Tony Grove 2019

So wait. You took ten kids CAMPING? ⛺️No. Of course not. That would be crazy. We took nine. (Who would want that incredibly helpful oldest one along anyway?) Hans tripped over roughly one million roots and small bumps — skinning every knee and hand he owns. Repeatedly. Starling won no awards for champion camper her first night of tent sleeping (though she did win one her second night). Summer got every article of clothing I brought her soaked in the lake (and somehow managed to step in two wet mud holes with the only good pair of shoes I packed her BEFORE we even arrived at camp). My tolerance for dirt on kids fell, of necessity, to levels never before known. I wore the same dirt-covered sweatshirt for three days straight (because I didn’t think it would be that cold and I only packed one). And the amount of work before and after is something that will be known by very few in this life. BUT! Wildflowers were everywhere. And cousins in all the surrounding campsites. And Uncle Dave threw something magic on the fire that turned it blue and green. And Mike showed the older cousins how to split wood with an axe, and brought a million kayaks, and had kids making scones at ten at night by lantern light. And Goldie caught a salamander (that I swear was born from the magic fire). So, now that my kids are all bathed, and as soon as the last of the eight loads of laundry it created are finished, and the sleeping bags, pads and tents are all put properly away again, (and Hansie’s knees and palms are mended), I will count this adventure a win. 💯 The end.