Back to civilization

Our third and final camping trip of the summer was a success. We had a great campsite right on Little Pond.

As the name suggests, it's a small pond in the Catskills (I almost typed "Adirondacks" out of habit). No motorized boats allowed -- just occassional people passing by in canoes, kayaks or row boats.

Nolan loved going to the edge of the water and throwing rocks in. He also got to do a lot of fishing. We got a nibble at one point, but he got away. At one point we could see a fish in the clear, shallow water swimming right around our hook, but he wasn't falling for it. We were getting excited and Nolan declared, "I love that fish, but I can't hug him -- he's too slippery!"

Thomas enjoyed himself too. I think he really progressed with his walking while we were there. He kind of hit a turning point. Since the trip, I think it's safe to say he's walking more than crawling now.

We were there from Sunday afternoon through Tuesday morning. Sunday we set up camp and just hung out. Monday we spent the morning hiking around the pond, had a picnic lunch next to the pond, did a lot fishing and playing catch in the afternoon, and then Kris -- ever the outdoorswoman -- built a great, roaring fire that night (smores for everyone!). Tuesday morning we packed up and came home.

The only downside to our trip was that we found out just a few days before we left that my brother Tim was going to be in town Monday night. Tim lives in Chicago and we don't get to see each other very often. I was bummed that we missed him, but then it all worked out in the end. It turned out Tim was still in town Tuesday night. So we were able to see him over at mom's house after all.

Wednesday was spent unpacking and catching up with a few things around the house. Today it was back to work. Now you're all caught up. :-)