Soaking in the Hot Springs and Camping

I really look forward to our Dennis Family Camp Out every year.  I feel so lucky to have such a fun and close family.  We always end up having a great time.  This year, we just hopped a few miles north to Crystal Hot Springs.  It was so nice to only have to drive for a half and hour.  We didn't even need to bust out any snacks in the car!  Close camping is pretty fantastic.

The campground wasn't really anything to write home about.  But, it is really the people, not the place that make the experience.  And we have some great people!  Cord got camp set up in a jiffy and we were ready to rock and roll.  Libby was chomping at the bit to get over to the pools.  She is a water girl.  We had a very delicious gourmet dinner (provided by me! HA!) and then we headed down to the hot pools.  Man oh, man.  I like a hot pool.  You can just sit and relax and not get too cold or too hot.  There were certain creepy individuals also using the facilities, and we did at times question the sanitation of the place, but overall it was delightful! 

After our soak we had a fire, and smores, and all that camping goodness.  There are train tracks that pretty much border the campground and the train drivers must glean oodles of pleasure from blasting their horn the entire time they pass by, even in the middle of the night!  Wowzers.  It was loud.  Jenn was smart and packed ear plugs.  I am an expert at falling back to sleep, so it wasn't too bad.  Libbers slept in Grandma's tent, so she felt pretty special.  I got to snuggle with Natters, so I felt pretty special too.  I love waking up to cute little dirty camping faces in the morning!

We spent all day on Saturday at the pools.  Libby refused to wear a life jacket and she held her own really well.  I think I enjoyed eating my popsicle under the umbrella most of all!  The hot pools weren't quite as enticing in the heat of the day!  We used the cool ones, mostly.  

After we had worn our bodies completely out, we headed back to camp for dinner, games, a fire, some cobbler, and a little singing along to the guitar.  Great memories for sure.

Gage liked walking around with the fire roasting sticks.  Luckily everyone survived without getting stabbed.  Natty and Ben are always so cute together.  The hunted kittens with their flashlights in the evenings.  There were two kittys that liked to eat our scraps at camp.  The kids loved them!

I only took a few pictures, but I think my kids will always remember they had a great time camping with their cousins!