June Family Day: Blueberries and Camping

We have long been anticipating another campout at Sky Meadows after our trip with Caleb last year. We checked out their website to see when they'd be hosting their family event this summer and marked our calendars in anticipation.

Saturday was the day...

Since even a few hours can turn into a long outing with so many little ones, we thought it best to wait until the evening after their naps to join our fellow campers. Plus, that gave us the morning to get some other things done.

We started out  the day with some play time at home:

Couch fishing is a new craze around the McKinstry household. The kids put a bin of toys behind the couch and use a couple fishing poles Aunt Amy and Aunt Julie bought them to hook a big one."

Reid had to get in on it too. 

Knowing we had some things to get done around the house, I volunteered to take the kids blueberry picking right up the road from us at a local farm to keep them out of Dave's way. Meanwhile, it was Reid's nap time so he got to stay home, meaning I didn't have to keep him in tote. It was a win win situation for all.

This girl loves sunglasses.

I took Caleb two years ago when he was Hadley's age to do the same thing and he had no problem picking the blue berries instead of the green ones. Hadley isn't learning her colors quite as quickly though, so my instructions to pick the blue ones didn't mean a whole lot. Instead, I had to point out which ones were which, but finally she got the hang of it.

As I was showing her where to pick, Caleb kept walking up and picking the ones I pointed to. I asked him to try to find his own and not take the ones I was showing her because I thought he'd be able to do it on his own. But, I soon realized he needed a lot of help too. The ripe berries were a bit scarce, especially on the lower branches and they were kind of hazy instead of a bright blue.

I got out hats for both the kids to wear before we left, thinking it would keep the sun off. While Caleb said that his was too tight, Hadley was delighted with hers and didn't even want to take it off in the car. The carseat mashed it a little, but she was happy.

Caleb really loved this whole activity. He'd been waiting for over a week to go. The first time we went the blueberries weren't ready and he'd been disappointed, so I was glad he finally got his chance.

I've been attempting to get in the pictures more so the kids can see I'm a part of these fun activities. Thankfully, another berry picker was willing to take a couple shots for us.

Can you find the blue ones? 

Hadley had a hard time keeping her berries in the container. We had to scoop them up a few times. Finally, I just poured most of them in Caleb's and left just a few remaining in her basket. 

$3 worth of fun and healthy yumminess - We'll take it!

After maybe an hour of picking, the heat got to us and the activity lost its original appeal. Dave still had work to do and Reid was still snoozing so I took the kids in town to Subway, which meant no lunch for me to make and no dishes to wash. (Again a win win situation!) My hubby didn't miss out on the food though; we brought him back a sub too.

I called my mom to see if she wanted to join us and thankfully she was in town and able to meet up for a little bit.

Nap time came next. Dave and I finished some chores while the kids got rested up for the evening, and all of us were raring to go when they woke up.

Hadley with her new sleeping bag.

Sky Meadows provides all the food and drinks, so all we really needed was a few chairs, a tent, and some sleeping bags and off we went.

Caleb and Hadley wanted to ride in Daddy's car. They love the thrill of a break from the normal routine.

They had music again this year to set the ambiance.

Just like last year, they made a spaghetti dinner. We weren't super impressed before, but this time it was pretty good. For $25 for a whole family to camp and eat dinner and breakfast, we were more than satisfied.

Spaghetti is kind of a messy camping meal with little ones, but we managed pretty well.

Reid had to eat his normal baby food.

"Not fair!" he says.

Big sister makes him happy again though.

The park rangers were good with the kids. The did several drawings, giving away a ton of prizes. They tried to make sure everyone got something.

Hadley ended up with this doll pattern, which she proudly posed with. We got a Civil War board game too, but Caleb wasn't too interested in having his picture taken with it.

Instead, he wanted to play with sticks.

He even made a tent out of the shirt he was wearing.

Another set of shades - That smile tops any accessory she could have.

A lot of people brought quilts which we should have done. The camping chairs were nice, but I think the kids would have done better with their plates on a blanket. Next year we'll have to remember.

Caleb kept pretending to be a "stranger," hiding behind our chairs and we were supposed to catch him.

I love his quirky little expressions.

After the grub and a little playtime on the lawn, it was tent time! While I topped of our little bruiser with some milk, the other three McKinstrys got to work. (Well, Daddy mostly did the work while Caleb watched and Hadley sat on the tent.)

Playing with the zippers was the most exciting part when it first went up.

Dave kept trying to get all three of the kids in a picture but Caleb kept scooting around. Finally, we got one of all of them looking. 

Hadley, Reid, and I didn't get to stay the night. I was a little upset about it. Can you tell?

Reid kept trying to eat everyone's shoes.

After the tent fun, we had a small emergency. Caleb, who was minding his own business, was attacked on the finger by a wasp. His shrill scream alerted everyone in the area and the park rangers came to help. They didn't have much to alleviate the pain except a antiseptic wipe that kept it cold and pacified our poor boy. I think more than anything being scooped up and snuggling Daddy was the best remedy.

Campfire songs started shortly after all that excitement, the perfect timing for a distraction. We pulled up a hay bale and Caleb settled into my lap while the other two each perched on one of Dave's legs.

"On top of spaghetti....all covered with cheese....I lost my poor meatball...."

The musicians moved right over there with us.

They had a ghost story too though I kind of wish they would have skipped this part, especially for the small kids.

This year they had an extra feature that we didn't do last year - an owl hunt. We tried to persuade our kids to go back to the tent and play, knowing that they wouldn't be quiet enough to see an owl and that they'd probably have a hard time seeing one in the trees if we actually did spot one. However, both of our older two were adamant that they wanted to go. 

When we finally got down there, Hadley ended up watching the cows instead. 

Caleb, on the other hand, did try to listen to the long presentation the lady gave before we went into the woods though it wasn't really geared for his age.

Reid was just along for the ride

Trying to see like an owl.

Finally, at dusk, they let us go in the woods to look. Using a screech owl call, we entered the forest on a gravel path. Actually, it was a pretty rough trail to do in the dark. I lost my footing on the rutty, steep road at one point and sent both Caleb and I stumbling down. Nonetheless, we tried it hoping to spot something.

Eventually, my patience wore out and Caleb wasn't too hard to persuade to head back either. I felt bad because he had waited so long through that presentation, but he seemed more frustrated over what poor shape the path was in than that he had missed his opportunity to see an owl.

Once we were out of the woods though, we had fun racing back to the campground where the ranger was waiting with s'mores. After roasting a couple marshmallows, we found Daddy, Reid, and Hadley, and I had to head home with the two little ones since it was past their bed time. I was disappointed to leave but we knew that realistically, camping with babies would be more trouble than it was worth. We didn't want them to bother any of the other campers if they woke up in the middle of the night crying and breaking bed time routines can cause a lot of hassle. On the other hand, it was a good boy bonding time for Cay-Cay and his daddy. Maybe next year we'll all get to sleep under the stars...