Camping!

Going to Target to dream about birthday gifts was fun, however, Mommy had much more in store! It was Saturday morning and I had a little adventure planned. After testing out their party poppers and waiting for Mom to pack the car, we headed to Rocky Bayou. This trip would be different, we were going camping! It's the perfect scenario us these days, a 5 minute drive for a camping experience full of hiking, biking, games and a camp fire! Oh, did I mention that if we forgot anything we could be home in minutes to grab it?! :)

Serious party popping!

Axel learns a lot from his big brother.

I made reservations a week ago and I picked out the perfect spot. We were at the end with only one neighbor not-so-close by and just a hop skip and a jump away from the trails.



First things first...bike riding!

Axel is getting good. It's a full sprint for Mommy now to keep up.

Lucas is our leader. I put a big bell on his bike so all the hikers can hear him coming. It's great for me too, I can easily locate him in the thick Florida forests.

He's off for another loop!

Back at camp, we dove into our cool camping book. Lucas discovered Morse Code and the sand was perfect for writing secret messages. His sweet message to me: ** / *-** --- ***- * / -*-- --- **- (I LOVE YOU!)

The book also talked about making paint out of natural materials. We tried Sparkle Berries (cousins of the blueberry) which we have learned are not to be eaten raw. Some say you can make jam out of them but we thought paint would be safer. Either way, it was a great excuse for a hike!

Thanks to our neighbor, we had an awesome fire. Hugh hooked us up with all sorts of wood just right for building the perfect camp fire. Who needs boy scouts?! :)

We invited our friends to stop by and play a few games. Tag was first on the list.

However, the fire pulled Lucas in. He couldn't leave it alone, it's in his blood.

Axel, Amanda, Vivien and MayMay (the cute cocker) continued with a fast paced game of tag...or maybe better called Mommy Monster!

Vivien is far from a monster but she put on a great act for the game! See our sand drawings? That was another fun activity we learned from our sweet camping book.

It was dark before we knew it. The glow necklaces from Daddy worked great!

So did our head lamps. Check out these tired eyes. This was just about when Axel decided that it was time to go home. He is a home-boy but we reassured him that sleeping in the tent would be fun and cozy.

No camping trip would be complete without a few ghost stories. So fun watching Lucas read them to us.

 

Here's my ghostly crew!

After putting out the fire (another highlight of the evening) we were tired out and ready for snuggle time.

Sorry about the flash Lucas!

We all sleep great despite the background noise of the parkway traffic. It was hot cocoa and oatmeal for breakfast before our morning hike. Lucas really enjoyed listening to the birds sing their morning songs. Something Daddy misses too! It turned out to be a wonderful experience!!