Then we moved to the "summer house" (read: summer, fall, winter, spring house - depressing...) and didn't have access to any of our gear.
Then we moved into the new house in prime camping season and actually considered gathering our things and heading out, but the task was just too much for my overwhelmed brain to handle, so we tabled the idea until fall.
Fall came (sort of) and we jumped at the chance to get out there when the weather was at least out of the 100's.
I was nervous the kids would hate it and scorn the idea every time it arose in the future, so I was determined to be as prepared as possible to make it as comfortable as possible. First time camping with children is a whole new ballgame - genetics has to play a part here right? Two parents that love camping couldn't possibly have children who hate it, right?
To be completely honest, I wasn't worried about Lia at all. I knew she would be in heaven. I figured Erin would go with the flow and would deal, but I was super concerned for my little dainty one. Halle doesn't like to be dirty. She doesn't like to be sticky. She doesn't like to be sweaty. This was a recipe for disaster, people, disaster.
Well, apparently when camping, all bets are off. They LOVED it. They were truly the epitome of "happy campers." We had our fair share of meltdowns, but no more than we would have had at home on any given Saturday. It was awesome and I can't wait to go again. Just have to wait long enough until I forget how much work it was to get ready and to clean up...
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| I thought it would be "easier" to "run" to HEB and "pick up" the "few" things we would need to camp for 3 days. I had to go back to the store the next day because I ran out of space in my cart. |
We were pumped to head out for camping on Friday and had invited several other families to join in on the fun. A few were a bit frightened at the idea of camping with young kids (theirs are younger than ours so I'll give them a break this time) but the Gribbles were on board! Kim and I packed our two cars to the brim and headed out with the little girls (Erin, Halle & Ryan) on Friday morning to score an awesome campsite before everything got busy. Todd, Lia, Christian and Parker joined us in the afternoon after the big girls were done with school.
I have to say, out of all the sites we saw, ours was the best. Great big shade trees and walking distance to the lake for swimming. Totally ideal. It took a few hours to set up and the girls busied themselves by playing in the dirt. Love it.
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| Halle wanted to help hammer in the stakes. |
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| Erin wasn't far behind. |
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| Lia COULD NOT WAIT to have a s'more and requested it immediately upon arrival. :) |
The first bedtime was a little interesting... The kids were so excited to actually be sleeping inside a tent that it made it tough to get them calmed down. The s'mores didn't help the cause either. A little melatonin and Todd counting to 200 seemed to get them on the way to sleepytown. We emerged from the tent ready to hang by the fire and quickly realized we were too dang tired. Out by 9:30... haha
It was a sticky sleeping situation, not going to lie, but we made it!
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| Erin was sweating bullets, so we started stripping off clothing. Night 2 we got smart and just had them sleep in undies. They thought that was the best thing ever. |
We didn't have any major set plans for the day and decided it was just too hot for a hike or letterboxing, so we spent most of the day by the water fishing and swimming. The kids enjoyed hunting for shells.
Back at the campsite, they were totally occupied. There were many times where I felt the need to do something or felt like I should be busy, but I quickly realized that feeling was the "go sit in the hammock and do nothing" signal.
Christian's birthday was on Saturday, so we celebrated with a delicious cookie cake!
Then went back out for more swimming and fishing. Todd was so proud of himself when he caught a fish! The girls thought this was pretty amazing stuff.
I took the kids one by one and tried to wash their faces and get some of the sand out of their hair. I told Erin, "well, there you go, that was your camping bath!" She looked at me, totally surprised, and said "Wow! I like camping!"
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| The walkie talkies were a total winner. We should have had 5.... |
We had invited the McKallips to join us, but John was out of town so they declined. Happily, Jennifer brought Parker for a visit Saturday evening and it was so fun to see them!
Glow sticks are required when camping. Mental note.
We slept much better on night 2 and the kids actually asked to go to bed! Seriously? First time for everything!
Lia has made a friend in her kindergarten class named Mattie and they came and joined us for camping on Saturday night. Lia was overjoyed and they all had a great time playing.
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| Hammocks are fun no matter how you swing on them! |
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| Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha |
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| Favorite picture of the trip. Love this one of Erin. Hot, sweaty, happy, and loving just being a kid. |
It was such a great trip. Awesome to get back to something that Todd and I have always loved. So glad the kids all enjoyed it too! When I asked what their favorite parts of the trip were, they all said "sleeping in the tent!" and "swimming in the lake!" Super fun memories for them, I hope! Fantastic memories for me, for sure!
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