S'more Camping!

After an absolutely exhausting week of VBS, we decided to go camping! Actually, Kevin offered to take both girls and give me a break and I was seriously going to take him up on it! I started "dreaming" of everything I could do without interruption and I was excited about the possibility of getting caught up and getting some alone time. But then yesterday afternoon, as I spent some time reading some favorite blogs and other links, two things compelled me to go and spend time with my family.

First was the incredible interview of the Chapman family on Larry King Live...Steven Curtis Chapman's 5 year old daughter was tragically hit by her older brother in their driveway in May. The family is now speaking out about their loss and their story and faith is an incredible inspiration and witness to the power of God. And when I heard his song "Cinderella" again, I thought about my missing out on the opportunity to "dance" with my girls...just so I could have some ME time.

Then, I was reading the blog "Another Chapter" by Tyson....I don't know this family, but I have been following their story/journey the past couple months...Tyson's wife, Leslie, defeated cancer a couple weeks ago and went home to be with her Maker. Their faith is also an incredible testimony. One of the things that Tyson requested in lieu of "memorial" gifts was to take the time to do something special with the ones you love...because he knew this would honor the memory of Leslie more than anything else since she lost out on so many opportunities.

And so...I gave up the thought of indulging in some alone time and I went camping with my three favorite people (and my favorite dog). We returned to Pictured Rocks and met up with Karl and Sue again (my mom's neighbors in Morton, whom we camped with before). The campground only has 8 sites, so it was perfect that they were already there and we could pitch our tent on their site.

As we were driving home today, I thought about all the things I would have missed out on had I chosen to stay home....

Pulling leeches off Kayleigh and Sydney (Syd had about 12 baby leeches stuck between her toes!)
Kayaking at 9 pm and seeing a beaver swimming
Picking wild raspberries with the girls
Eating delicious s'mores (I had 3!!!)
A not so restful night
Gorgeous weather
A beautiful hike today

Don't get me wrong...there were countless times I wished I had stayed home, but overall I'm so glad I went. Hope you enjoy all the pictures...there are LOTS! (I also would have missed all these photo opportunities)


This is how they started off...they ended up totally wet so I had to strip them....But this is also how they got the leeches - YUCK!





I used to do this when I was a little girl...I loved to poke a stick in the fire and get the tip burning...then I would "write" on rocks. I noticed Sydney had "written" on several rocks around the campsite...can you see the one by the log. It must be genetic because I never told her or showed her how to do it.

Munising Falls (above)

We hiked SugarLoaf Mountain on our way home...all the trails in the National Forest don't allow dogs so we weren't able to hike those. So we came back to Marquette and hiked this....this is the view we saw....absolutely gorgeous and breathtaking!