Camping Memorial Day Weekend

The gorgeous weather over Memorial Day weekend sparked a desire to go camping and somehow, even though Luke was only 7 weeks old, that didn't discourage us!  He's a trooper and he'll spend most of his youth being drug around to his sisters' activities that we might as well get him into the habit now!  :)  Since Leevi's job has had him travelling sooooo much this past year (and quite a bit the year before) we haven't had many opportunities to take advantage of the 4 day weekends the Army gives him EVERY SINGLE MONTH!  So, with a one-day notice, we scrambled to a pack and Leevi randomly picked a German campsite about 2 hrs from home and we put the minivan to the test again!  :)  

Everything but the kitchen sink!  And I'm not sure how Kai snuck in THREE friends (all of whom came home FILTHY!)

Our campsite for 3 days and 2 nights...it was perfect because we were at the end of the row in our own little cul-de-sac 

The little playground...the sand pit was a huge hit!!!

We made S'mores the first night and as we were headed to bed, we noticed a graham cracker stuck on Leila's nose....crazy dog!!!!!  She is NOT a camper!  Her nerves must have affected her sense of smell!!!

An awesome castle ruins not far from our campsite!!! 

There was a 2nd castle in the distance....they MUST have been friends because how could you let your enemy build so close!!?

Below the castle was a perfect stream to play in!!!

After the castle and the stream we drove a bit down the road to a volcano crater that is now filled with water!  So cool!  We thought we'd be able to swim in it, but the "swim zone" was very crowded and there wasn't any "beach" area....you would basically have to jump right into the deep! 

Kailee's knees brushed against some types of plant and she broke out immediately, BUT thankfully, she didn't mess with it and it went away within the hour!!!

Hailey just HAD to venture down and stick her feet in the water...this was the last picture I snapped before SHE FELL IN!!!!!  She was able to scramble back out by herself by the time Leevi got to her!  She was absolutely terrified but at least now she can say that she went swimming in a volcano!!!!  Smart thinking Leevi had already taken his cell phone out of his pocket and was reaching for the keys and wallet when she fell in! 

A banana boat (modified a bit!)  Banana in it's peel, marshmellows, chocolate chips and peanut butter chips!  YUM!!!

Half of the Kent family joined us for the 2nd day and night!!!  So fun!!!!

You always worry about how the kids will sleep when you travel anywhere.  Luke slept in his bouncer at night and did great napping throughout the day and they all slept in despite the sun coming up super early!  It was soooooo cold at night though!  Leevi and I used our extra blankets to cover up the kids who slept just fine!  I didn't really fall into a deep sleep until Kai snuck into bed with us...she was the perfect snuggle size and I stole all of her warmth!  :) 

Venturing around the campsite the last day while Leevi packed up!

It was an awesome weekend and we can't wait to go again!!!