Backyard Camping.....

I am presently going through our summer photos and am trying to post some of our highlights. 

Many nights of backyard camping took place at our home over the past few months. (And just in case you were wondering, I always slept in the comfort of my bed in the AC with Luke, while Jared was with the other 3 lovies outside in the humidity....and no...I feel absolutely no shame in that).  It was one hot summer!

The kids love, love, love to sleep out in the tent.

The only good thing about the drought we had this summer was that Jared didn't have to mow for over a month. After some much needed rain, our grass finally looks green and lush again.

Luke is always up for helping set up camp. Anything his Daddy and big brothers do, he likes to do. He never seemed to mind though, sleeping in the house with his mama.  After the other kids were settled in the tent, Luke and I would lay on my bed with a stack of books and we would read until we couldn't keep our eyes open. These were some really special times with my little man. Jared was making his own memories with the other 3 while they were out in the tent being silly and looking up at the stars.

Cooking dinner over a fire was a favorite thing to do this summer. Hot dogs and kielbasa.....and of course smores for dessert.  It was Nate's job to collect the wood from the wood pile, Noah would gather sticks for kindlin as well as build and light the fire. As the two older boys mature, it really is a blessing to see them grow in independence and take care of things all by themselves.  As you can see in the photo Noah is being very mature at the moment.  I guess I would start to worry if he started acting normal around the camera.

Nate loves graham crackers and he loves chocolate, but is not so fond of marshmallows, (which he pronounces "smarshnellows"). He likes to put a piece of chocolate between two graham crackers minus the marshmallow....that's a Nate s'more.

And this sweetie is mama's little helper.  She truly is my miniature side-kick always wanting to be involved in whatever it is I am doing at the moment. I really love my time with her, and pray that her eagerness to serve others isn't just a faze she's going through, but that God will continue to grow her in this area. Oh and she eats her s'mores her own way as well. She likes the marshmallows right out of the bag, eats the chocolate separately and could do without the graham cracker.....wait, I guess then that's not actually a s'more now is it?

This is Luke's new smile....kind of cute....kind of creepy at the same time. He likes his s'mores any which way, and has been known to swipe entire bars of chocolate all to himself off of the table. He is short, comes under our radar in stealth mode and before we know it all that's left is an empty wrapper.

Daddy likes to cook over the fire, usually with a nice cold beverage in his hand. (Always an easy dinner night for me!)  He gets to relax more as the boys get older and enjoy tending the fire.  I know these are times Jared treasures with his family.

Of course Noah is at the age where bunny ears are an essential in a posed photograph.

And here is the proof that Adam and I were there. This photo was taken over a month ago...and I can no longer see my toes.  He is growing rapidly!

An added bonus to our evening was to see a hot air balloon floating around our neighborhood. The kids thought that was pretty cool.  And yes Noah and Nate did hop on their bikes and try to chase it....I would expect nothing less from those two.

I thank God for days like these. Hopefully these are special times that our kids will always remember. Nothing particularly eventful....just us being together as a family.