Pseudo Camping

So, I've been feeling restless for hiking and camping. Saturday I got my pseudo hike (walking to/ beside a river for the picnic). It helps, of course, that we live in the mountains so I can look around and see mountains as we walk. However, this did not satisfy my urge for camping. Unfortunately, I do not feel up to packing a large back pack and hiking up the mountain near us and having to use the "outdoor" bathroom a bajillion times, since the baby enjoys lying on my bladder (you wanted to know that, right?). And, there's no place to just drive to and camp (at least not close). Anyway, that all to say, we decided to camp on our porch. After grilling our dinner, we made a fire in Leah's mini Weber that we've been borrowing. We roasted marshmallows and enjoyed the smell of the fire. We had thought about putting the tent on the porch, but it is so noisy outside I figured we probably wouldn't sleep. So we brought our extra mattress into our living area, which is more open and has lots of windows and, therefore, more fresh air. This morning, Daniel revived the fire and made pancakes over it. So we sat around the fire eating pancakes, drinking tea, and just enjoying being outside. It was wonderful and refreshing! The evenings and mornings have been cool and, in spite of being in the middle of town, it is peaceful in it's own way, and we are still surrounded with so much natural beauty!