Shenandoah National Park

For the past six years we have gone camping over Memorial Day weekend to Shenandoah National Park.

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Every year we camp at Big Meadows. It is one of our favorite campgrounds because it is very grassy and has lots of trees for shade. The boys look forward to this weekend every year. They enjoy sleeping in the tent, helping Dad build camp fires, roasting marshmallows, hiking, walking down to the Big Meadow and enjoying an ice cream cone from the camp store and not to mention looking for bears and all the other wildlife.

Ryan and I enjoyed being together as a family without all of the distractions you get when you are at home. We treasured the time we spent with our boys.

This year Matthew mastered the art of roasting a marshmallow. They were perfect all the way around. He was very pleased and was very willing to roast anyone a marshmallow who wanted one. For the second year in a row he helped Ryan build the log cabin and light the matches for the campfires. Once we had a fire, he kept a good eye on his little brothers to make sure that they didn't get to close to it. He loved going on the hikes and especially enjoyed being able to explore off the trails.

Christopher enjoyed hiking with his big brother. On our hike back up from the waterfall, Christopher found this huge rock and decided to carry it up the steep hill back to the starting point of the hike. The reason why he carried it was because he wanted to throw it in the river at the top and watch it splash. I had a good chuckled because this rock was big and heavy and he insisted on carrying it to the top. He wasn't afraid at all to go up to this buck, just so he could have his picture taken by it.

Joshua loved running around without his shoes on. It seemed like every time we looked over he had taken his shoes off. The second day was understandable because his shoes were wet. Earlier in the day he had ran under the road in a water drain pipe with his big brothers. Joshua loves to keep up with his big brothers. He tries so hard to do everything that they do. The picture doesn't do it justice, but the boys and Ryan did a little rock climbing up to this high rock. Joshua sat on top of the rock, just like his big brothers. Earlier on a different hike he was afraid to climb up on a wall to have his picture taken.

Thomas loved being outdoors and enjoyed the freedom of being able to wander around. He was very fascinated by the things on the ground. He enjoyed sitting in the backpack, but was thrilled to walk for part of the hikes.

On the way home this year, we stopped and visited Luray Caverns. We have wanted to do it for years, but have never done it. The caverns were amazing and the boys were in Awe. Our favorite part of the cave was Dream Lake. The water was like glass and it reflected the ceiling.

We had a great weekend together making memories that will last a lifetime!