Camp Out!

We all sat down with out calendars a few months ago to plan out this summer's family camping trip. A wave of overwhelming depression swept over us when we realized that nearly every weekend from May 15 to August 30 was spoken for. It's a little bleak looking into the summer without a spare minute to enjoy it. Between Greg's endless work events, Greg's sister's wedding and all the accompanying showers, parties, etc.,and general work obligations, we came up with two weekends that would work, once of which was last weekend.

We took a trip to East Troy, Wisconsin, where Girl Scouts owns a camp property that we were able to rent out. We had the big lodge all to ourselves, which meant a full commericial kitchen, flushing toilets, an indoor fireplace, and mattresses for the floor. So it wasn't really camping. But Ely loved the "cabin" and there was plenty of space inside and out to run and play.


Ely really enjoyed his "sink bath" since there were no showers or tubs.


We relaxed most of the time, sitting by the fire (sans mosquitoes!), making s'mores, playing board games, and my mom and I finished a 700-piece puzzle (something I haven't done in years!). We also took a trip to the Milwaukee Zoo.



Ely loved the hippo, the tiger (which we actually got to see roar), and of course the fish and big South American turtle. Thanks to Nemo, as soon as he saw it, he said, "Big turtle, Duuuuude." When asked about his favorite animal, he unequivocally answers "COWS!" (which he also knows how to spell now). He loved the farm exhibit where he saw the cows being milked and fed the goats. We could have driven around the corner to Grandma's Farm for that experience!

He behaved fairly well for any 2-year-old and loved sitting at the picnic table to eat his $15 piece of pizza. It was worth every cent considering it kept him quiet and satisfied for a whole 20 minutes so mom, dad, and grammy could rest. He also played on the zoo playground with about 100 other children but it helped him get the ants of out of his pants after being told to "hold hands" "sit down" "stay close" all day. We stayed for about 7 hours and still did not see everything, but the "whinies" started to kick in and we knew it was time to call it a day. The best part was...he did not have a single accident the entire vacation. He stayed dry at the zoo and during the car ride. Couldn't be prouder of him!