So back in June my friend, Danika Humphreys, and I were comparing our bucket lists of things we wanted to do before leaving Indiana (they are 3rd year EM residents too), and we both realized that visiting the Indiana Dunes and Lake Michigan was on our lists. She had already made campsite reservations for the second week in July, and once I realized Bo had those same days off too, a party was born!
We headed up to the Dunes on the 9th of July and came home on the 11th. We were wanting to stay at the State Park Campgrounds, but we couldn't get any campsites next to each other. Danika found this backwoods campsite instead, and I'm so glad we went there! It wasn't as organized a place as the State ones are, but it was very private and we had lots of space to ourselves.
The kids were in heaven there! They absolutely loved the whole trip. Camping was fun. We traded off on breakfasts, did KFC the first night since we were late getting there, and did tin foil dinners the other night. We played, chatted, ate, and relaxed. The best part about where we were, were the fireflies!! They were EVERYWHERE. They were so fun. The kids had a blast catching them and watching them light up. I remember at one point going into my tent and seeing like ten of them. Carter had "thoughtfully" caught some for our tent so we could have light at night. :) Thankfully they were super easy to catch and get out. The fireflies were so pretty. In the dark-dark they looked like smatterings of lightning everywhere. Yeah, the kids spent hours playing with them, and I mean hours. Derrick and Parker had a blast playing in the puddles and throwing things in the puddles. Megan and Layna pretty much played "house" in the tents. Girls. I love them. Carter and Luke caught fireflies, examined other bugs, and caught more fireflies. Heaven, that's what it was.
So on the 10th was the day we went to the beach. We stayed there for about 6 to 7 hours. The kids played and played and played. Carter and Luke spent most of their time in the water. Megan and Layna played mostly in the sand, and Derrick enjoyed having me make sand castles just so that he could immediately stomp them out. We seriously did just that for like 2 hours.
I made sure I had those kids layered in sunblock, so no one, but me of course, got burned! I felt like that alone made for a successful day at the beach! :) We had so much fun, but I did remember just why I'm glad I don't live in Galveston anymore. Man I hate sand. It gets EVERYWHERE. The worst was eating. I almost gagged every time I started chewing sand. bleh. Kids didn't seem to notice. The joys of childhood. :)
LATE that afternoon we headed back to the campsite to start dinner and rinse off. After a good rinse off, the kids went back to playing house, playing with puddles, and catching bugs. The adults relaxed. It was a great evening, UNTIL Derrick accidently brushed his leg against the side of the fire pit....that had a good fire burning in it. Oh my baby. He got burned bad. Really bad. I thank my lucky stars that at least he didn't fall in!! I can only say what a wonderful blessing it was to have 2 Emergency doctors there camping with me! I knew that they would know what to do. Bo inspected while Dan went and got bandages and antibiotic ointment and tape from his car. Danika even had Tylenol. I'm ashamed to admit that I wasn't prepared at all. I didn't even think to pack that stuff! We got Derrick drugged up, bandaged up, and then he just rested in my lap before going to sleep early. I am so sad that this happened to my baby (MAN that kid is accident prone!!!!), but I'm glad that it happened AFTER our trip to the beach and not the day before!
So yeah, after more s'mores and Dutch Oven chocolate cake, we all headed to bed. We were all beat from a day in the sun.
The next day we slept, ate a yummy breakfast, and then packed up and headed for home. We were tired. But hey! We got another item checked off the bucket list, and it was an absolutely WONDERFUL trip. The weather was perfect, the food yummy, and the company was the best. We love the Humphreys and our kids are just perfect for and with each other.
Yeah for fun family trips!
No comments:
Post a Comment