4TH of July CAMPING do's and don'ts

Was your 4th of July a Blast? or a Red Hot Burn Out? No matter the turnout, I am sure that you are already making plans of things to do and not to do for next year's Sparkly Celebration. This year, my little family decided to try something different. Instead of wearing ourselves out by waking early to secure our place at the local parade, suffering heat exhaustion and empty pockets from the loads of money we would spend at the local town's celebration of vendors, and then eating ourselves into a BBQ oblivion as we 'ooohhh' and 'ahhhh' at fireworks, we decided to take another route. This year, we went CAMPING! (Note: After having lived in Hawaii for the last few years, the prospects of camping in the mountains lured us in like fish to a worm).

Instead of boring you with a cheesy list of fun family activities that busied our daily schedule, I will simply give you my revised Do's and Dont's list for our camping trip next year....I will let you imagine the fun festivities my little clan engaged in.

Do's:

1. Most important...DO reserve a camping spot in the local canyon at least 3 months BEFORE the 4th of July.
2. Do get teary eyed when you waddle pregnant out of your van and beg the camping attendant for a measly camping spot for your 'wee' family. (this one worked like a charm...ummm, hopefully you wont be pregnant at this time next year)
3. Do pack 'extra' treats and backups for when your dutch oven dinner takes 2 hours longer than the expected 1 hour cooking time.

Don'ts:
1. Don't hit other fisherman in the head when you cast your lure...unless you mean to because he stood in your fishing zone!
2. Don't squat to pee on a trail because it the brush wont poke you in the butt...instead other hikers will be taking a large gander at your butt.
3. Don't expect to get 10 minutes sleep through out an entire night when you have two rambunctious boys, one wild roaming toddler, a snoring bear of a husband, and a pregnant belly with a 'wee' little bladder.

I hope your 4th was full of fun, surprises, and good times as ours...here are a few picture highlights from our trip!

Me, cooking the morning grub! Yum, the sausages and eggs were a delight!
The boys, sitting on by the lake checking out the good fishing.
Henry found a prairie dog and was convinced that if he spoke nicely and cooed down it's hole, it would come out.
I sure do love a dirty toddler! I couldn't help but put in this picture. My kid is stinkin' cute...(literally).

Mark took the picture below...I am striking the pose, near the river in my pregnant attire for swimming...that means full coverage on my legs!