our first camping trip {my very first}.

i know it's been quite a few days since i last posted, but this time i promise i'm not slacking off. i've actually wanted to update several different times. i haven't had my jpg files with me each time i've wanted to update, though, and so i've postponed updating. today i decided that i have had enough of this waiting to be prepared business. i will post pictures at a later date.

on friday travis and i packed up our things and headed out for my very first camping trip. and our first camping trip together. we packed up little connor, too, and took him along for the weekend of nature-fun. travis has been promising to take me camping for some time ... and we were also tired of being bored with no money to spend. we decided this would be a great way to entertain ourselves without spending any money.

we raided our parents' refrigerators for eggs, sausage, ham, cheese, bologna, and hot dogs. (the only thing i like in that list, by the way, is cheese.) we also stocked up on chips, cookies, and trail mix. travis's parents go camping relatively often, so we were able to borrow lanterns, a cookstove, a large gatorade jug to fill with water, and a flashlight. we loaded up our sleeping bag, blankets, pillows, books, food, and the pup and away we went. we went to wahoo bay on fort gibson lake (which is only a ten to fifteen minute drive from my parents', so no gas money spent).

actually. that's not right. we packed up the car, but then i headed back to my parents' house for a family cookout while travis headed to the campsite to claim our spot. at wahoo bay you don't have to pay to camp, but people head out there pretty early on the weekends to grab a spot. the family cookout was kind of sprung on us last minute, after we had already made the plans to camp. since wahoo bay is the only campsite where you don't have to pay, we decided that travis would go ahead and grab a spot.

my dad was already at the pool hall, so dinner was with mom, sierra, justin & lindsay. my mom had set the table out on the veranda. the weather was beautiful. even though it was the middle of summer in oklahoma, the weather was surprisingly mild last weekend. the flies were abundant, however. it was all justin could do to keep them away from our table. after eating, everyone cleaned up and headed out. my mom had to get to the game room and i was anxious to get to the campsite.

when connor and i got there, travis had our tent all set up and had even built an impressive firepit. we settled in and unpacked everything. most of the weekend was spent relaxing and reading. we were about thirty feet back from the lake, and it was so peaceful. the wind blowing in off the lake kept the temperature very comfortable. it looked like it might rain on us a couple of times, but it never really did. saturday morning we woke to the sound of light rain on the tent. travis went out to secure the rain guard, and then we fell right back to sleep ... and slept until 11:00!! i never dreamed that we would be able to sleep that late on the hard, rocky ground. the fresh air must have been good for us.

i started reading the harry potter series again on saturday. i finished the first book that day, in between a little time in the lake with travis and connor. connor, by the way, couldn't decide if he wanted to be in the lake or not. when i tried to get him in as i was going in, he wouldn't even touch the water. we had him staked by the water, but he kept coming in and barking, trying to get to us. i went over and brought him in. he quickly swam out, made a large u-turn, and headed back to shore. i tried to stake him out again, but again he kept barking and trying to get in the water. this time i held him while we were in the water and he did pretty good. it was the cutest thing, because even when i was holding him, if i put his front paws in the water at all he would begin to slowly paddle his legs. he let him swim back and forth between travis and me, making sure that we spent lots of time holding him in between, so that he would be content with staying in the water.

getting out of the water made me anxious because his wet little paws quickly turned the dirt by the lake into mud. i just knew we were going to have a muddy mess on our hands. lucky for us, that was not the case, though i'm still not sure how we lucked out on that one.

later that day we decided to throw the frisbee around. connor had great fun sprinting between me and travis as we tossed it back and forth. he never wanted to catch it or even carry it back and forth, he just wanted to run when it was flying. we had so much fun with our little guy.

on saturday travis was afraid that it was going to storm on us, and we considered packing up and heading back home. we decided against it. after dark travis told me if a storm did come in the middle of the night, we would just have to wait it out. we wouldn't be packing up and going home.

sunday was a little bittersweet. it had been nice to have some time to ourselves, but at the same time, i was ready for a shower! we tore down our camp and headed to the lears' to unpack our borrowed equipment. dee asked us over for dinner and (at my request) said she would fix homemade chips (one of my favorites!) and tacos.

we headed home to take showers and return my parents' things. then, a few hours later, feeling much more refreshed and back to normal, we headed for a yummy dinner. i can never get tired of homemade chips! which is really a problem as i keep eating and eating! i sat on the couch and read the second harry potter while waiting for dinner, dozed off for a bit, and then spent time eating and watching a movie with travis, amanda, zach and dee. all in all it was one of the best weekends we've had in some time, packed to the gills {where does that phrase come from?} with activity and fun.