It was a milestone for the family this past weekend, because we all went camping together for the first time. Lee and I had attempted camping twice before we had kids. The first time it started to hail and there was a tornado in the area, so we had to pack up and leave quickly. Our vehicle was hail damaged on the way to our friends' house, where we spent the evening in their closet. The second time we tried to camp, it rained heavily in the middle of the night. Our tent started dripping and we went home and drove back the next day to pack up camp. I was afraid we were going to jinx the camping experience for our whole Adventurers club, but I have to say it was a very successful camping experience. I am still not in love with camping. I am more of a 5 star hotel connoisseur, and I simply do not rough it well. But I will do this once or twice a year just for the kids. We arrived at the campground in Edna, TX on Friday evening. Analese helped to pitch the tent because she was earning a camping honor. I love the look of intense concentration on her face.
Then Analese went to practice special music, because our group found out that we needed to perform Friday night. None of the clubs know until check-in on Friday when they will perform. Obviously, Saturday is better, since everyone staggers in on Friday night. Not everyone from our group was there yet for the performance, but the kids performed very well.
Saturday morning was family photos. That is me after a night in a tent. I did, indeed, survive. Although, at this point, the shower I took on Friday morning is starting to wear off.
One of the main free time entertainment sources was looking for and handling the many caterpillars that lived in the trees beside the lake.
Saturday afternoon was games, crafts and activities. Our club did three-legged races.
We got some good group shots of the kids and leaders.
Mariele got way hot and tired late in the afternoon on Saturday. Our club leader offered me the use of her air conditioned camper to put Mariele down for a nap. Sweet baby had overdosed on fun and sun.
The much awaited fun activity on Saturday night was pin-trading. Each kid has a lanyard with a variety of pins. The hundreds of Adventurer kids gathered on the lit basketball court for this activity. Basically, you just trade pins. Some people collect themes, such as flags, states, sports, or animals. My kids do not have a defined genre yet, so they were just happy to trade anything for anything that anyone was willing to trade them. They enjoyed this activity so much that they pin-traded at home all day yesterday!
After pin trading was campfire/s'mores time. That was the last activity of Saturday night, and it did not end until around 11 p.m. After that, we had the Highlander all loaded up and ready to go. We could have camped one more night, but opted not to. Honestly, I can not handle more that one night in a tent. I was thrilled to get back home at 1:30 a.m., and I promptly hit the shower. The girls had fallen asleep in the car before we even left the campground. I had already brushed their teeth and baby wipe washed them after the sticky s'mores.
All in all, it was a great family camp experience. The theme was "God of Wonders" and the message and the music reminded us of how awesome God's wonderful creation really is. Next year, however, we will rent a camper ;) I have tent camping out of my system. Although, I'm not sure it was ever in my system to begin with.
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