Jul 23, 2006

The Great Outdoors

It was a beautiful weekend for camping. Brian and I ventured out to Warren Dunes State Park in Sawyer, MI along Lake Michigan (the best of the Great Lakes). Carl and Jessie joined us on Friday along with the I-am-so-cute-I-can-make-you-do-whatever-I-want, Aaron.



He really is cute, and so smart! He was fond of my knitting. He asked me what I was making and I told him a "blanket for a baby." After a few rows, I decided to set the knitting down (don't want anyone to think I'm rude), but Aaron asked immediately "why did you stop?" I guess he wanted to make sure that baby is going to be warm. His parents have now been happily married for 5 years.



Saturday, the newlyweds Kim and Gary, as well as the newly-engaged Carrie and Matt, joined us. We tasted wine, attempted to make "gourmet" dinner over a campfire, and successfully avoided getting kicked out of the campground for possession of alcohol (our campsite neighbors were not that lucky). Really, we weren't rowdy at all, especially with a 2 year old in our presence. Brian and I had a great time. We hope everyone else did - it's so nice to spend time with friends again in a relaxing atmosphere. Times like these remind me why we have been friends for so long. Not to leave Jessie out, though, because I'm really enjoying spending time with her too!



With the weekend so fresh in my mind, I can think of the things I appreciate most and like the least about camping.
Least:
1. A line for the shower
2. Having to lie down to change in our small tent
3. Packing up dirty camp gear
4. No dishwasher
5. Soggy wood

Most:
1. Campfire games
2. Banana boats (my new-found campfire treat. Thanks Carrie!)
3. Drinking coffee at a picnic table
4. Not being expected to do my hair or make-up
5. No schedule- just eat/sleep when you feel like it

6 comments:

Kim Davis said...

We had a BLAST camping--we wish we were still there. Pippin is all tired out from the kennel. Carrie and Matt, how did Scout do? I hope he had as much fun as our dog did. Speaking of dogs, Gary and I just filled out the online adoption form for the cute 7 month old basset-beagle mix that we saw at the kennel. He is getting neutered this week, and then we will rename him Frodo. Gary is excited. Gary thought of how he could have won the campfire game more--use racecar drivers' names. He'd stump us all! Watch out next summer.

Anonymous said...

I heart camping. Especially HONDA camping with such fun friends! Scoutie is exhausted from being at the kennel. He took like a 3 hour nap when we got home! Congrats on getting a new dog Kim--Bagel dogs are so adorable!
Thanks Ang for planning such a fun weekend. Matt and I had a great time! :)

Matt Stratton said...

Thanks SO much for including us in this! I had a great time, and I know Carrie did as well. Eventually, we'll all be old friends, and we can laugh and laugh about the time that Brian dropped the hamburgers, Gary spilled the corn, and I clocked myself in the head on the car door.

Hey, maybe twenty years from now, when we're "remembering" this weekend, we can change the story and tell everyone that WE got kicked out of the state park by six cops. If we do, I would like to request that the story include me telling the DNR ranger that I "totally know a bunch of cops in Chicago" and that "I will have your badge for this!"

My pictures from the weekend are here, and my blog recap is here.

Anonymous said...

Glad someone got some knitting done this weekend. I tried to knit- had 3 different projects with me but was missing one item for each project. Tried to knit my socks, but was missing one of the needles so I thought I'd work on my other socks...again, missing a needle...so I thought I'd work on my baby hat...missing the pattern. I guess it wasn't meant to be this weekend!

Anonymous said...

we also had a great time camping- Aaron was exhausted when we got back. it's nice having friends that are good at organizing gatherings to keep everyone social- especially for us old people with kids!

i am glad that everyone's dogs made it through the weekend without them. maybe next time they can come, too. they can't be much more work than a toddler, right?

MATT- your pics are awesome! there are some great ones of Aaron we would love to download.

Jess

Matt Stratton said...

I'm not sure Jess will see this, so if someone can pass the information along...

The full-sized versions of my photos can be downloaded from my Flickr account, but only people I list on my Contacts list can download them (or order prints). Flickr accounts are free, so if you want to do either of those things with my photos, just get a Flickr account, and send me a message with your username, and I'll add you to my Contacts list.