Camping at Rapidan

I have never been camping before, and everyone who has been says its fun but a lot of work.   However, we live so close to Shenandoah National Park and we have two boys.  What more will motivate you to give it a try, at least once.  Mark was quickly on board and got a tent for his birthday. We call it the Biltmore of tents, but again we have two growing boys.  We need a big tent.

We booked the campsite way in advanced and then waited patiently for the big event.  Then the government shutdown happened - closing all national parks.  We scratched our plans of camping at the Shenandoah National Park and headed to Rapidan State Park - which was a primitive campground.  For those of you new to camping, that means no running water and not potties.  Might as well jump right in to this whole camping thing, right?  

Since we had never been camping before, we talked some experts into joining us.  After all we aren't that crazy.  The Karchners and the Christensens took us under their wings and showed us the way!
 

This was our view for the weekend . . . Not too bad, huh?

The menfolk headed out Friday afternoon to get the site all set up, and the girls and kiddos headed out Saturday morning to enjoy all of their hardwork!  Once we arrived and got settled, it was time to explore and throw at least a million rocks in the river. 

After all that exploring, we were ready for some lunch.  It was time to roast some hot dogs.  Is there anything better than a roasted hot dog for lunch - yummo!

A full tummy, the warm sun, and a cozy hammock equals some rest and relaxation time.  We must get a hammock before we head out camping again.  We were all fighting for our turn!

Then we decided to head out on a hike.  There weren't really any true trails, so we made our own. 

We met some new friends on the way . . .

and even did some fly fishing after watching the fishing experts David and Derek.  

The boys roasted hot dogs again for dinner, but the adults had a delicious feast - steak, potato, zucchini, and squash all roasted over the open fire.  Oh my goodness it was soooo good!

Of course, we had s'mores for dessert.  I think Jackson ate about three!

The boys ran around with their flashlights and glow sticks having a blast before it was time to hit the tent.

We didn't rough it too hard - the Biltmore floor was covered in air mattresses and comfy sleeping bags.  We were all snuggled in and slept pretty good. 

We survived our first camping trip and can't wait to go again in the spring.  The boys had a blast being able to run wild, explore, and get dirty!  And we had fun just watching them be boys! 

White Sandy Beaches

We were lucky to get to spend a week in Destin with all of the Johnson family.  It was a great time relaxing, swimming, boogey boarding, and playing with cousins! 

This was our view for a week - it doesn't get much better than that!

 We couldn't keep Ainslee and Jackson out of the water and off their boogey boards!

They looked like they were having so much fun that Braden and I had to get in on the action.  And it was a ton of fun.  We couldn't stop laughing.

Braden was a little hesitant to put his feet in the sand, but after a few good races with Daddy and Jackson he was good to go!  

 

Daddy gets bonus points for thinking up that idea!

 

After he got used to the sand, Braden loved digging in the sand and building sand castles. 

We usually go out to eat once to my favorite restaurant, the Marina.  The boys love looking at the boats, and we love eating the food!  Yummo!

Until we meet again Destin! 

Destin

A week in Destin is just what we needed! It felt great to sink our feet in the nice white sand and splash around in the ocean waves. It was also fun to hang out with the whole Johnson clan for entire week!

This was Jackson's third time down in Florida, and he had a blast! This is the first year that he actually loved the ocean. He had fun fighting the waves and hunting for shells.


Since this was Braden's first trip to the beach, we weren't sure how it would go. He loved being outside under the umbrella, but at first wasn't too sure of the ocean. I think the noise of the ocean scared him a bit, but by the end of the week he was a true beach bum!


We also spent time building in the sand.


Even these tiny feet got a little sandy.


One afternoon we even played a little baseball. Somehow I ended up on a team, and I was definitely feeling my age by the time we had to forfeit!


Since we haven't been able to go to the pool much this summer (because of Braden's helmet), it was fun just to swim! Jackson practiced his floating,


and Braden loved splashing around


and riding in his Mickey boat.


Well, he actually had a lot fun eating his Mickey boat also.


The boys had matching swimsuits on one day, and I was so excited to get a cute picture. This is the best one I got. Ummm . . . a big fail!


Braden and I took a nap every day which was glorious! Even though we were inside most of the day, the view was perfect!


All the time on the beach and swimming was fun, but the best part of the vacation was spending time with the family!


Especially with cousins Ya Ya and Ainslee,


Aunt Stacy and Uncle Bull, and


Emmy and Poppy!


The day we left Jackson was so sad and upset. He said he wanted to spend ten days at the beach not seven. We couldn't have agreed more with him!