Weekend with the Wilsons/Our First Family Campout!

I'm playing a little catch-up on this post. Over Mother's Day weekend, we met my best friend, Andrea, and her family in Houston. Joe, her husband, is a professional bodybuilder (all natural, no steroids), and he had a body building show near Houston the day before Mother's Day. He did really well, and ended up winning 3rd place in the pro division and winning his first cash prize! We had never been to a body building show, so it was quite the new experience, especially for Dane. It seems as though he really connected with the whole deal, and he has been showcasing his muscles for us ever since. He really has his poses down good! It was really great to get to spend some time with Andrea again. We try to get together once a year, and I'm so glad it all worked out for us this year again. Her kids, Reed and Elliot, are so sweet, and Dane really got along well with them, especially Reed. That's probably a good thing, since he has been betrothed to her since the day we found out he was going to be a boy! It would be a shame if he didn't like his own future wife!

Dane, Reed and Elliot

Dane - showing off his muscles

Lane caught Dane sleeping in this position - probably dreaming about his muscles!

This past Friday, Lane and I decided that we would take Dane camping for the first time. I had really meant for us to go a little sooner before it decided to become summer in Texas! We decided to go Friday morning, so it was a pretty impromptu trip. We decided to go to this really great camping place near Daingerfield that doesn't charge for tent camping. It happens to be on my parents' land, and it really worked out great since we were able to string extension cords from their house out to our tent for our fan. As we were setting up our sleeping bags, Dane and I looked out the window and saw Lane coming down the hill with my mom's little lighted Christmas trees that she puts on her front porch at Christmas. We used them as our lights outside our tent while we hung out before bedtime! A big thanks to my parents for all of the supplies they provided for our poorly planned out first camping trip. Here's a list of the borrowed items: an air mattress, extension cords, electricity, sheets and pillow for Lane (he forgot his sleeping bag and pillow), shower, toilet, kitchen for breakfast, trash bag, great company from the host family, a great big open view of the sky to watch the International Space Station go by, and for the finale, a complimentary Dairy Queen lunch before we left! So, if any of you are looking for a friendly, affordable and comfortable campsite, I'm sure my parents would love to have you! We really thought that we would end up in the house to sleep if Dane didn't want to stay in the tent, but he really was in the "roughin' " it mood, and he slept in the tent all night until about 7:30 Saturday morning. We were able to build a little fire and roast marshmallows before bedtime, too. I, on the other hand, decided to head on to the house around 6:00 and lounged on the couch and visited with Daddy until the boys came up for breakfast. It was really fun, and I can't wait to do it again in the fall once it starts to cool back down. As a side note, we discovered a must-have item for any camping trip with kids - Glow sticks! They give off just the right amount of light in the tent so the kids don't get scared! 15 glow sticks for $1.00 at Target - you can't beat that!

Setting up camp and visiting with our gracious hosts - We loved the cozy atmosphere the Christmas trees provided!

Enjoying a refreshing Capri Sun before bedtime

Lane and Daddy building a campfire

Roasting marshmallows

This is my new favorite picture of Dane - he was actually panicking because he had too many marshmallows in his mouth, but he was kind enough to wait for me to take his picture before spitting it all out!

Sleeping hard

I can't believe he stayed in the tent all night! Notice the Cars theme we chose...Cars sleeping bag, blanket and pajamas. It never hurts to be completely coordinated!