Camping with the family

We went camping this weekend...all of us. What began as an impromptu Cub Scout overnight trip turned into the first outing for the Zerangue Clan as a whole.

 It has been a very long time since this has happened, well actually, it has never happened since we have had baby number five...and the thought of going with all of our kids did make me a little nervous, but it was only an overnight trip very close to home and we need to start somewhere, right?

It was a nice trip, but you can't imagine how much gear and stuff has to be brought just for an overnight trip when little kids are involved we packed the back of our van and the back of the truck, even so, it ended up being fun and we will do it again soon, but for a while we will be taking short trips close to home, just in case...

I'd say that overall the trip was a success. No one fell in the fire, no one got lost on the hike and we came home with everyone safe and sound.
 There were a few technical difficulties...most of it having to do with huge amounts of rain during the early morning hours It wet most of our gear, our firewood, and our tents. This changed our breakfast plans from eggs, and bacon, to bagels and cream cheese and doughnuts, thank goodness thinking of a backup for breakfast, and for the camp stove we were still able to make coffee and hot chocolate on a cold, wet, morning even without the ability to make a fire. The inclement weather almost canceled the rest of our day that included a hike, but instead only delayed it a bit.
As we debated on what to do-continue wit our plans, or pack up and call it done the weather began to get brighter and warmer, we gathered up our gear and our nerve and continued with our plans and drove to our  hiking trail and had a lovely walk through the woods and got to study a few plants and learn a little about the forest structure in our area.

 At the end of our trip Jacob starts yelling, "An eagle! I see an eagle!" And I'm thinking oh, yeah, okay...we all start looking up and sure enough, there is a huge nest up in a tree and some shadowy figures...the male Bald eagle steps out on a limb to say hello.