(I seem to be missing the USB cord to connect my camera to my computer to upload pictures. Again. Those will have to be added later.)
Last weekend we went on our second annual church campout. (Second for us... the church has done it for many years.) They rent out the whole horse camp at Silver Lake, so every campsite around the loop is filled with people we are at least familiar with (it's been hard to get to know everyone in the almost 2 years we've been attending this church, since there are two services, and therefore some people we never see!)
We shared a single-family campsite with Renee's family again. With so many little ones to care for, we couldn't wander far to socialize, so it was nice to have a friend right there in the campsite (and lots of friends for the children to play with, too!) On of our church deacons came around to record how many people were in each campsite, and was surprised to see a group of 19 in one little campsite... until he got to ours and found 22!! It was unusual to have one campsite empty during the church campout (usually they are all full and doubled-up!)... but we weren't surprised that the one not chosen was tiny little campsite 25... between these two groups with so very many children (a total of 33 between the two sites.)
After the heatwave last week, the weather this weekend was a little chilly, but the campfire helped with that. At least it only rained for a short while during the last night. There was lots of running around, playing, cooking, eating, coffee drinking, climbing stumps, walking the loop. I brought a few things to entertain the children if they got bored (playdough, coloring, croquet, ladderball), and didn't end up getting a single one of them out of our van! They stayed entertained all three days.
As for sleeping arrangements, Brian slept in our 3-room tent with the big kids, and I set up a pack-n-play in the van for Natalie (baby R) and slept in the van with her, by reclining the passenger seat all the way back. It wasn't too bad, really. And the van did a great job of muffling the camp sounds so she could sleep. She woke less than she does at home!
I wish she'd been so cooperative during our outdoor church service Sunday morning. By the time the worship was done, she'd had enough of sitting quietly and started to fuss and scream, so I ended up bringing her back to the campsite. Unfortunately, that meant missing my last opportunity to hear our pastor before we leave for the new church plant. It didn't help that the service was precisely during her usual nap time, I'm sure.
I drove out alone to snag a good campsite early the first morning, and brought our tents, sleeping bags, camp chairs, pillows, etc, knowing there's no way we'd be able to fit that in our minivan with all 7 people. But on the way back, somehow I was able to cram it all in! It was a cozy ride home, but it worked.
Angry Birds
Posted by: wrirealry | 02/15/2012 at 01:03 AM