a weekend out

Photos. Oh the photos! The hundreds of photos that fill my camera documenting all of the fun our little family had this past holiday weekend.

Heading up north. Hiking trails. Walking the creek. Picnicking in the perfect shady spot beside the creek. Tenting out in the backyard. Every meal cooked over the open campfire (So extremely yummy.) Breakfast with friends visiting from Wisconsin. Admiring our neighbor's big firework display from the comfort of our own front yard.

It was one of those lovely, wonderful, please-don't-end-too-soon weekends. 

And I learned a couple of things this weekend as well...

One ~ The forest of Western PA sounds like a tropical rain forest in the middle of the night. I didn't know so many birds were awake all night long. Sleep came a bit hard that night, but the upside of that was being awake to listen to a beautiful bird symphony. And it surprised me how tropical the whole symphony sounded. It was very enjoyable, snuggled up under several down blankets as the air had a bit of a nip to it that night.

Two ~ Food tastes the best over an open fire. Really truly. Brad rigged a grate and fire ring together at the last minute so we could cook more than just some measly hot dogs and s'mores over the fire. (I love my man's handiness.) And we took advantage of that! Marinated chicken breasts and baked potatoes for dinner. Pancakes, eggs, bacon, and toast for breakfast. And, of course, we did the fun, easy treat of hot dogs and s'mores. Open-fire cooking is my new favorite way to cook! I was so thankful for the few pieces of cast iron I own, and this weekend inspired me to add some new pieces to my little collection.

Three ~ Days (and nights) spent outdoors translate into a sinkful and counterful of dirty dishes. Well, in our case, anyway. We cooked out, but I still had made side dishes and such. And into the sink those dirty dishes went. I could have stayed inside and spent the hour washing and drying and putting away, but think of all of the fun I would have missed. So I left them. I gave myself permission to leave the dirty dishes for the sake of being able to savor every single moment with my husband and children.

Four ~ Tenting in the backyard has to be one of the most convenient ways to camp. I can't even tell you how many trips I made from our little "campsite" back to the house to grab this or that. Yep, I think I'll stick to tenting in the backyard. 

And as a little side note, I read this article over the weekend, and now the wheels of my mind are working.