First Camping Trip of the Year

This past weekend we took Lucas camping and let him bring along his friend David. Last time we camped here we stayed in a cabin but they were running a special for a free night of tent or RV camping Saturday night if you stayed Friday night. Plus my very sweet brother had recently gave us a tent that we were dying to try out. The thing is HUGE and I think there might have been more room inside the tent than in our cabin that we rented last time.

I really dig how laid back going camping always ends up being (well as long as you don't count the fighting that happens when you put up or take down a tent.) Everyone is so friendly at a campground and we had so many people stopping by our site to tell us what a lovely family we had and how sweet our boys were. I think that got Curtis thinking about MORE kids... which is freaking me out! When we got together we used to fight over how many kids we wanted to have. I always wanted two and he only wanted one. In the last year I've come over to his only one kid camp and now it seems like he is trying to switch sides.

We also brought Jadie along for the weekend. At first we were worried that she might be too yappy and bark at everything that moved or made a noise. She did really well though and even useful for keeping away ducks from stealing our food.

Jadie is an inside dog so all weekend we were trying to figure out if she was having fun or thinking to herself, "HELP! Take me home NOW! I have nature on my paws!"

The boys did a little bit of fishing and even took the paddle boat out but we spent the majority of the weekend in the pool. The water took a little getting used to at first because it was a little cool but it felt so good just to float around and swim. Lucas is such a little snuggle bug in the pool. Saturday evening he asked me to hold him for a little bit and he ended up falling asleep right there in the water.

Saturday night the campground had an ice cream social to raise money for KOA Kare Camps for children with cancer. The ice cream cones tasted so good on a warm evening. They also had hot coffee in the morning to raise money.

We had NO trouble getting the boys to bed at night. By the time it finally got dark they were begging to please go lay down. The instant they got quiet and laid still they were fast asleep.

Both mornings Lucas was the first one awake (7AM the first morning and 6AM Sunday.) He played a plastic harmonica until David would get up. I'm sure the tent next to us LOVED the wake up call.

By the time we got everything packed up and the kids loaded up Lucas was grumpy and tired. We had David back to his Mommy by 9AM Sunday morning.

After we dropped David off at his house, Curt suggested we go to breakfast for Mother's Day. While we waited for our food I was serenaded by Lucas. His song went something like this, "I don't love you Mommy. I don't love you. I'm going to hurt your feelings. You are going to cry. Cause I don't love you Mommy." When we got back in the car he passed out asleep before we even left the parking lot. When we got home we laid him in bed. He ended up waking up and crawling in my lap and going back to sleep.

"Roughing It"

Our my Mom's way home she dropped us off at the KOA so we could meet Curtis to go camping (we've had the reservations since June.) Originally we were going to camp in our tent but when we saw that the forecast called for possible showers and high temperatures we changed our reservations. For $10 more a night we got a one room cabin with AC and beds. The cabins were right on the water so Curt and Lucas didn't even have to go very far to fish.

In the middle of the fishing lake is a bird sanctuary so there were birds everywhere. We saw ducks, geese, ibis, and swans. It was really cool.

Lucas was so excited to finally be camping and to be spending time with his Daddy. He kept asking for Jadie though (she had a vacation at my parents' house.)

The cabin had a set of bunk beds and a full size bed. Lucas was so excited to sleep on the top bunk in his sleeping bag. He slept up there both nights we were there. I hope when it is time for us to get him a bigger bed we can get him a loft bed.

The KOA had boats that you could rent for $3.00 and hour so we rented a boat. It was Lucas' first time out on the water in a boat and he really liked it but we didn't stay out that long so they didn't even charge us anything (Lucas wanted to go swimming in the pool.)

Lucas also caught his first fish all by himself. He reeled it in and everything. He proudly brought it over to show me and the fish flopped out of his hand in the dirt. Lucas got very upset that his fish was dirty and wanted me to give him a bath before he threw him back. Luckily we were able to convince him that it would be okay if he threw him back dirty. I was proud of my little guy for holding his own fish.

Curt and Lucas fished and fished until a duck came and ate their bait and a turtle broke their fishing pole. Even when they weren't able to fish they still had plenty to do. We went swimming lots of times, made s'mores, played pool and video games in the arcade and hung out with friends and family that dropped by.

I loved just watching the birds.

I think the swans were my favorite.

Lucas loved all the grilled hot dogs and hamburgers. Why does food taste so much better cooked outside over a fire? Right in front of our cabin was a sign that said "No swimming," we quickly found out why.....

This little guy and some other friends would always show up when we were cooking and eating.

Curt had a blast kayaking with my aunt. I didn't give it a try because I didn't want to take the chance of tipping over and swimming with the gators.

Lucas was a little scared that his Daddy was going to get eaten by gators (hmmm where did he get that fear from?) so he kept crying for him to "come back!"

Every night we were there at dusk the trees in the middle of the lake would fill will birds. It was so pretty to see. We had the best time at the KOA and all the staff were friendly. I know we'll be back!

The Importance of Marshmallows

Since camping is our new "thing" I couldn't resist getting Lucas this sweet little set of toys for his birthday. I had a hard time tracking it down (when I originally tried to order it was out of stock) and it came in the mail today. He absolutely loves it and played "camping" all day long. When he first opened the box and laid everything out he asked me "Mommy, but where are the marshmallows?"

White Water Rafting

A group from my church is going White Water Rafting next month and I've talked Curt into us going along. I am so excited that I can hardly wait! We are leaving Lucas for the first time (we've been away from him before but never at the same time for longer than a few hours.) We will be camping and getting more use out of our camping equipment. (We were actually supposed to be going camping this weekend but at the last minute We changed our reservations. We are now going in September because tent camping in June in GA is just too HOT!)

Lucas' First Camping Trip

This weekend we took Lucas camping for the very first time. Curt decided a few weeks ago to plan a camping trip to get away for the weekend. We spent the last two weeks buying camping gear and planning our trip with Curt's sisters Sam and Angela. Honestly, I wasn't really looking forward to the trip at first. I'm not a fan on being hot and getting eaten up by bugs. Since Curt was making an effort to plan something nice for our family to do I sucked it up, kept my mouth shut and went along with it. I ended up having a blast and now I can't wait until our next camping trip!

Lucas had a lot of fun too and he didn't really want to leave. I was trying to get him excited about going home and telling him all the great stuff he would be able to do (play with his toys, sleep in his own bed, watch cartoons, play with Jadie) When I ran out of things rattling off the pluses about going home Lucas added "take a bath in my bathtub" and Curt and I could NOT stop laughing! The only thing he hated about camping was having to take a shower instead of a bath. For whatever reason Lucas is afraid of the shower and even worries when Curt and I shower. He will come in and say "Get out! The shower is hurting you!!!"


Now that we are home and Lucas has taken a very LOOOOONG bath he wants to go back camping. He keeps asking to roast more marshmallows, go fishing, and play with his cousins.

I think camping is going to be our family's "thing" that we do together. We are already starting to plan our next trip. I really want to go camping at a beach somewhere. Curt has told me that for presents for our anniversary, his birthday, and Christmas he wants camping gear. I guess with Father's Day right around the corner Lucas and I better start shopping.

More pictures HERE