I arrived home from Germany just in time for our annual campout with Jason & Rachel & Joe & Sarah & families! This is a tradition going back to 2001, before any of us had kids to complicate the packing. Memorable past campouts include 2002 at the yurts in the Adirondacks, with Sarah & I both about ready to pop with Lucy & Ben, and 2005 in Syracuse, when Sarah spent the night at the hospital giving birth to Ava rather than sleeping in a tent as she had planned (clearly, Ava didn't want to miss all the fun!). My personal highlight from this trip was seeing Rachel the size I was at the 2002 campout. We are looking forward to having new little kid(s) at next year's campout, crawling around in the dirt, marveling at insects and splashing in the water. 
Some highlight pictures from this year's campout at Bass River State Forest in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey . . .
Next year we're hoping to host the campout here in Vermont. There are lots of beautiful places to go . . . the Lake Champlain islands, Camp Joseph near the memorial, Allis State Park a few minutes away. Or we could camp in our backyard. We do have swimmable, fishable natural bodies of water (Jason & Joe's requirements) right on the property. And plenty of interesting wildlife in the neighborhood. As of two nights ago, we can add a black bear to the list of animals we've seen in Vermont. He wasn't in our yard, thankfully -- just ambling along the road on his way to the river. Looked like a huge black lab with tree-trunk hind legs. Very cute (from a distance!)
