CAMPING

**Disclaimer** For this post, I used a new app on my iphone to download these pics to the blog. Needless to say the photos are HUGE but I promise that I will size them down the next time I use this great app!

The past few weekends have been fantastic for David, McCovey and I. There is just something great about "gettin' out of dodge" and rejuvenating ourselves with the fresh air and beauty that comes from nature!

The majority of our camping experiences have been on the Oregon Coast...with sand, water, wind and rain being largely involved...all I can say is that Texas camping is very different...and so much better!

The beautiful warm weather during the day makes it perfect to hike through the Wichita Mountains, a wildlife refuge full of bison and long horns, followed with evenings of sitting around the campfire in shorts (who knew that was possible)!

We were lucky to have some great friends join us on one of the weekends. Teah has just recently returned from a six month deployment to Afghanistan, so it was a great opportunity to catch up and enjoy her tales from the middle east.

In true Jaspers form, while camping is a rustic activity--we don't believe you have to eat rustic food. Let's just say that there are no hotdogs slapped on a tree branch, stuck in a flame alongside a can of cold pork and beans, nope-- not in this family! We work hard, we play hard, and we eat good food!

A few of the menu items from our camping trips include:

*Appetizers of various cheeses, pears, apples and crackers
*Brats on the grill
*Baked potatoes cooked in the fire
*Caesar salad
*Pasta salad
*Citrus Ginger Chicken and veggie kabobs on the grill
*Garlic mashed potatoes

The chicken was so easy and delicious...I cut it into cubes, marinated and froze it in a Ziploc bag (in it's marinade) before we left. It defrosted perfectly in the ice chest and I skewered it up with veggies that I had precut before we left.

For dessert we devoured s'mores and sipped on cocktails...all the while gazing at the crystal clear Milky Way shooting across the sky.

We feel lucky that Mac does pretty well sleeping on his bed in our tent. Only using his nose to push his way out of the tent to take a quick walk around the campsite....twice.

Soon, the oppressive heat and the incessant bugs will be coming, indicating that our Texas summer is here in full force....until then you will find us taking advantage of the beautiful weather and the gorgeous scenery this perfect spring season continues to provide!