Camp-out Date Night

On Wednesday night, Greg took me on a Camping Date out in the woods.  It's so wonderful to make time to just be "us"; to spend time without the distractions of children, technology, or any other responsibility, and focus on each other.

(Greg taught me how to drive this, although I was a little apprehensive about tipping it or encountering another vehicle on the narrow roads...)

Greg packed up his brother Keith's Polaris Ranger with all of our gear so that we wouldn't have to hike it all in.

Greg showed me how to build a fire.  I was so excited when it actually lit!

Behind the fire, you can see stacks of wood for the next morning, sorted by size to make starting the breakfast fire as simple as possible.  Greg is the most organized person I know.  Sometimes it doesn't drive me crazy.  :-)

We roasted marshmallows, ate snacks, and talked into the night before turning in, using Keith's camping cabin as shelter instead of pitching a tent.

Crucial camping gear: Greg's grandpa's old knife, cooking pots, lots of water, and our little Leica point-and-shoot camera.

Nothing like bacon over a campfire in the morning.

Eggs from Aunt Susie, ready to be turned into breakfast.

Once we had packed up all of our things in the morning, we set up a little shooting range for some target practice, using the 22 that Greg's dad gave him for his 7th birthday.

(We used our sleeping bag roll as a cushion to steady the barrel) 

Our spent brass

Greg shot right through this marshmallow, although I couldn't even graze it.

I wasn't sure that I had even shot this one until we went to retrieve it -- I managed to hit it 5 times all in a cluster!  (Yes, I thought I was awesome.)

We did this little camping trip last year too, and we've decided that we should probably make it a yearly tradition.  It is so refreshing to get away together, even just for a little while.