Happy campers

So...everyone knows by now how terrible I am at eliminating pictures...this post fully illustrates that point. We had a fabulous weekend camping with some friends of ours (James' best friend from childhood and his family) at Westmoreland State Park. We'd never been there before, but we fully anticipate going back in the future!

The boys on our evening hike:

Hike #1 to "fossil beach".
James found the first shark tooth (and won the first campfire marshmallow!)

Tin-foil dinners...that took forever to cook!


S'mores by the campfire...


The kids were a little squirrelly on the first night....full of giggles!

Football...perfect for the weather (and for Yeoanny to show off his "skills"...)

Strategy session:

Every time we walked past this hollow root (which was frequently), Rudy had to stop and check it out. "Who lives in dere?"

Relaxing by the campfire:

Hike #2 to fossil beach. I found 3 sharks' teeth! Brady found one - a mako tooth!

More s'mores...and really gross hands!

All worn out, and sleeping on the picnic table:

All the smiling, happy campers:

Take time to smell the roses

Gangsta

James said these pictures look like the cover of Rudy's future rap album...

Recovery

This is what happens as a result of a fun filled week of activities: aquarium, zoo, playgrounds, mall play areas, museums, dog park, beach, cookie decorating, Big Wheel races...

Camp Oma-Papa

Rudy got to spend a whole week at his grandparents' house. They really kept him busy!

Backyard campfire

What better way to enjoy the crisp fall weather than with a backyard campfire?

Pants really are overrated for campfires...

Art Class

We've been having a lot of fun at art class!

Lots of smiles and giggles...

I love the tongue! I don't know where he gets it either. (It's not like I still do this when I'm concentrating...)

At least Rudy isn't the only one in class with this habit:

So much concentration...

We used joint compound to create the lion's mane.

The hardest part was convincing Rudy to stay within the appropriate lines and shapes for the face, nose, eyes, etc.

And, finally, the finished products:

Worm

One of the "treasures" that Rudy brought back from a week at his grandparents is this worm. It's quite possibly the largest caterpillar I've ever crossed paths with. Not only do we have to feed him, but (being an insanely large caterpillar) we also have to clean out his (insanely large caterpillar) poop. Can I just say ... EEEWWW.

Cindy just pointed out that this "worm" looks exactly like Heimlich from Bug's Life...he does! "I'm a beautiful butterfly..."

Harvest time

I have a feeling we're getting to the end of our garden's productivity. We didn't have quite the same luck as past years with our produce this year, but we still did pretty well. I have several batches of salsa in the freezer from our tomatoes and tomatillos, as well as some fabulous pesto. I think part of the problem was the fact that the tomatoes couldn't seem to make it into the house before being eaten by two little munchkins!

Triathlete!

Brady and James came out to cheer me on in my triathlon this weekend. The weather was beautiful, the water was warm, and I surprised myself by finishing in 1 hour, 44 minutes. (My goal was 1. to finish, 2. to finish still running, and 3. to finish before they closed the course after 2.5 hours!)

Brady was a great cheerleader - waiting with applause and high fives every time I transitioned.

...and then we went to Busch Gardens after and walked all afternoon...
...and now we're going for a hike...

I'll sleep well tonight :)