The camping trip

   Over spring break the boys and I went camping with my dad in his new camper. We met back in my hometown in Kansas, and then headed down to Osage Hills State Park outside of Bartlesville, OK. I have to say, it was really nice setting up that camper. I am a tent camper by nature, so simply getting out of the car and making a few simple connections was pretty nice compared to finding a level spot, unfolding the tent, and putting everything together for an hour. Osage Hills is a great park. There are rock bluffs, a lake, waterfalls along a creek. There was also a playground and ball field for the kids to check out.
    We decided to go on a hike to see the waterfalls. It was good exercise for the kids, since we hadn't done much hiking since leaving Montana. Hiking with kids is interesting. You're either being the parent and telling them not to run so they don't trip over a rock or root, or waiting because they found something cool to investigate. It's fun to see them get so excited when they make a new discovery out in nature. The boys wanted to do two things that weekend: play in the water, and make smores. Luckily, the creek wasn't running hard, so they got to wade in the water. They forgot to put their socks in their shoes when they took them off, and when we returned to them, we realized the wind blew the socks into the creek and they had disappeared. They didn't seem to mind, though.

    That evening, we made smores in the camper. It was incredibly windy...way too windy to safely have a campfire. We improvised and used the burners on the stove in the camper. I thought it was lame, but they could have cared less.  Once they got their smores in their hands, nothing else mattered. It's one of the great things about still having small kids. It doesn't take much to impress them right now. Stick you feet in the water and eat a smore, and all is right with the world.