first family camping trip

over labor day weekend, we went camping in the hocking hills with some friends and their kids, who are also bryn's friends... camping is a lot different with kids than when you are childless and carefree in your 20s. for one, three minivans were barely enough to haul all our stuff, which seems ridiculous even by car camping standards. for two, there are about a million things kids shouldn't do at a campsite (we also had a riverfront site, which was lovely and lots of fun, but further required that we ensure no children tumble down the 15' cliff onto the rocks below), even once you accept the fact that they are going to get filthy and general hygiene is going to be severely limited. of course, these are related because #2 means that you have to bring a bunch of toys from home, which causes #1. third, one parent in each family has to stay sober at all times, should anything happen. and finally, kids do NOT sleep well in tents in the woods.

that said, we had a great time. we went canoeing down the hocking river and had big campfires and lots of s'mores. bryn did pretty well in the canoe, and even managed to get in a 10-minute power nap. we think she had fun, although on the last morning she did keep asking to go home...