What is a "Vacation?"

For vacation, do you go somewhere tropical or travelling internationally?

For me, a vacation is anywhere I don't have access to my cell phone or the internet. We are now a generation that is attached to our phones, 24/7 accessible, and it makes it difficult to truly take a break or "vacation" from our jobs.

Think of the last vacation you took. How many times did you read your e-mails, follow up with a coworker, or work from your laptop?

My solution, CAMPING

My family this past weekend went to a Bobcat Club Function in Kalispell, Montana. After WINNING the ladies challenge in the golf tournament my family headed to Swan Lake Campground with some friends of ours where there is no cell service.

I will admit, it didn't feel like a true vacation the first 24 hours as it was rainy and cloudy. Waking up to a sore back from tent camping isn't exactly spa refreshing, but camping makes you appreciate the little things.

#1 Just sitting still-I had a span of about 10 minutes where the kids were playing, not fighting. I didn't need to unpack or pack anything, cook or clean anything and said to myself I can actually grab a book! I think I beat Emily Allen's record of sitting still at one time.

#2 Air fresheners-I have seen all kinds of outhouses. You definitely don't want to look around (in case you see an insect not yet discovered), and no way are you looking down to see what kind of waste has already been "unloaded" so to speak, but an air freshener in an outhouse goes a long way! As a parent you worry about everything with your children. Try worrying about them in an outhouse.

#3 Food-I remember when my dad used to take us camping growing up and we lived on Spam. My brother and sister and I liked it so much we asked him to buy it when we were at home. He warned us we wouldn't like it and he was right. There is just something about food and hunger when you're camping, though, that everything tastes like a 5 Star restaurant. Burned pancakes-yummy, oatmeal-I'll have seconds, hotdogs-how would you like it cooked? Grilled, Boiled, or Roasted over the camp fire? Roasted for sure.

#4 Appreciating God's Beautiful Creations-We saw a rabbit (Brooklyn tried to catch), chipmunks, squirrels (Brooklyn tried to catch), a deer, and a bear had gone through our campsite the day we arrived. I am glad we didn't see the bear and Brooklyn didn't try and catch it.

#5-Camp Fires-Yes, your clothes and hair smell horrible afterwards, but you can't tell anyway. You can roast smores, tell stories around the camp fire, worry about your kids falling in the camp fire, tell your kids a million times not to make S O S smoke signals with their sticks, and keep shifting your chair as the smoke continues to follow you. Camp fires are awesome!

#6 Water-What is it about water that just refreshes you? Is it the aqua blue or maybe it was the 51 degree lake that takes your breath away. Kids seem to never get cold. Our kids were all playing off the tube the day it was cloudy and rainy. All of a sudden the clouds broke and it was gorgeous. We went waterskiing, tubing, and wake boarding, and we were the only boat on the lake. Maybe that's because it had been cloudy and the water was so cold, but we didn't care.

We packed up Tuesday, headed home, as soon as we came around the bend to Seeley Lake I had service.

I won't tell you how many messages, texts, or e-mails were waiting.

Coach Bin