Two weekends ago some amazing friends who moved out of our ward a few months ago invited us and others to go camping with them. Since we had just gotten back from New Mexico that Wednesday Andrew wasn't thrilled about the idea of packing up the car for another trip but I knew it would be fun for our whole family, and worth it!
There was the Kyle & Laura Cook family, who invited us, Kyle's dad who brought some other grandchildren, and the Thomas & Carrie Brown family (who moved out of our ward a few years ago), Kyle's brother Shawn (who used to be in our ward), and we were the last to arrive Friday night. We shared light copters with the kids which were a big hit, and many got stuck in pine trees. We had a campfire, even though we weren't supposed to because of heat warnings.
Kyle helped us set up the big tent which was so needed since it was the first time using Chris & Kristy's. We're holding on to their camping gear while they live in England. Elliot had his own two man tent that Rupert was going to sleep in but Rupert changed his mind and slept next to daddy. Thankfully we had room in our tent for Elliot's who tent so he could be a little warmer. It was a little chilly at night, about 48 degrees, but perfect when the sun was up.
There were so many kids there that everyone had a friend or group of friends. There was hot chocolate, s'mores, and a lot of fun camping food. Lots of dirt and even the adults had each other to chat with.
The best part is Andrew actually had a good sleep! This is rare while camping. He was sandwiched between Beatrix, Rupert, and me on the other side of the air mattress. Avery & Zara shared their own air mattress.
Zara had this creative wood store collection. She sorted the wood out in categories like burnt, only bark, pinecones, etc... :)
The last thing we did after loading everything up was to head over the the creek. Kyle Cook promised $1.00 to everyone who dunked their whole body under water, and the water was cold! You'll have too see the video below to find out who in our family actually did it.
Beatrix really took to Thomas Brown their for a minute. She even chose Thomas over daddy at one point. It reminded me of Uncle Chris, who she also really loves. Thomas has 7 kids of his own so he's used to having little ones around. :)
* spoiler * Avery got wet head to toe!
We loved this trip and want to plan another friends camping trip this fall before it gets too cold. Andrew wants to camp in Globe next time since this was our second time in a row at this camp site.
This was a fun quick video to put together. Another form of photo, or rather video, journaling and the kids love to watch them. It's also been a good creative outlet for me to make videos and edit photos. Hope you enjoy!
