The Great (or not so great) Outdoors

The big camp out! From the time we arrived and put up the tent, RoWan repeatedly said, "I think the sun is going down. It is time to go to bed." She couldn't wait to use her princess flashlight and sleep in the tent.... Maybe I should move her room to a tent in the backyard.... She loved every minute, ended up covered in dirt and soot, and thought she was just one of the girls.

We started out here

And ended up here

Because of this

It was memorable. Sometime in the middle of the night I felt the drops of rain coming through the screen window as the storm began. I quickly zipped everything up, but there was no going back to sleep. The thunder roared, the lighting cracked, and at times the ground even seemed to shake. The storm was right on top of us. Iowa thunder storms are amazing, terrifying, and inspiring. RoWan slept through the whole thing (she clearly did not inherit Eric's sleep issues). We made it through the storm but the girls in a near by tent were soaked, so we headed for home for the remainder of the night.

We returned to camping the next morning. When the girls were asked to take some time to read their scriptures; RoWan ran to find her backpack...."I have my scriptures too!" (the picture kind). She sat at the picnic table with the other girls and spent the next 15 minutes quietly looking at the pictures and narrating to herself. She is so sweet.





















When we began planning this little excursion I was disappointed that it wasn't for more than one night, and that it wasn't somewhere further away and more remote. I changed my mind! There is something to be said for camping close to home.

RoWan keeps asking when we are going camping again. I can't wait!