Camping!

B-man has spent a lot of time camping in his life. I've heard many stories about boyscout camp and family camping trips throughout the years. He has such great memories of camping and always talks about wanting to go.

We did go camping one night together at Clemson (he camped a lot at Clemson, but I only went one time). A bunch of us got together after a football game and camped one night. No tents though. I think we brought beer and sleeping bags. And, that's it! Oh, and ONE flashlight...for like 8 of us! I do remember that part. Lol. 

We even bought a tent when we lived in Colorado and B got me a really nice sleeping bag for my birthday one year. But, we only camped in our living room in Colorado. It just seemed like the timing was never right to actually get out there and do it. We also wanted to take Murray and Sandy, but campsites usually require them to be on a leash the whole time. Which would not be fun for us, for the pups, nor for our camping neighbors. And then there were the moves, the deployments, traveling, pregnancies, infancy, etc.  I digress. Well, B-man's been talking about it a lot since we moved up here. And we're surrounded by all things camp-y, so I finally gave in and said, "okay, let's do it".  Don't get me wrong. I'm not against camping. And I am up for adventure, but all I could think about was all of the stuff we would need to bring with us for two small children, for one night. Would it be worth it?? Hmm...
But, B-man took the lead and made a list of everything we needed. We went to the store and checked off the list, which included a bigger tent b/c our family has definitely grown since our CO days. He packed and loaded up the truck with all of our 'essentials' and off we went! We drove up to the Eklutna Lake campground and found a spot. I had a eureka moment when we discovered that we were going to be able to drive right up to the campsite. We weren't going to have to walk in all of our gear. Woohoo! And, once again, Brian took the reigns and was totally in his element setting up camp. I, on the other hand, stood around with a baby on my hip! Lol. Boo was excited to drive his trucks around in the dirt. After getting unpacked and getting the tent set up, we had a wonderful time! It was totally worth it! I look forward to doing it again. And now we can say we've been camping...in Alaska!

Lots of stuff! The bed has quite a load in it as well.

B-man setting up the tent. He knew exactly what to do!

They thought it was hysterical inside the tent.

Collecting wood for the fire.

Getting the fire going.

We grilled hot dogs for supper.

Boo said it was the best hot dog ever.

S'mores and roasted marshmallows for dessert.
These were GIANT marshmallows (really, way too big).

B-man even brought a hammock and set it up in mere moments! He really is a rock star, y'all! And he's mine...swoon!
Oh yeah, Boo loved the hammock.

This was the next morning.
The worst part was waking up to the cold!
But B-man quickly got up and got this fire going for us!
Lil Bit has socks over her hands b/c her mittens wouldn't stay on.
She ended up in my sleeping bag and Boo ended up in B-man's sleeping bag during the night.

We had pancakes and bacon for breakfast.

My handsome fella.

Lil Bit taking her morning nap in the tent.

"The best pancakes and bacon ever."

Makes me smile.

Time out tree stump.
Just keepin' it real.

Lil Bit had a turn in the hammock too.

We really did have a great time and B-man totally rocked the campsite and made it so easy on me. Thanks Hon! Boo was so excited that we were going to sleep in the tent all night. He said that was his favorite part. I had a little trouble with my sleeping bag...my feet were quite cold and I finally realized half way through the night that the bottom of my sleeping bag was unzipped. Doh! And then when I tried to zip up the top around Bit and me, I got the zipper caught on the fabric. You know what I'm talking about...the catch of the zipper that makes you think you're probably going to have to throw away whatever it is you've destroyed b/c there's no way possible to get that fabric out of the zipper. It was a total camping foul!  haha! I loved making these memories with our family. It was a great time. And, we didn't see any bears! Oh, and I did get the fabric out of the zipper.