Monday, June 21, 2010

Indi Dunes


Last weekend we camped out and hit the beach. Driving up through the Chicago area heading East to Indiana we were followed by a huge dark cloud. It was pretty eerie. We hoped to beat it but it but then we hit traffic and it caught up to us. The rain and wind that followed was fast and hard.

Luckily we made it to the campgrounds without a scratch. The power was out at the local gas station (we managed to get an ice cream cone anyway), limbs were down, and there were deep puddles all around. Although things didn't look too good we were lucky to find a camping spot and so we set up the tent in our homemade ponchos.

The rain let up long enough or us to cook our Dutch oven dinner, make s'mores and brush our teeth. Henry loved it. I don't know if we have ever seen him so animated--he was jabbering, dancing around, making funny faces, and crackin' jokes non-stop. As soon as we were snug in the tent for sleep a big thunder/lightning storm started up and Henry got even more energized (and this was at 11:30 pm). Every time lightning struck he wiggled all over and exclaimed, "Bright!" Todd and I were so tired we fell asleep and sometime later Henry did, too.

In the morning we woke up early and made breakfast--bacon and eggs. It took about 90 minutes. We just couldn't keep a darn fire lit, or get the briquettes hot enough. Yes, it was our first camping trip as a family, but I'd have to say I felt pretty city-slicker-ish at this point. Hopefully by camping more we'll master fire building and delicious meals will turn out in minutes . . .

We cleaned up camp and headed to the beach. Indi-beach. It's the southern part of Lake Michigan and to me it felt much like a California beach. The water was warm, but not salty nor choppy with waves, and the sand was great. The neat part was seeing the faint Chicago skyline across the lake.

Well, we had a ball and have found ourselves a new great get-away. It's only about 2.5 hours NE of us so I'm sure we'll frequent this spot as much as we can--at least every Father's day weekend (our new family tradition). As we were driving home we asked Henry what his favorite part was. He replied, "The sand." And so it was.


He didn't even mind eating a hotdog covered in sand.


Making a mountain and a river


Relaxin'


A great view


Up, up, and away!


Getting buried and watching boats.
Hope to see you again soon, Indi Dunes!

*Maybe I should finally announce that we will be expecting a new baby in November! You might have guessed from the pictures, so I figured now would be a good time to let all you friends out there who we keep updated through our blog. We are very excited! We'll find out in about 3 weeks whether it's a boy or a girl. We're guessing girl, but we'll see! Henry won't tell us. When we ask him he just says, "baby". What a tease.

16 comments:

Stephanie said...

YAY! We are so excited for you! I am betting a girl. :) We are actually not living in Wymount anymore. We are moving to Iowa in 3 weeks. We are excited to have a new adventure. Too bad we will miss you...

Whitney the Wifey said...

Hooray! I am so excited for you!

Erin said...

Oh my heavens! I am so excited for you! I guess I am one of the friends out there who keeps updated through your blog : ) Congratulations, guys! What fun!

danette said...

It looks like it was a lot of fun.
I guessing a boy, only because it would be fun for Eli to have boy cousin close to his age.

So far each on of your siblings has the opposite of what they had first for there second.

Derrek & Rilee said...

Congrats!! That's awesome! I was wondering in those pics of you throwing Henry in the air. You guys look like you have great family adventures.

okbushmans said...

What a fun trip! Take advantage of this one on one time. I miss it, and try to create it. What fun parents!!!

Rachel said...

Congrats, Rach! I can't believe you'll be a family of four!

Lindsey said...

YAY! Congrats to you guys! I'm so excited for you!

The Sabeys said...

Looks like so much fun! And congratulations! I am so happy for you. November is a great time to have a baby!! :)

Katie Lewis said...

Haha. You guys crack me up. I'm glad Todd is wearing that had with his swim suit. Haha. We miss you guys!

And congrats on the new baby! I definitely couldn't tell from the pictures though, if that makes you feel better. :)

Amy said...

Congratulations! I was wondering if something was up when I saw those pictures!! You look great!

Jordan and Jodi said...

YEA! I love these pictures and a new spot...maybe we'll see you there! Thanks for the idea--hope you don't mind! Maybe we should meet up there later this summer??! We aren't so great at cooking while we camp but we can camp pretty well (ok for city-slickers, like you said!). Again congrats on the baby and let us know in 3 weeks! We are anxious to see who Madi's new friend will be!

A and N said...

How fun! That looks like a great trip! Are you guys still planning a trip to St Louis in a couple of weeks? You look so good by the way! WE can't wait to hear what you are having!

sarah e. said...

What a fun trip! And congrats on the baby!! So excited for you. I was wondering if I had missed an announcement...you are a really cute pregnant person. :)

sarah e. said...

P.S. Love your bathing suit! Where did you find it?

Bonnie said...

Congratulations - and it looks like you had a blast!