I will not covet. I will not covet.

Some of you know I'm from Texas. I often don't toot my Texas horn too loudly because I'm not one of "those" Texans (not that there's anything wrong with "those" Texans.... Or maybe there is. But I can't say that out loud because I'm from Texas, and I have to have just a smidgen of loyalty.) Anyway, I'm not sure if it's my Texas roots or what, but I LOVE trucks. Big, huge, shiny trucks. About a month ago, we met my brother and his family (whose kids are fantastic and my kids want to be JUST like--seriously, they actually pretend that they're them and that I'm "Aunt Julie" all the time. Kind of gives me an identity crisis...) And when we drove up to the campground, we saw this



A big, huge, shiny truck, pulling a pop-up camper (have I mentioned my lifelong dream of hauling my children to National Parks all over the US, experiencing the world through camping?! Just have to get the hubby on board...), with a carbon-framed brand- spanking-new road bike in the bed. Oh. My. Goodness. Just throw in an Odyssey and all the worldly possessions I dream about would be in one place. (Oh wait, they DO have an Odyssey-they just left it at home for this trip.) Sigh. And then I look around at my wonderful late '90s Windstar and realize that we're in a pretty great place, too. And if I follow their example and coupon and live frugally in my 20's, maybe when I get in my 30's, we'll be able to afford the pop-up-camper of my dreams. (Or really closer to 40, but who am I to judge? He smoked me when we rode together. And, did I mention that his wet suit fit me?! My BROTHER, who is 10 years older than me, let me borrow his wet suit and it fit. I'm not even going to dwell on how that made me feel. I'll just say he's in great shape and is a triathlon stud and leave it at that.)

These were our accommodations for the weekend (fortunately, my bed was big enough for all three of my kiddos to sleep with me--which is what happened every single night!):


We spent every afternoon enjoying the water and building sand creations:





We cooked over the fire and made yummy s'mores:




And just soaked in some time with some of our favorite cousins:


Brian couldn't go because he had a basketball camp, but my sweet nieces and nephew were incredibly helpful with my little crazies,


except with this little one who wanted to be Mommy's sidekick the entire trip. Oh well--I'm just soaking it in because someday she'll run off with the big kids without a backward glance.


Even though it was a challenge to camp with my three little crazies, it was still SO AWESOME to spend time with family and learn from the camping pros. Thanks for letting us tag along, guys! We think you're pretty amazing! :)