Camping is dirty!

And OH MY WORD I CAN'T WAIT TO DO IT AGAIN!  I absolutely loved every minute of this trip (despite some not so fun medical issues I am having.)

So we decided we wanted to go camping and we chose Cape Henlopen State Park because it is on the beach and has a disc golf course.  But oh my, there is so much more to do than that.  We rented bikes for the 4 days we were there.  Mine had a seat for Jamie on the back (I wish I had gotten pictures of this but I didn't).  There is a 3 mile bike trail loop that took us all over the park... to the beach (there were lots of different places to go to the beach, SO NEAT!), the nature center, Ft. Miles (a historical site for WWII)  and the fishing pier.  There were also lots of hiking trails too.  All in the dunes.  I have a hard time describing in words just how beautiful and peaceful this place is.  It was truly amazing and just an outstanding example of God's creation.

The Wilson and Gaeng families arrived to the site around 2:30 or 3.  We set up camp and chef Eric made us a superb campfire dinner of beans and franks. We also had a salad from the Wilson garden.  YUMMY!!!!!!

Here's our site, without our screen room up yet over the picnic table.  Big tent = Wilson Family  Little tent = Gaeng Family

After dinner we hiked/biked up to Fort Miles and the Great Dune Overlook.  Ah-mazing.  When I first saw the view all I could say over and over again was "Oh my word!"  It was stunning.

Timmy and Mattie reading about the history of the area.

The next day getting ready for a bike adventure.

check out that amazing breakfast Uncle Eric made over the fire!!!

And I have to say how absolutely perfect the weather was!  Cool enough at night for a blanket and warm and sunny during the day! What a blessing!  It did rain overnight once, but we managed to stay pretty dry.

These two are never far apart.  The gift of family is so precious.

After an afternoon of biking and exploring, beaching it and visiting with Melinda and Aunt Sherry we headed to Rehoboth just 10 minutes south!  Too fun!

Vi on her first boat ride with the BFF's in the background.  I SUPER love the boardwalk at Rehoboth!  It is cleaner, less expensive and much more of a family friendly crowd then OC.  We'll be skipping the OC boardwalk next month and coming back here instead.

If I had a nickel for every time this group has ridden a carousel I wouldn't be going back to work! ;)

Anabelle rode solo on this one, my Jamie got a little nervous!

It's not Disney, but it'll do for now! ;)

So while Jamie and Anabelle were rockin' the playground I had to use the potty.  When I came back after about 10 minutes a dear women came up to me and said, "I just wanted to tell you this because if it were me I would want someone to let me know... You have toilet paper hanging out of your shorts."  Wow, now when people ask what's your most embarrassing moment, I'll have something to share!  UGH!

ice cream to end the night!

The next day....

Daddy's turn at cooking!

The Wilson's had to leave on Wednesday afternoon so before they rolled out we took a walk up to the tower at fort Miles.  

View from the tower.  Those are the barracks from WWII.  So neat and so much better for the kids then learning it from a book!  HOORAY for home schooling!

After our cousins headed for home Jamie promptly fell asleep!

A view of our "home" for 4 days.

We woke him up and headed on another exploration adventure over to the fishing pier.  He was not in the mood at first and refused to look at the camera, but...

he warmed up pretty quickly and Daddy and son had their first fishing experience together.  

For me, these gifts God gives us, simply living, is what life is all about.

Views from the pier.

I gave it a try too!

playing in the bay

After the pier, we headed back to camp, packed some dinner and spent the evening at the beach.  It was unbelievably serene. 

There were many cool rocks and shells to be discovered.

I have to say one thing about having one child or children far apart in age is that we get to really indulge him, focus on him and love him up uninterrupted. It is a good feeling.

This precious little boy simply loves the beach.  We are doing our best this summer to bring him often.

It was nearly dark when we rode back on our bikes.  We got showered up and roasted hotdogs and sticks and of course made s'mores!

The next day we went to downtown Lewes for breakfast and then came back to bike around some more.  Timmy played disc golf and Jamie and I checked out the nature center.

We came back to our site (we had already packed before we left for the morning's adventures) and headed for Fenwick.  We hit up our favorite little water park and took a spin on the go carts.  Then we headed over to "our" beach for a bit before finally heading for home.  We had such a wonderful time.  Our little family loves the beach so much.  One day we hope to own a little something down there, but until then we will camp and enjoy our yearly vacation and short trips!

I am incredibly grateful to Jesus for the blessed life I live.