I'm ba-aaack! With great camping stories

I'm so sorry that I've been gone for so long, but it's been so busy, I hardly know where to start.

First, I've got a new major client and that always takes a lot of time to get them up and running. Another client has been very busy, so that usually means that I'm going to be busy. Then, the kids being home in the summer keeps me hopping as does Tim, who has been working hard as well.

The good news--aside from all my great clients--is that we got to get away as a family over the weekend camping. We went to Big Foot State Park in Lake Geneva, which I highly recommend to anyone who doesn't care for completely rugged wilderness camping. We had a terrific time. The kids were true sports, really pitching in. Isabel, the oldest, kept asking me how she could help. We always have a good time together and this weekend was no different. Eden was also a lot of fun. She and I went for a walk along the lakeshore walking path and it cracked me up how this 7-year-old walks like a 30-year-old power walker. I had a hard time keeping up (I was attached by leash to our dog) and she's just walking along, looking around and keeping up a pretty constant chatter about which houses, boats and gardens she likes. It was fun! Colin and his dad got a lot of quality time together, too (as did the girls, but it seems to be critical to Colin's wellbeing--he gets jealous when Tim takes time out for the girls one-on-one).

The other fun part was cooking together. The children always offered to help. The menu had to be creative to fit with my 'Eating Real Food' diet. They didn't even seem to notice. I had one rule, and that was we had to cook everything over the fire (and we did except the first night because we arrived at about 9 p.m.). Everything with an asterisk was not on the diet, but was considered essential by the kids. I had very little.

Friday night:
Cheeseburgers
Cream cheese and onion dip
Potatoe chips *
Sliced cucumbers

Saturday

Breakfast
Scrambled eggs and cheese
Bacon
Cherries

Snack
Apples and cheese

Lunch
Sandwiches on sour dough bread
Potatoe salad
Chips and dip*

Snack
Watermelon

Dinner
Turkey brats
Pesto Pasta Salad with peas *
Tomatoe slices

Sunday

Breakfast
Blueberry buttermilk pancakes with whipped cream
Sausage
Fruit

Lunch
Real hot dogs
Potatoe salad
Pasta salad

Dinner
Fish (fresh caught) steamed
BBQ chicken
Green beans
Roasted potatoes

Jiffy pop *

Breakfast
Bagels and cream cheese*
Fruit

Lunch (at a restaurant in Delavan)
Chopped chicken salad
Corn soup

I wasn't perfect, but it was pretty fun and the kids had a great time helping to cook. No one said they didn't like the food (and if they did, they ended up trying it and loving it anyway). Fun! Of course, Tim chowed down and, for once, I didn't eat as much as I usually do. Yay!