Going Camping...

What you can't see is that Joshua had just backed into the swimming pool and came up quite wet on the bottom half. We laughed......a lot.

Goodness, I love this little girl! It only took about 80 shots to get her smiling AND looking at me. I believe she did it just to get me to stop taking her picture!

Throwing stones "down the mountain" (as Joshua called it). Really, it was the top of the driveway, but we went with his imagination on this. And yes, the cliff he's standing on DID make me nervous.

Joshua and Aunt Libby were inseparable as usual. He loves her SO much!

Joshua's first swimming experience....I can't believe he's nearly 3 and has never been in a pool, but he loved it.

What you can't see is that Joshua's first smore ended up dissected and his hands covered in marshmallow. After this first one, he just requested to eat the chocolate. Can't say as I blame him.

Looking at the elk in the yard with Pap.

We're back after a fantastic few days in Benezette. In case you wonder (which I did), it's in Elk County, in the neighborhood of Dubois, Clearfield and St. Mary's, although not exactly close to any of them. Just in the same general vicinity. We could feel ourselves drifting further and further away from civilization as we made our way north....and it was wonderful. I had almost forgotten how much I love to go camping, although we can hardly claim to have been "camping" in the truest sense since our camp had running water, a hot tub, TV, two bathrooms and a bed for each of us. No tents. Very few mosquitoes. All the amenities of home, just in a gorgeous setting where the elk roam in your front and back yard. Pretty amazing if you're into that kind of thing.

Joshua is most definitely into that kind of thing. He loved the dirt, the campfire, the elk and the deer that we saw. He reveled in the sunshine, the cool evenings, the fresh mountain air. He couldn't even rest to take a nap--- wouldn't want to miss a single second of time there. The temper tantrums were few (actually, I can't remember any) and the laughter abundant.

We spent our days sitting on the deck together as a whole family- someone chasing someone's children most all of the time. It's been a long time since our family has had that kind of togetherness, but it was wonderful. We took walks up the driveway with Joshua to throw stones and make trails in the dirt with his sticks that he found. We built pretend campfires in the grass to match the ones that Uncle Zig built for us in the fire ring. We ate whoopie pies (a camping staple) and too much of everything else, but left with full bellies and full spirits from the time spent together. We watched elk graze as close as 10-15 feet away and saw a family of fawns with their mama in the grass.

Joshua got his wish of peeing in the woods with Daddy, Pap and Uncle Zig. I'll spare you the picture for fear of getting reported to the Blogger people who could shut us down for the full moon shot we have of the guys. Let me just say that Joshua went trekking into the woods with only his sneakers on. And the view didn't get much better after that. My dad's wish is to have a printed picture of the "full moon" for his bar, but I've just been humiliated beyond all belief by the phone call I just got from the Wal-Mart photo people saying that my "inappropriate" photos could not be printed per my request. Like I'm some kind of sicko or something. I'm mortified to go into the store to pick up the rest of the photo order, if I tell you the truth.



Hopefully we'll get a chance to return to Winslow Meadow Lodge again sometime. I can't wait to see Brooke playing in the dirt along with Joshua, and to enjoy it with another little girl next summer. Thanks Nana and Pap for planning such an awesome trip. They're still there, enjoying a more "adult" entertainment with some State Farm friends the next few days. They say they were sad to see us go on Sunday, but I'm sure they appreciate the peace and quiet.....which it was NOT when we were there.