Camping Trip 2, The Food - the End

When my mom and I got asked about what we were looking forward to camping, we both agreed it was the food.

And now that we are home, we get asked what our favorite part of camping was and we still roll our eyes, get a dreamy look and longingly say "the food".

Let me explain.

Here is exhibit A. Hubby got me this spider legged camping Dutch oven for my birthday just before we left. This was my first time using it. I made peach cobbler and ice cream...the ice cream was just cream. Really, I can make GREAT ice cream...just not when we are camping. Next time, I am just throwing a gallon of vanilla in the freezer for camping.

Anyhow, this cobbler was supposed to take 45 minutes to take by using seven coals under it and eleven coals on it's lid in a checkerboard pattern. My brother - who spent a summer in the state of Wyoming as a guide for hunt trips and well acquainted with cooking in campfires - told me to stick it in coals and pile them on top. But I tried it the book way.

And then I tried it my brothers way.

It took SEVEN hours to get this made...but had we made it my brothers way it would have probably taken just an hour.

I told everyone to they had better like it even if it was awful. They all claimed it was wonderful. Then I didn't know if I believed them. But I had some, and it WAS good.

We tried Oreo S'mores because they were suggested to us. (Tara, this picture is for you.) If one needed a chocolate fix, this would be their s'more.

We don't usually eat S'mores when camping. I'll eat one and then be good for the summer. But we ate at least one of these a night, I'm pretty sure. And since we made it home, I have maybe had one or three or so. The secret, reece's peanut butter cups. Ohhhhhhhh, I may need (another) today.

I will print this picture and look at it in winter to remind me of summer campfires.

This is my brother. He's making breakfast in this picture but he was the brilliant one of us who said "Why don't you bring a grill when you go camping?' and we all looked at eachother and thought, "Why not indeed?" He shook his head in wonderment that we girls survive camping at all and brought his grill.

Then he had an even MORE brilliant idea to have us just chip in a bit of money and he would make ALL OUR MEALS. My mom and I nearly fainted. ALL our meals?

My brother is a very very very very very very very very very very good cook. That may be an UNDERstatement. Honest.

I kid you not, S3 and S4 were sure by the end of camping that their Moma and Oma did not know how to cook at all and if Uncle left, they would surely have to survive on marshmallows alone.

We. Ate. So. Well. I could never ever thank my brother enough!

And here is the thing about camping with my mom and my brother and my sister in law and Egirl and Jr and my boys....it's family. And family like that is wonderful.

I rarely get a chance to hang out with my brother. I see his wife every Thursday and Friday but rarely my brother and it was so nice to just spend time with him. He is a hoot. If I could write the way he tells a story...oh my, I shake my head because I'm not even sure how to put it into words. He is that great of a story teller.

And it's nice to be sitting at the campfire, watching my boys sort their tackle boxes and I say "You know what plastic worms make me think of?" And he chuckles and says "I was just thinking the same thing!" and that's all we have to say.

Camping with family means you aren't worried about making a good impression...no, we've all seen eachother at our very worst and our very best, and we just love eachother.

Camping with my family is the best. The very very very best.

I leave you with a picture and story of the beach. My husband is not a beach person AT ALL. But when we camp our day is breakfast, pack lunch, beach, campsite, shower and then do it all over again. We beach bum it every day. It's so splendid and summer perfect! Husband can't handle this.

But this particular weekend the humidity was 76 percent or some craziness like that. And he came down to the beach and we floated on rafts and laughed with the boys ALL DAY LONG.

I think he got tired of me saying "I love this day so much. It's so perfect with you here. I love you so much! Thank you for coming to the beach with us!"

My husband - and those of you know him will be shocked by this - relaxed. And it was grand. It was one of my happiest memories of summer. All six of us lounging at a lake all day long. Wonderful.

Ah summer, why do you have to end?

Camping Trip 2, The Fishing Side of It

One of the biggest reasons our camping trip was ever so relaxing and fun and a boys dream is because my brother came along.

I adore my brother.

He brought his fishing boat and took the boys out on the various lakes around the campground every morning and night. The boys caught fish and had fun...and...get this...their Uncle MADE them their fish for dinner.

This was unbelievable to them, since their Moma can't eat fish...or even stand the smell of them. I am fish incapable.

But here is yet another reason why my brother is so wonderful...he also cannot eat fish. So he cooked these up for the boys and everyone else and he made him and I pork chops instead.
One morning, as they were leaving to go fishing, I suddenly remembered they didn't have a camera so I hopped out of bed, ran for my sunflower golden bike, jumped on still in my pj's, no contacts - a truly rumpled me - and raced as fast as I could down the path to head them off so they could take my camera.

I missed them.

But then they forgot something so they swung back through and I handed them the camera. And I am glad I did, because I love this picture of S3......
S1 didn't actually catch this fish...but, the little itty bitty fish he DID catch is actually inside of this big fish and when we shot this picture a split second later the little fish hopped OUT OF THE FISH's MOUTH. I cannot make these things up.
S2 was sooooo excited to use a knife and learn how to clean the fish and use a knife. Did I mention he got to use a knife? S3 did not...and you can tell he wants to, badly.
I wish I had gone out on the boat, just to see what is out there on those lakes. But I can't handle the fish part of it well, so I missed out. But the boys, they had more fun than I think I even realize. And they ate lots and lots of fish.

S1's Big Hog (Russian Boar) Hunt with His Uncle

I am turning the blog over to S1 today to tell about the hunt he just got back from with his Uncle D. When I asked him to tell me the story of the hunt for the blog, it went on and on and on for over three pages of typing. Um, I think he may have a bit of his Moma in him for that long of a story. So I asked him to give me a shorter version. This is what I got. Hope you enjoy!

For Christmas my parents booked me a hunt at the Super G Ranch for a Russian Boar hunt. After telling the class at school stories of my to be hunt and looking it up on maps, it finally happened.

February 19th, 2010

I packed up my bags and headed to my uncles to leave at 2:30 in the afternoon. We packed up the truck and headed out. When we got there, you were sure there were animals inside of the fenced in woods because of the two cow Elk as we pulled in. Whne we got done unpacking, we went to a restaurant. I got the all you can eat blue gill.

That night, we watched bear hunting videos and sat around a big table and talked. I tried not to loose any sleep that night although I did fall asleep at around ten.

The next morning, we again sat around the table and talked and then breakfast arrived from the owner's wife. After breakfast, we put on our gear, loaded up the four wheelers and headed off. We went down the trail aways when we saw a great big bull elk, some water buffalo, and buffalo. We kept on going until one of the guys shouted “I saw a head stick up!” We headed down to see the boar. When we finally down there we saw it was nothing but a pot bellied pig. I said “we are not hunting for potbellied pigs but Russian Boars.”

We headed back to the four wheelers and kept on driving. Then we saw a bunch of hogs in some cattails and we accidentally scared them away. So we asked some of my uncle's hunting partners to hop on the quads and drive them our way. We sat over by a big down tree stump that had brought in the dirt on the roots. Then there came the boars, there were about six of them in the group. I kept my gun steady as they charged our way. My uncle said “Don't shoot yet!” They came across the creek right in front of us and they ran right between the two of us. They may have gotten away from us that time but I still got my boar.

We kept on going, we met up with the four wheeler guys, they asked if we saw the boars. We said “we more than just saw them.”

We kept on going and some of the guys who were going to go shoot goats came back and said “there are a couple boars out there. They are just standing still, why don't you go and check them out?”

We drove the four wheelers straight toward the way that the hunters told us to go. We got off the quads and walked over to get a closer look and a better shot right when they were walking away. I tried the old country deer bleat and it didn't stop them. My uncle said “they aren't going to stop to that.” So we immediantly jumped on the quad and headed toward the boars. We stopped at the trail, got off, and right when they were crossing the creek one of them was standing straight up high. That was my chance.

I put the gun on the shooting stick and took aim. The shot was a good 80 yards away. I put the cross hairs right behind the hogs shoulder. I took my shot and it looked good. The hog ran about twenty yards, did a summer sault and there he laid. It was the happiest moment I had ever had. I had shoten my very first big game animal, a wild Russian boar.

It weighed in about 150 to 200 pounds. I can't wait to go back again!