This past weekend we packed up and met my sister-in-law, Valadou, and her family at the campground. The boys were so excited! We didn't get to go camping at all this summer, so they couldn't wait to become one with nature again, lol. We packed up their compasses, canteens and flashlights, put on their camo and headed for the woods.It was Sprout's second camping trip, but the first that he was able to run around and play a little. He had a blast being outdoors for three and a half days.I wasn't feeling quite up to par which sort of stunk but that's okay, I still had a great time. By Sunday, I was feeling back to normal and was so disappointed that we had to leave. The weather was fantastic, other than some rain Thursday night, which flooded poor Valadou's tent. Luckily, there was a Wal-Mart nearby and they were able to get a new one without too much trouble. Mornings were perfect for sitting around the campfire with cups of hot coffee and we enjoyed a nice glass of wine in the evenings. It got really cold during the night but I love snuggling up in a sleeping bag, so I didn't mind.  At all.  Now, the roots of the tree I had to sleep on is a different story. My poor bones are still aching from them...The boys played in the woods the entire weekend. They built forts, carved sticks, and started campfires. The only downside was they came home covered in ticks. Click here for tick prevention and treatment. I don't like to use bug sprays that have deet, so we tried some other things to keep the bugs away. It worked as far as controlling the mosquitoes, but the ticks were insane. I probably pulled a dozen out between the two of them. :/I love that all weekend they picked me flowers (bka weeds), mushrooms and made me the best s'mores and marshmallows dirty fingers could allow.We made some yummy campfire cones, and foil chicken packs again. This time I chopped up red, yellow, orange and green peppers, and mushrooms and added them with cubed chicken, a few slices of butter, salt, pepper and oregano. I added some quartered petite golden potatoes and wrapped them in foil to bake next to the campfire. It was pretty yummy. We didn't get a chance to do the chocolate chip bananas or orange cakes like we usually do, but everyone was so full on s'mores and everything else that no one even seemed to notice.I also found these really cute buttons on Etsy and we ordered a set for the four older boys. Shelley, the girl I ordered the pins from was super nice. I didn't realize when I ordered that the buttons were most commonly used for scrapbooking and didn't come with pins on the back. I contacted her and she sent out the pins to pop in the backs immediately. She was so pleasant and I will definitely be ordering from her again.On the last day, I took the boys down to their favorite spot in the woods and 'awarded' them their buttons for all of the skills they used while camping. Compass for not getting lost in the woods, tent for helping pitch and take down the tent, etc. They just loved it. It was adorable. Now that we're home, I promised I'd make them a sash that they could pin them on to hang up in their room. :)The fresh air did us all good. It's so peaceful to just sit and listen to nature and breathe in everything around you. The sky was so blue and the leaves crunching below us was so soothing for the soul.

We took them fishing for a little, even though we didn't have the right bait and knew we wouldn't catch anything. The boys still had fun practicing their casting and hoping to feel a tug on the end of their lines. There was also a little playground that we took a walk to a couple of times. Sprout had the most fun there, I think.

And me. I had quite a bit of fun hanging around the playground, too. ;)Can't wait until next time!!