6 blissful years

E and I celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary last weekend (7/27). We spent time with friends (Ted and Jennifer) whose anniversary is on the same weekend. Each year they throw a huge party to celebrate and we usually don't get to go...because we generally like to spend our anniversary in a bit more romantic fashion. Anyway, we thought camping would be good fun, so we spent Saturday afternoon and night camping about 30 minutes from our house.

What you should know is that Jennifer is a personal chef. That means that we weren't eating chili from a can. What we did have was beer can chicken basted with something ridiculously yummy, a lamb roast rubbed with rosemary and lavender, and the masterpiece, a pork roast that was spiked with garlic and rosemary and rubbed with smoked paprika. It was amazing. The pork and the lamb were roasted over a spit that they brought with them. These are not "ultra-light" campers by any means. :)

Sooooo good. The smells wafting off of these things made the vegetarian among us pause to take it in.

Nothing like a chicken with a beer can stuck in its tuchas (it was Rainier, in case you were wondering).

The sides were perfect compliments, a tabouli-like salad made with bulgar, a cheese ravioli salad, and my favorite, a roasted vegetable salad.

My niece, Miss O, was there for her first camping experience. Though they didn't sleep over, her little brother was at home feeling under-the-weather, O and her mom did all of the requisite camping things. We roasted hotdogs on sticks, went for a hike by the river, set up tents (and some of us took naps in them), made s'mores and sat around the fire chatting. All-in-all, a good first experience for Miss O.

This was a lovely, spontaneous victory stance from Miss O. I have no idea what she's celebrating, but wanted to document it just the same.

My boys, Mel and E. Mel morphs into a mountain goat whenever we are negotiating precarious rocks. He scrambles over them like a pro...this is unfortunate for the poor soul who holds the leash and tries to keep up.

On Sunday, our actual anniversary, we ended up taking a 3.5 hour nap...aparently we are out of practice as sleeping in our tent. Regardless, it was a memorable weekend. Thanks to Ted and Jennifer for including us in their celebration and helping to make ours. Happy anniversary, Honey.