happy campers

we have just returned from another camping adventure. this time, we invaded hungry horse in dorr with some of our fave peeps. upon our return, and reentry into reality, i have made some observations regarding our camp experience that i miss desperately but am deeply grateful for the experiences as i feel they taught me a little more about the joy of living.

living in community with people you adore and admire. what a blessing it was to watch and learn and live with friends day after day!

simplicity, having enough to meet your needs but not a lot of extra space, clothes, or things.

quality time. my main objectives for the days were to be with my kids and come up with a meal or two. brats and hotdogs really do not get sickening when camping. there was no cramming each day to the very fullest. instead, i appreciated spending time with my cherished children, husband and friends.

it is my conclusion that camping is closer to the way christ intended us to live than our busy schedules, large homes, many many possessions, and isolated experiences that fill up our normal days. this is not to say camping is the only way to achieve the beautiful simplicity of which i write, only an example of a length of time where the simplicity is really and truly experienced.

jesus, help my every day belong to you. fill it up with your will, desires, and beauty. thank you for the opportunity to experience you at hungry horse.

heres some proof of the awesomeness of camping

playing hard all day long left us all exhausted at night. such a sweet boy, clutching his treasures as his baby sis rather delighted in them as well.

ayla jo is quite smitten with elliot leegwater. we swung them together in the swing. much like a first date. elliot really came to love the experience. so did baby blue.

the boys both received extra large bouncy balls from the machine near the office. the thing to note in this pic, however, is the height of bear's shorts. seriously. brad always does that and thinks it hilarious.

bear, emma, and max all crammed together on a toy meant for one kid. sorry leegwaters!


the boys had just finished swim lessons the day before, so they grew more and more skilled with all the practice our week provided.

the temps were hot and the pool was cool (ish). hungry horse now utilizes salt water instead of chlorine for the pool so i had a difficult time not thinking that the salt on my lips was a result of people's attempts to keep the pool clean and not a result of sweat and pee.