Three Camping Buddies

My husband loves to camp! Sadly, opportunities to do so have become few and far between over the past several years though. To be honest, I could probably even count on one hand the number of times a trip's come up since we've been married. While I am not a real outdoors lady myself, I wish there were more chances for him to pitch a tent and hang out with some friends. I like for him to get away and do something he truly enjoys because he definitely deserves the rest. 

He has been especially eager to take Caleb camping and enjoy the outdoors with his son. Up until this year, I've felt pretty uneasy about that prospect - a toddler can get away in the dark so quickly, having a hot fire blazing nearby a small kid is always a danger, and keeping sleeping routines normal to keep everyone at their best all rated as high concerns on my list. Caleb, a boy after his dad's own heart, also voiced his desire for such a trip recently. When I asked where he'd like to go on vacation this year, "CAMPING!" was the reply. Now that he's a preschooler, potty trained, sleeping well through the night, and better able to follow directions, I felt a little more comfortable giving it a shot.

At the Delaplane Strawberry Festival, one of the tour guides on the hayride mentioned a campout held annually there at Sky Meadows State Park. Dave's radar tuned in and later he hit the Internet searching for more specific details. The Saturday before last was the day, and though we had a ridiculously busy weekend with our church's VBS all day Saturday and a family reunion Sunday, we made it work!

Mom volunteered to keep Hadley which was awesome because I wasn't sure how bedtime routine would work in a tent. She is also such a busy girl that we would have been worn out just chasing her about. While we definitely missed her, it made the trip quite a bit more relaxing to have just our big boy with us. Since Hadley is so little and often has more immediate needs, Caleb ends up being the one patiently waiting while we tend her in a lot of situations too. This gave us a good opportunity to focus on him for the evening without interruption.

I wasn't sure quite what to expect at first but was pretty impressed when we arrived. Most of the other campers were families with young children like our own. The weather was absolutely beautiful, and they had hired a gentlemen to play music on the lawn to enhance the laid back nature of the evening. Unlike a lot of our outings, this one involved sitting back and relaxing while we enjoyed the scenery and breeze rather than hustling and bustling about. 

One of the best parts was that dinner was provided. It wasn't a gourmet meal or anything, but it meant that we didn't have to drag food, cooking supplies, or dishes nor did we have to clean-up. How relaxing!

After supper, up went the tent.

Guess who we ran into once our evening residence was complete! While Caleb had no idea who this character was, he was still pretty excited. He commented that bears don't wear pants and was a bit perplexed why Smokey had on jeans.

A campfire was next on the agenda. Two lady park rangers got everyone gathered round and started the fire. Smokey and another park ranger showed up to talk to us about fire safety, and then we all joined in singing campfire songs.

 

Storytelling followed the musical portion of the gathering; they had a lively husband and wife couple who told stories for the kids - nothing scary which was great for this age. What I loved most about this time of the evening was the snuggling happening between a boy and his daddy.

 

I wish pictures could capture the beauty of the night and peacefulness of the atmosphere.

And, you know camping isn't camping without some s'mores. Strict instructions not to wave around flaming marshmallows preceded giving the kids access to the fun. Then, in an organized fashion, the kids were given pokers to toast to their gooey pleasures.

 

Darkness fell and bed time got closer. We snuck away to our tent where Caleb continued the entertainment with stories of his own imagination. As if the excitement of camping wasn't enough, I'm not sure whose bright idea it was to give the kids s'mores as the last activity before bed time. You can tell from the following video of Caleb's storytelling just how hyped up he was as a result.

I've had terrible back and shoulder pain for months. Coupled with being pregnant, I was definitely concerned about how sleeping on an air mattress on the ground would go. Thankfully though, it was a pretty good night aside from that we were a bit crowded since Caleb chose to sleep in between us rather on the small mattress we brought him. I was hanging off a bit and Dave said Caleb kept getting over in his space, but I think all of us slept pretty decent anyway. I even got up early and snuck a picture of these two snoozing away.

We woke up pretty early the next morning and started packing up to get home in time for church. While it did start to rain on us while we were getting things together, again our meal was provided for us so we didn't have to worry about cooking anything. We sought shelter on the front porch of the old house on the property and had some breakfast before setting out.

While this is my kind of camping, I am not sure I am up for another trip until after baby boy arrives and my body is back to normal. This is definitely something we hope to do again though. It was a great first camping option with our son, and I'm excited to take the other two soon.