MIA?

No, just in the midst of our household's busiest summer month.


Some people shop till they drop...we vacation till we drop. Hee hee. (That's the way it feels when you've got little ones. Can I get an amen?)


In all seriousness though, we've been very grateful for these special times away. I posted earlier about our beach vacation. Last weekend all of my dad's side of the family that are located in PA converge on a little Christian camp in Halifax, PA. It's a tradition that started back in '75 and has been faithfully attended every year except in '80 when my grandmother passed away.


So, it'd be accurate to say I grew up camping...literally.


Now, something you should know about the Stauffer family when it comes to this tradition: it's virtually an artform. I'm not kidding. :o)


When my dad, uncles, and grandfather put their heads together, they've got the technical trades covered. When you consider that all meals are prepared for the 30+ group over the fire, you can count on the men to engineer a fire ring fit for a chef. Even the seating arrangements for each meal are ensured to be dry due to the massive system of tarp strewn overhead. We've come to affectionately term our sites a "tarp and tent village".

A few more things about our camping tradition:

*You can trust the Stauffers to make a game out of anything and everything.


*The aunts plan the meals, the uncles cook it...for the most part.


*Sunday morning, after breakfast, is sharing time. This is one integral part of our weekend together--a time to share our joys, sorrows, and challenges in the past and/or upcoming year.


*Togetherness.


*Gettin' dirty. We work and play hard in this family!


*It's rain or shine. My aunts still talk about the weekend there was torrential rainfall and the creek our tents were pitched beside was flooding. They recall how hard it was to sleep, certain we were going to float away in the middle of the night. I recall how my cousins and I played in (and I mean IN) in the mud puddles.




Once again I was busy with a baby and forgot to take pictures. BUT, my cousin took some really great shots and shared them with all of us. They are in the next post. ENJOY!