A Camping We Will Go

Bryan has been on vacation this past week and it has been so great! We decided to take a little camping trip (actually, with three kids it's never little!) since we had a couple of free days. After packing everything up and getting to the camp I decided that a Surburban is in my future for sure! Our little van was packed so tight. As Bryan was getting the kayak tied down he said, "It's our own Griswold family vacation!" It's a good thing we decided not to take the dog. I don't think we could have stuffed her in!

The kids were in heaven. They had so much fun. Bennett pushed this thing around everywhere and loved being outdoors.

While we were packing to go Chloe tried putting her 'fancy' clothes in her bag. I explained to her that you can't wear fancy clothes when camping because they will get dirty and ruined. It was a hard concept for her to grasp! She loves to be dressed up and looking pretty. Once we got there she got the hang of it and didn't mind being dirty- as long as her shoes were clean and dry. As soon as we got home she went up and put on her skirt and a 'fancy' shirt!

Here's our camp. It was very green and pretty, but not very secluded. I guess we are used to camping in Utah where you have lots of space and mountains to hide away in! Being 50 yards away from your neighbor is not really Bryan's favorite way to camp.

The kids loved cooking our food in the fire. We made tinfoil dinners, s'mores, and the kids new favorite fire treat- banana boats!

Their was a lake close by so we decided that we needed to go take an evening swim to clean up and get all that sticky humidity off. After a night and morning of rain the heat was very welcomed!

Benny is saying cheese for the camera while testing out Daddy's boat. We rented a canoe and Bryan took his kayak out on the lake. It was a beautiful sunny day. Niah was a champion paddler and really helped me in the canoe. I was highly impressed!

Bryan built us some great fires. I think he could have done without the wood that caused so much smoke though!

I had forgotten how much fun camping is. It's a lot of work with kids, but worth the effort. We had some great family time and it was nice to escape from life for a couple of days and just enjoy being our little family. It's always a good reminder to keep life simple and to enjoy the small moments with your kids. Sometimes I forget that.

I hope we can make this a family tradition because I think the kids now have a love for camping!