1. The King (who left @TJMaxx in a Rolls Royce), 2. Playing with new instagram interface (& my camera, obviously), 3. Cheetos & camping, 4. S’mores in the making, 5. Campfire (we’re stuffed with s’mores), 6. Sunday morning services

If you think having the last name Camp makes you natural-born campers, you’d be wrong. We have never—I repeat never—been camping as a family until this past weekend, and hard-core campers would laugh in the face of our camping (how many times can I use a form of “camp” in this paragraph?).

We went with friends to a local gated campground; watched the kids play in the lake; picked up Moe’s for supper; sat around a fire and toasted marshmallows for s’mores; and then settled down in both a fancy horse trailer for the kids (hardwood floors and a big bed) and a second camper for the adults that was nicer than the first apartments where we lived. I’ve always suspected I’m too high-maintenance for serious camping and this certainly wasn’t the opportunity to test it, but it was a perfect intro to camping for our family.

Our 10-year-old son didn’t want to go home, so he hid the fact that he was sick until he threw up on the floor of the kids’ camper at bedtime. That obviously spilled those beans. Unfortunately, it was just the beginning of a bug that’s been passed among our kids. This week’s been a rough combination of illness and guinea pigs dying (all 3 in just over a week).

I’m hoping to shake it off in time to take my 16- and 10-year-old boys on our homeschool group’s 4th annual mother/son campout in the north Georgia mountains this weekend, where I’ll sleep in a sleeping bag in an unheated cabin and won’t take a shower on Saturday morning. Maybe I’m not completely high maintenance after all.

The scenery? Oh, my. God’s handiwork at its finest; my camera batteries are charged and ready. Between Friday and Saturday in the mountains and Sunday afternoon’s photo walk, I’m praying for memories ripe for the capturing and inspiration behind the lens.

What do you have planned for the weekend?