Almost camping time

I’m excited about our upcoming camping trip. I love being home but I love getaways too. And I love getting hubby away from his home office. Having constant access to work is not always a good thing.

And we have four camping trips planned this year, so summer will not slip through the cracks without us wandering why we didn’t go more. Some trips are nearby, which is great to not have a long drive. Some trips are with friends. Some with family. And two trips will be to brand new spots to us: Jellystone and Brown County.

So, I’ve been reminiscing a little about camping trips years past …

Ella waits for a ride on the Kibby Creek train with cousin Rylan. Circa 2009.

Ella looks so little hanging out at the campsite. She was just 2 years old.

Cousins enjoy some ice cream! Ella has 7 cousins on this side of the family, and soon to be 8.

Eva’s first camping trip (but she was still a bun in the oven).

Eva gets to know Cheyenne on last year’s trip with our friends.

Walking to the beach with friends. Always good!

Yummy sausage/chili/pasta/veggie stew

It was a busy week. I had to rely on my trusty friend the crockpot not once, but twice this week. So, I also relied on my other little friend, my crockpot cookbook (Best Loved Slow Cooker Recipes) for a recipe. And I think I found a new winner. I don’t remember the name of it – I remember thinking it needed a better one though. I’m open to suggestions!

Here it is:

Yummy sausage/chili/pasta/veggie stew

• 1 lb cooked Italian sausage
• 1 can (26 oz) spaghetti sauce
• 1 c diced yellow squash
• 1 c diced g. pepper
• 1 c diced celery
• 1 c diced carrots
• 1 c frozen peas
• 1 clove diced garlic
• 1 1/2 c spiral pasta
• 1 can kidney beans

Add four cups of water (which I completely forgot, added a couple cups when I got home and it was fine) and set on low for about 8 hours. Yum!

*Sidenote: My sister has mentioned that a slow cooker and crockpot are two different things. I am pretending this is not true.

Bench before and after

We have two benches that we have had for about 9 years now. So they are very beat down, but they do provide some good seating that we need for our late night Memorial Day campfire. So we came up with a way to spruce them up. Steve gets credit for doing the work.

BEFORE

AFTER!

It was Ella’s idea to do the red too and I really like it. Also the benches had different shapes and stains before, so now they look a little more cohesive.

In Ella’s mind

My parents kept the girls a night this weekend and my mom reported back a few funny things Ella said:

1. Ella excitedly told her grandparents in the car she just saw the carriage go by that took the princess to the ball. (Grandma then realized an Amish buggy had just gone by.)

2. After Ella used the toilet grandma asked if she had wiped. Ella said yes, but then grandma pointed out there was no toilet paper in the toilet. So Ella then ripped some off and threw it in.