"Dam" Good Camping

We spent this weekend- Friday night until Sunday afternoon- doing some 'dam' good camping near Apache Lake.  (Warning, this is picture heavy post.  Sorry.  Had to be done.)

I have to admit that I was less than excited about this camping trip.  We've had some pretty busy weeks lately between school, work, extra curricular activities, and Easter.  I also know that we have some really busy weeks ahead of us (our weekends are booked through May at this point and I know this isn't uncommon for a lot of families, but we've found our family needs some down time or people get crabby.  Mainly the momma.).  So... when Thursday night rolled around and I hadn't shopped, packed or even thought about this trip... I was less than thrilled (I think there were even some curse words muttered under my breath....)  But, this trip had been on the books for several months (ah, the joys of planning ahead), we had committed to Joe's brother and his wife that we were coming (and I had committed to bringing our share of the food, so we would have left them hanging without lunch goodies), and Joe and the kids were really excited (not that it takes too much to get our group excited about being outside), so I gathered my strength and got us ready to go....

We had the best time camping that we have had in a really long time.

First of all, we had an EXCELLENT camp site.  All the thanks go to Jason and Paige (Joe's brother and sister-in-law) who went up last weekend and scoped out a good spot.  This spot was just perfect.  It was away from the lake, so we weren't TOO close to the other campers (all of whom seemed to have pit bulls?  Seriously, there was like a pack of pit bulls at the lake.  We saw SEVERAL dog fights while we were there), but it was close enough to the lake that we could take a short walk and enjoy the lake fully.  When I say fully, I mean that we could crawl into the lake up to about our knees and then come out whimpering because it was SO COLD (I do have to brag that both Joe and I did get all the way in... for just a couple of short moments).  Our camp spot happened to be VERY close to a small stream that was running... so the kids had access to the water the entire time that we were there.  It also turned into a great science experiment (I know, seriously, can we do anything that ISN'T educational, but you gotta seize the opportunity while you can...) because the kids (with lots of support from Uncle Joe, Aunt Paige and Doug) spent a lot of time trying to dam (NOW you get the post title) and divert the water in the stream.  They sure learned the power of water.......

The weather was also PERFECT.  Seriously.  PERFECT. 

The next best thing was the company.  We really enjoy camping with Jason and Paige and their kiddos.  Although we are not exactly alike in terms of parenting style, there is enough significant overlap that the trip is enjoyable for all.  For this trip, we were also joined by Karen, Doug and Nadine- some friends of Jason and Paige.  Again, just great companions.  The kids all got along well and enjoyed each others company.  It was a good range of ages for the kids... everybody had somebody to play with... and if you got tired of the person you were playing with, there was someone else to explore with as well.

And then of course, there was the food ('cause what is camping without food?).  We divided up the food responsibility as per our usual... and it worked out great.  We had tons of great food to enjoy (and yes, for those of you who are wondering I did STAY on my diet, skipped the alcohol, and only had ONE diet Coke all weekend).  Paige does a great camping dinner... and we all enjoyed the fruits of her labor.  It was also nice to have three moms on the trip... so we could all help the kids get food, fix things, and have their needs met... which was a nice thing as well.

Our family left fairly early on Sunday... wrapped up the trip with a wonderful drive through the desert, a short hike at Fish Creek and lunch at the Canyon Lake Marina, which was a great end to a very wonderful weekend.

I am so glad I got my attitude in order and got my stuff together so we could go on this trip... now if some magic fairy could just arrive and take care of my laundry... the world would be a very happy place.  Hope you all had a wonderful Spring weekend where ever you are.....
C