Family Camping Fun!

We had a perfectly perfect weekend at Family Camp! The weather was perfect, and we all had a fabulous time.

 

We arrived on Friday evening and were able to pitch our tent in a prime location. As it turns out, we were the only tent campers, so we had the field (and the bath house) to ourselves! We were able to pitch behind some small hills and beside the basketball court. In short, it was a perfect site.

 

After we set up camp, we headed to the fire circle to roast hotdogs:

 We also had watermelon and squash straight from the camp garden. It was so delicious! After a few camp games, we roasted s'mores and then crashed for the night.

The next morning, the kids were up bright and early and we had two hours to fill before breakfast:

 It seemed the perfect time to take a picture of our home away from home. This tent really is awesome, and I have to brag about my packing. We took a large, locking Tupperware bin, which lived outside of the tent on a tarp in the vestibule. Inside, each person had a reusable shopping bag that help ziplocks of outfits. All we had to do was grab a ziplock to get dressed. I also packed a shower bag and a swimming bag in there. It made it much, much easier to find things, and everything stayed clean and dry. We also had a bathmat right outside of the tent to make sure we didn't track anything into the tent, and there was plenty of room on the tarp to hold shoes.

We decided to take a short hike to the lake chapel before breakfast:

 It was the perfect place to skip stones.

After breakfast, we took a hayride out to the camp farm. Issa got to help feed the goats:

 Evan loved feeding the pigs:

 And the chickens:

 Issa just loved the chickens:

 She did a great job catching them!

We also got to help move the ducklings to their new home on the pond:

 The farm purchased ducklings to take care of the duck weed in the pond. They have been raised in an enclosure, and now they are big enough to be on the pond. We helped carry the ducks over and tie their shelter close enough to the shore that they will feel safe.

We had so much fun we plan to join the farm in March! You can join for the season, which means you commit to working there two hours a month in exchange for some of the produce. I have a feeling we will do much more than the two hours, though!

Issa almost caught a butterfly, too:

 We returned from the farm in time for lunch, and then we went for a swim. As we were laying out our swimsuits to dry, we discovered we had a mascot for the tent:

 Once we were dry, we headed up to do some camp crafts:

 Lanyards and friendship bracelets were made by all before we headed out to fish:

 This is all we caught:

 But...we still had a blast! The kids loved casting and reeling. We also saw some turtles and frogs, so it was not a loss. We enjoyed dinner and more s'mores before we crashed.

Sunday morning, we woke up just in time for breakfast. After breakfast, we played with new friends:

Evan and Beckett were quite the duo! Then we headed out to the Lake Chapel for worship. After one last hike through the woods, we struck camp and headed for home, determined to go camping again soon.

In short, it was exactly what we had hoped for. The kids have fallen in love with camping, and we all had a really great time. There is something wonderful about listening to crickets and watching the stars as you fall asleep, all cuddled up together in the chill air--it's pure magic.