Happy campers

I can't believe that it's been two years since our last camping trip. We just got back from another great trip, once again organized by the amazing Jane. This time, we went to Rancho Cuyamaca State Park, which is only an hour away from our house. I will fully admit that camping is not my favorite way to spend a vacation, but if I'm going to do it, this is definitely the best way. Close to home for only a couple nights with lots of friends - what more could we ask for?

Camp at sunset - love my new camera!

Jack was so excited to go camping. It was all he could talk about for weeks once we told him we were going.

"It's going to be funner than a sister!" he told me.

That's really saying something.

San Diego had been socked in by June gloom for most of the summer. Of course, the sun chose last week to come out in all its glory. It was pretty hot at the campgrounds, although the heat was mitigated by shady trees and a nice breeze. On Saturday, we kept cool by splashing in the cold waters of nearby Green Valley Falls.

Chunky thighs and tiny toes in the water

Other fun activities included celebrating three of our friends' fourth birthdays, digging in the dirt, going on a little adventure with the intrepid Melody and six kids, a potluck dinner, and roasting marshmallows for s'mores (Jack's first). There was a lot of good clean dirty fun.

Night 1: Birthday cupcakes

Night 2: S'mores

The campgrounds where we stayed were really nice. There were clean bathrooms and relatively few bugs after we learned to avoid the fire ants. Having two kids made this trip more work than I remembered from the last time. But we were also joined by more friends this time - 18 adults and 16 kids! - so that made it really fun.