Over Memorial Day weekend we headed up north into the Upper Peninsula to camp near Tahquamenon Falls. We stayed at the Lower Falls campground and we had a wonderful time. It was a little chilly, but otherwise the weather was perfect (no rain!!).
One of the nice parts of the campground was a gorgeous, new playground that the kids loved. We camped with our friends Dan and Sandra and their daughter Lorelei, and we all enjoyed the campground and the playground. Below is a rare Drew smiling picture initiated by the playground slide.
Kate is fearless on the playground. She couldn't walk consistently at this point (she walked EVERYWHERE the day we got back from all the dirt of the campground, that little weasel), but that didn't stop her from scampering all over the play structure. We're going to need to keep an eye on her because she seems a bit lacking in the self-preservation instinct.
We were able to go for a hike one day, which might not seem like a big deal, but it was a momentous occasion for me. Last fall when I was in the midst of multiple knee surgeries, hiking didn't seem like a future option. On our hike, I managed to hike several miles over difficult terrain while pushing Drew in the jogging stroller. We were thrilled and grateful for the healing that I've experienced. In the picture below we are standing near the lower Tahquamenon Falls. The water was high and the falls were roaring. We could hear them all night in the campground.
Dan and Sandra also stopped for a picture with Lorelei. As you can see by the hats on the kids, it was a bit chilly outside.
The area around the lower falls was beautiful (pictured below). It was a wonderful spot to spend the weekend!
Kate was everywhere on the campsite and without walking, she was literally crawling in the dirt. In an effort to keep her moderately clean, we set out a tarp for her to play on. She did a pretty good job of staying on it. 
For the trip we rented a 2009 Ford F150 supercab. It was a lot of fun to drive and it served our needs perfectly for the trip. Drew loved it (I got a kick out of it too) and he wanted to drive it. In the picture below, he's wearing his fire helmet while "driving" the truck. 
You can tell Jana and I are into more fuel efficient vehicles because Drew kept on calling the truck a "monster truck." He was all excited in the photo below about driving a "monster truck." We enjoyed renting this vehicle, but it is not a vehicle we're interested in owning :)
Dan and Sandra also stopped for a picture with Lorelei. As you can see by the hats on the kids, it was a bit chilly outside.
The area around the lower falls was beautiful (pictured below). It was a wonderful spot to spend the weekend!
Kate was everywhere on the campsite and without walking, she was literally crawling in the dirt. In an effort to keep her moderately clean, we set out a tarp for her to play on. She did a pretty good job of staying on it. 
For the trip we rented a 2009 Ford F150 supercab. It was a lot of fun to drive and it served our needs perfectly for the trip. Drew loved it (I got a kick out of it too) and he wanted to drive it. In the picture below, he's wearing his fire helmet while "driving" the truck. You can tell Jana and I are into more fuel efficient vehicles because Drew kept on calling the truck a "monster truck." He was all excited in the photo below about driving a "monster truck." We enjoyed renting this vehicle, but it is not a vehicle we're interested in owning :) 
We discovered on our trip that Kate loves to be up on my shoulders. Every time we put her up there she'd break out into a grin. You'll notice that there aren't many camping pictures of Jana . . . that's because she doesn't like to have her picture taken while camping. I'll have more of her in the future.
Dan was kind enough to attempt to teach Drew paddle ball. Drew's not too good at it yet (he's terrible), but Dan was very patient with him as he missed again and again.
Kate is sitting on our little fire engine toy, which was the hit of the trip. The children had tons of fun riding on it.
Lorelei would get on the fire engine behind Kate and they would scoot around. 
Kate would also get on the fire engine and Lorelei would push her around the campsite. As you can tell, Kate enjoyed it just a little bit.
I've got a number of pictures of Lorelei pushing Kate because they were so cute playing together. Lorelei was very good at pushing Kate around and Kate enjoyed riding.
Before we left the area we also checked out the upper Tahquamenon Falls. Those falls have a larger vertical drop and again there was a lot of water coming down that river!
Drew wore his fire helmet for a lot of the weekend. He was fascinated by the waterfalls and even remembered to tell everyone at daycare about the waterfalls he had seen during the weekend. He's still working though on properly saying "Tahquamenon." That's a mouthful!
Kate didn't want to be held and enjoyed walking around the trail to and from the falls. 
The drive to and from the Upper Peninsula went pretty well. We had some interesting moments (e.g. an unsuccessful peeing attempt by Drew on the shoulder of I-75), some normal, quiet moments (like below), and some moments when both kids were not happy about being cooped up in the car. All in all though, it was very smooth. We got Drew a "Where's Waldo?" book and he LOVED flipping through the pages and studying the illustrations for the hidden objects. He sat for hours engrossed in his book. 
Kate didn't have much to do, but she also enjoyed some "reading." She sat for long stretches of time reading to herself out loud. It was so cute to hear her babble in the back seat!
Dan was kind enough to attempt to teach Drew paddle ball. Drew's not too good at it yet (he's terrible), but Dan was very patient with him as he missed again and again.
Kate is sitting on our little fire engine toy, which was the hit of the trip. The children had tons of fun riding on it.
Lorelei would get on the fire engine behind Kate and they would scoot around. 
Kate would also get on the fire engine and Lorelei would push her around the campsite. As you can tell, Kate enjoyed it just a little bit.
I've got a number of pictures of Lorelei pushing Kate because they were so cute playing together. Lorelei was very good at pushing Kate around and Kate enjoyed riding.
Before we left the area we also checked out the upper Tahquamenon Falls. Those falls have a larger vertical drop and again there was a lot of water coming down that river!
Drew wore his fire helmet for a lot of the weekend. He was fascinated by the waterfalls and even remembered to tell everyone at daycare about the waterfalls he had seen during the weekend. He's still working though on properly saying "Tahquamenon." That's a mouthful!
Kate didn't want to be held and enjoyed walking around the trail to and from the falls. 
The drive to and from the Upper Peninsula went pretty well. We had some interesting moments (e.g. an unsuccessful peeing attempt by Drew on the shoulder of I-75), some normal, quiet moments (like below), and some moments when both kids were not happy about being cooped up in the car. All in all though, it was very smooth. We got Drew a "Where's Waldo?" book and he LOVED flipping through the pages and studying the illustrations for the hidden objects. He sat for hours engrossed in his book. 
Kate didn't have much to do, but she also enjoyed some "reading." She sat for long stretches of time reading to herself out loud. It was so cute to hear her babble in the back seat!
We thoroughly enjoyed camping, but it was a lot of work with two small children. We were happy to get home for some rest! :)
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