Mia's Throne

I was a little nervous about taking Mia camping, but once she learned how to lounge in the chairs...it was all cake!



She always managed to snag the nicest, most comfortable chair.

And then she's position herself to get the maximum sunshine.



She was initially relegated to this little chair before H showed up with the rest of our chairs.



Toes and tail hanging off..it was a wee bit too small.



She only knocked it over (fell off??) a few times before mastering a new, important skill.



She'd get situated just so perfectly and then..



...suddenly be distracted by a bird or a bug and get all catwywompus again.



And finally just went to sleep...



All in all, Mia did great camping! I'm certain Zoe enjoyed spending time alone with my parents and being Mia-free for a few days.

Photos taken ~May 1, 2010 Mia 11 months old

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: My first free Saturday in AGES- no hubby, no work, no chores, no parties...just going to relax and get caught up!

McKinney Falls

The highlight of our camping trip was the actual trip to McKinney Falls. We hung out at the lower falls & were lucky enough to have the place almost to ourselves when we arrived around lunch time.

The water was still a little bit chilly & you needed to work yourself in slowly....and not be splashed by a crazy-running puppy.



Mia had a BLAST there...we were able to let her off leash when nobody was around and she swam like a fish and was pointing at things left and right.



Rowdy even perked up quite & was swimming and fetching his Frisbee.



The rock game is always great fun- dogs will chase the rocks around for ages.



Mia would put her whole head underwater at times looking for rocks.



The Frisbee is her new favorite toy & we threw it endlessly at the falls.



It didn't take long for more and more people to come wandering out and ruin our little peaceful oasis.



Mia and Kiran kept each other entertained just beautifully...Kiran liked splashing and Mia liked catching the splashes.



Love how Mia is mid-prance and Kiran is mid-run.



The guys sat around chatting and drinking....it was a great time!



The kids entertained themselves and I took photos....all was well for a while.



Mia was having a blast...I need to get her out more into nature and interacting with fun dog stuff.



It didn't take long for all the crowds to show up, including a few groups of girl scouts.



We headed out, but stopped by the river a bit further up to check out where we'd stopped last time.



Don't get many pictures of me and the dog, so I'll take this one- bad hair and soaking wet dog in all.



The riverbed leading down to the falls is an unusual solid rock surface that can be a bit tricky in wet flip flops. I'm so glad we had such a blast hanging out at the falls and a great time with our friends in perfect weather. It's death-heat of summer time & will be the fall before we can get out camping again.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Headed to Vermont tonight- a new state for my Life Travel Log & & I'm very excited!

Camping McKinney Falls SP

A few weekends back, we went with some of our friends to McKinney Falls State Park for a weekend of camping. Nothing like catching people making funny faces!



Mike brought his son Kiran & he was so adorable.



We'd reserved to spots, but set up all 3 tents around the same area so we could all hang out.



On a non-camping day, hubby would never be caught dead in a shirt this wrinkled.



We had some crazy Texas spring weather & we couldn't decide if it was going to be hot or cold or sunny or rainy.



Mike & Kiran made breakfast on Saturday & he even helped with the dishes.



Kiran kept begging somebody to play horseshoes with him & H finally obliged him to a mini-game.



5 adults...3 dogs...1 kid = tons of fun!



Piccar was a strange dog & Mike tried his best to keep her chilled out.



We left Zoe at home to hang out with the 'rents & Mia did pretty well on her 2nd camping trip.

After horseshoes, Kiran wanted to play checkers & suckered H into playing.



Somebody gave Kiran an "emergency whistle" for his big camping trip & we had to teach him to use it *ONLY* in an emergency.



It was perfect weather- cool enough to even wear pants on Saturday morning.



Breakfast was so good, Mike took a little mid-morning nap.



As the sun came out, we went to check out the falls & saw an awesome field of flowers on the way.



Macho, macho men!



Mike is a great dad & Kiran is super sweet.



Even got a shot of us!



Mia wanted in on the flower-photo action too.



Back at the camp, we played our favorite game, Catch Phrase.




Kiran was awesome at the game- there were thing that were way over his head or before his time & he still managed to find a way describe them somehow.



It's like a hot potato drinking game....good times all around!



H is very animated when the plays...it's super cute.



There were hundreds of butterflies all around & they were a constant hazard to my glass of wine.



Mia joined in the circle was interested in everything we were doing.



Mark was in charge of dinner & cooked up some mean burgers and hot dogs.



H caught a little afternoon nap....



Mark even brings chili for the dawgs...



Speaking of dogs, this puppy was sad when the trip was over & she had to go home.

GOOD NEWS OF THE DAY: Found a spot for a future girls dinner- Charlottesville, VA is a super cute little town.