we go camping

For years, our good friends have invited us to go camping with them. Sweet and encouraging and persistent, but we have always declined. The kids were too little, or the weekend didn't work in our schedule, or some other fairly legitimate reason prevented us from going.

This summer, we finally said yes.

And so did nearly a dozen other families from our church. How great to be surrounded by so many friends! We all eagerly looked forward to our adventure.

Scott and I had a decent tent from our few camp-outs sans children, but that wasn't going to work for our five-some. We scoured the internet for pop-ups and nearly signed on the dotted line to rent one when we came across a monstrous camper that was 15 years newer and only $30 more in rental fees. Done and done.

So with Scott's dad's truck and our 27-foot super-lite, we embarked on a four-day excursion to the thumb. What memories we made!

(We know every single person at the beach So awesome.)

Here's what we know about the camping experience: Right now at this stage in our family's make-up, camping is a whole lotta work for us as parents. We have a boundary-pusher that lives at our house and he can make life challenging sometimes. Camping was no exception. This isn't to say that we won't try again next summer, but I just don't know if we will ever fill our weekends with camping any time soon. 

Here's what we also know about camping: it's an adventure that our kids loved. Despite the low temperatures and late nights and disputes about the top bunk, they adored the experience. Sleeping in a camper (and going in and out and in again), hiking in the woods, playing at the beach, racing down the hills, hanging by the campfire, roasting hot dogs, all of the things that make camping camping... it's what made the hype about this trip so worth it. I'm so glad we ventured into this world and am thankful for the memories we made.