Camping Again!

After spending one evening and one morning getting ready to go, and then setting up a camper on a humid 90 degree day, we started to question if this whole camping thing is really worth it.  We weren’t seriously questioning it, but it sure is a lot of work to prepare for camping and get set up, especially with two very little ones underfoot!

Watching how much fun Alex had, and having lots of fun ourselves, we’ve decided it’s worth it…but it’s NOT a relaxing vacation with little ones!

This past weekend, we went with a group from our church to Indiana Dunes State Park.  It’s less than an hour from home, and it’s a pretty nice campground.  We had some rain, but not enough to spoil our fun.

Max wasn’t thrilled about sleeping in the pack n play, but he sure had fun playing in it!  (And after crying himself to sleep for each nap and bedtime, he did okay…but he still woke oncee during each night and got up for the day around 6 AM…ugh!) It’s really a lot of fun to camp with a big group.  Alex had a BLAST playing with all of his church friends – blowing bubbles, playing games, digging in dirt, riding his Buck, running around, playing at the beach…he was one very happy little boy!

I picked up a new bubble toy on clearance before we left.  It was fun for 5 minutes…until it got bubbles in the motor and stopped working.  Oops.Alex dug in the dirt.  A lot.  He didn’t care if he was alone or with other kids, as long as he could dig.  His bucket and shovels were a big hit with the little boys.

See the bike?  Alex was loving his friends’ bikes.  Oh, how he wishes he could ride a bike like a big boy!  Thanks, Jackson and AJ, for sharing your bikes with Alex!

When I asked Alex about his favorite part of camping, he said “playing John Deere Buck with Zach”.  They sure were cute together!

Miss Angie brought some fun games, and she taught Alex how to play Cariboo with AJ & Jackson.  (By the way, this game is out of production.  If you have this game & your kids have outgrown it, I’d *LOVE* to buy it off of you!)

I’m pretty sure Alex is happiest when he’s COVERED with dirt.  This is just his face.  You really should have seen the rest of him.  We learned that he hates showers, and had to resort to a sponge bath on the second night.  It takes a LONG time to sponge off all that dirt!

There was lots of chatting, eating, playing, and swimming…and some swatting at biting flies and mosquitoes, too.  Really, though, we had a lot of fun and we’re SO glad we were able to go! 

   Lest you think this is a nice massage line, look closely.  Jessi (in the front) was a good sport about getting coated in wet sand!

Max absolutely adored playing in the sand and shallow water.  He was so active that this is the best picture I could get.  In the rest of the pictures, he’s crawling too fast!  He got a few mouthfuls of sand, and he ate a few pebbles…but hey, it’s all part of learning what the beach is all about, right? ;)

We barely made use of the firewood we brought.  This was the only fire on our own campsite.  The rest of the time, Jack & Angie’s fire was shared by several families.  I offered to share some of our firewood, but Jack pointed out that our firewood is from HIS tree, so it wouldn’t really matter! ;)    After the campground church service, we had a great big, really yummy group breakfast.  Everyone pitched in, and it was delicious!  I think Mark’s sausage and potatoes was some of the best camp food I’ve ever eaten.  YUM!

Max hung out in the pack n play while we took down the camper.

 

Alex alternated between playing and helping Daddy.

  And here’s Max at dinner.  He fell asleep mid-reach for a bite of pizza.  I guess we wore him out! ;)

One more camping trip to go this year…Oak Lake again, with my brother’s family and some of my cousins…on Labor Day weekend.  We’re looking forward to it!