! So really what's to worry 5 adults for one tent - three of whom had tent-pitching experience only 24-48 hrs old. Needless to say it was up in a flash - and the worries were gone just as quickly.

It was a warmer spot and time of year this year, so we slept really well, though not so well as to not be the first folks up and about - it wouldn't be LuLu and Brother Bear if we weren't!! So we explored the campgrounds a bit, taking our loud toddler voices across the bridge and on the other side of the river where the rushing water could hide our loud voices.

It wasn't long until the others awoke, and I soon had a fresh cup of coffee placed in my hand, and Brother was munching on a full plate of mooched bacon (he went on to eat four breakfasts!!) The rest of the day was spent playing with our little cousin we'll call "kitty" because that's the imaginary game that was played for most of the weekend, and all that Lulu really called her anyways - they played in the trailor, shared circle time in the grown-up chair, went down to the river (where kitty briefly became a dolphin), read books, ate snacks, colored and made smores together. It was a wonderful, but quick weekend in the woods! Thanks to the family that made it fun!!

Room with a view:

Chair Buddies:

The Patriarch

(I'd make fun of him more...but he helped pitch my tent, made me coffee both mornings, and helped pack my stuff - no joke is worth letting go of all of that!!)