Camping in the Rain

My family is fun, and that's all there is to it. My siblings and I know how to have fun at all times. Yesterday, my mom said--and I quote, "The kids in our family know how to have fun. They may not have the best judgement, but they can make anything fun!" This is true. (Except the judgement part. I'm pretty sure we have excellent judgement, which is why we can have fun all the time.) Our extended Nielson family, however, does not know how to have fun, so we had to teach them how to have fun, even when it was raining:

(Rainbow photo courtesy of my brother and his super-cool iphone. That's right, his iphone.) We tore up some muddy trails, got scared by thunder, played frisbee, shot off water rockets, went on nature walks, had treasure hunts, got into marshmallow and water wars, swung in hammocks, ate nigh to bursting, and played all sorts of fun games. I saw some huge cougar tracks (the closest I've come yet to fulfilling my dream of meeting a cougar in the wild) and saw a wild turkey with quite the brood (I counted 9 babies! Can you see them?) It was so much fun!

Plus, we got to camp in the rain, which always sends tingles down my spine. I love the sound of thunder and rain pattering on the tent roof is a-mazing! One day it rained for hours and hours, so Kirk, the baby and I got to kick it in our tent by ourselves. Pepper was so snugly and we just chillaxed and napped and cuddled...it was perfect!