Camping!

So, again, it's been a while.  And I don't like it.  But I have learned two important lessons in my absence:
1.) Start complex analysis projects as soon as she gives them out.  Like that day.  Or that hour.  Maybe even that minute.
2.) Do not plan something for each day of the weekend that will most likely take alllllll day.  Even with Thursdays and Fridays for homework, it still doesn't work.
And hopefully with these two lessons learned, I will be back more often.

All that to say, this weekend was really fun.  NES and I went to a baseball game on Friday night!  It was really fun, but the rain delay made it a late night.  And then on Saturday, we hung out with KEB and JB for a lot of the day, which was fun and involved fun baking and games and food.  And then we went to see GE(M)O and TO get married!  Again, fun!  But it made for a crazy weekend.

I mean, it didn't help either that the weekend before this was our annual Labor Day weekend camping trip, so I didn't do much homework then either.  It was a great weekend though, even though it went way too fast.  Why does it always go so fast?!

But NES and I had a great time spending time with our families and relaxing and making food!

We ate dinner one night with mom and dad, who made us wonderful steak tips and potatoes and green beans, plus cucumbers and tomatoes from the garden!  Mmmmm.

Over the fire, even!

And we made pancakes and bacon a couple of mornings.

And bagels with bacon the other.  Of course that's my plate with all the bacon on it.  You'd believe I'd eat that much bacon in one sitting, right?

And then there was NES's amazing discovery: if you saute peppers, shallots, mushrooms and seasonings (multiple types of ground peppers, if you've figured anything out about NES's cooking!), then cook boxed rice pilaf like normal with the veggies in it, it makes a wonderful, easy, one-pot meal perfect for camping.  Not that it isn't good whenever you make it, but everything tastes better camping!

We also had dinner with PLS, GWS and ZNS one evening.  We contributed the fresh kielbasa from the farm down the road and they brought sausages.  With it, we had chips and green beans and spaghetti.  It wasn't complicated, but it was a fun meal!

And of course, amongst other good foods, there were all the evenings by the campfire with moonpies (crescent roll dough baked over the fire with all sorts of good things!), s'mores and sumptuous baked goods from the store downtown.  Amazing.

It was fun to spend some time with my camping pup again!  She loves it so much it exhausts her! 

Only on a Vermont car do you find this.  Isn't it awesome?!

And now I miss camping.  But someday I'll get used to the fact that it's fall again and start living on a schedule again.  And cooking again.  For real.  Or baking.  That too!