Sleep Under the Stars

We were so excited to meet up with our Houston friends, Katy and Brian, and their daughters, Riley and Audrey, for a camping adventure!  We managed to head out early on Friday to make the 2 hour drive to the site between here and Houston.  I've learned the amount of stuff five people "need" for camping is a little insane.  The first time we went, I left first with just Erin and Halle so I had more space in the Pilot to fit everything.  This time all 5 of us were in the car with all our stuff.  It just wasn't possible...  so, we had to get a hitch haul extension to the car...  in addition to the rooftop cargo bag we already owned...  A little ridiculous.

The first day we were on our own so I did get to "test" out our gear boxes more than we did last time and I've determined that having 4 stock pots, 3 lanterns, and 12 flashlights may be a little overkill...  I'm going to work on minimizing our supplies - really - I am...

I was very grateful for all my overpacking when 30 minutes after we arrived Todd accidentally cuts his finger with a new pocket knife...  blood everywhere.  The kids were all fascinated and I got to use all the new stuff in my fancy first aid kit.  He's totally fine, but it did put a bit of a hitch in our tent pitching process...

This park is known for their horse trail rides and you can bring your own horse to the park.  When we first arrived, I was a little annoyed that these equestrian stalls were SO close to our campsite.  After about 20 minutes, I was eternally grateful for them - a huge jungle gym for the kids!  Plus, a great place to hang hammocks when there are no good hammock trees.  Win, Win!

Katy and Brian arrived on Saturday and the kids picked up as if no time had passed.  It was so fun to be able to hang out with friends we don't get to see often.  The adults were able to have real, uninterrupted conversations while the kids ran around in the creek exploring and catching bugs.  Doesn't get much better!

Saturday we hung around the campsite just playing lawn games and enjoying the amazing weather and great company.  S'mores were cooked up for dinner and all was well!  The kids were out like lights in record time and late night campfire conversations were fabulous.

Sunday we split the crew and the guys took Riley and Lia fishing while Katy and I took Audrey, Erin and Halle letterboxing.  It was a perfect hike for 4 year olds and we found a great stamp for our book!!  Katy had never heard of letterboxing before, so after this she may be on board! 

It started getting really windy and chilly Sunday night and we all enjoyed the last bit of nice evening weather before the coldfront hit.  It was a COLD night.  Camping for 3 nights really wasn't too bad and I could have done another if conditions were better.  But, that night was tough - cold weather, 2am wake up because a kid is throwing up (too many s'mores!), a deflated air mattress, having to venture out of the tent to use the bathroom when all you want to do is stay in your sleeping bag, sharing a sleeping bag with a cold kid, playing musical beds... etc, etc, etc - it was a long night.  But - we made it.  When morning finally came, it was 42 degrees outside.  Out of all the things I packed, I forgot the kids' heavy coats.  Dumb.  We layered up with ALL the remaining clean clothes and the kids weren't all that upset about it once we got a fire going. 

Overall, it was a fantastic time and I can't wait to go again (but again, need to wait long enough to forget how many loads of laundry I've done in the past day and the degree of work it is to get ready and then put everything away...  I've got to downsize this operation....)  :)

Either Halle was faking it or she was having some really nice dreams on the way home...  ;)