Camping Fun

We decided to go camping for Spring Break. We were going to leave on Monday and come back Wednesday, but when we heard that Monday and Tuesday were going to be wash out days we thought that camping in the rain with kids would not be a good experience. So we canceled our reservation. With it being Spring Break as well as Easter Weekend finding a camp ground with availability was hard. We finally found a camp ground with a spot for us at Cooper State Park. Cooper State Park is about a couple of hours from here. We figured since we are the Coopers we should go and check out Cooper State Park.

The kids enjoyed camping, fishing, and biking. We learned that Spencer needs to stay warm and sleeping in a tent is not his cup of tea. He cried the whole night until we put him in the car. Grant went out in the middle of the night making room for Spencer in the car. When he came back to the tent, Spencer had fallen asleep in my arms, but Madeline was starting to cry. So Madeline and Grant went and slept in the car. Grant would turn the car on and run the heater for a bit and then he would turn the car off. A few hours later I got too cold and so I traded spaces with Grant in the car. When Grant got back to the tent he woke Spencer up in the process of getting into bed. So Spencer joined Madeline and I in the back of the car. There we slept great. The next morning we rearranged some things, moved the air mattress into the back of the car for Spencer and I to sleep in that night. Spencer slept great and Grant and the kids shared one air mattress. Grant got up several times to help Madeline get comfortable or put blankets back on her. Anthony was the only one that slept great both nights. He is a born camper. He loves being outdoors and gets so excited when we go camping or go hiking. This was Madeline's first time to go fishing and she was so excited. She especially loved the worms. She was not scared of them one bit. She dove right in digging for a worm to put on her hook. Anthony on the other hand would not touch them one bit. Madeline wanted to put the worm on her hook, but Grant saw danger in her doing that and knew that she would poke herself pretty good. Fishing with Madeline was an adventure. She would swing her fishing rod around getting it tangled in trees or getting it hooked on her shirt. She enjoyed casting her line out and then reeling it back in or taking her rod and making circles in the water. Anthony has gone fishing before but he still has not developed the patience for waiting. As soon as he casts he is ready to reel it back in. He is getting pretty good at casting himself we just need to work on the patience part, but that will come with age.

With this camping trip we learned a few things. Cereal works a lot better than panacakes and next time I will prepare food ahead of time and just heat it up at our campsite. I felt like I was either cooking or cleaning up the whole time and wasn't doing a lot of relaxing. We also learned that we can make special camping chores for the kids to do to help with the load. They helped set up the campsite, but as far as cooking and cleaning we didn't have them do anything. Also paper products work just as good as regular plastic plates, and when camping you need to start dinner at 4:00 or you will be eating and trying to clean up in the dark. At 7:00 kids are tired and cranky and trying to clean up from dinner with tired and cranky kids who still want their smores is not fun. So with all that in mind our next camping trip should be better. And we probably won't go camping until it is a little bit warmer during the night or Spencer will have a fit. Next time we will have a sleeping bag for Madeline so that she can not get out of her covers and wake up cold. We had a lot of fun and I know the kids enjoyed themselves. The park was nice, the campsites were a little bit close together, but the spot that we were was a safe spot to be with kids riding their bikes. We were next to a circle so the kids could ride down the street go around the circle and come back without being in any real danger of cars.

Enough with the rambling here are pictures for you all to enjoy!

Anthony wanted to take a picture of our campsite, hence the number 59. Maybe he wanted to remember that 59 was a great spot.

A pic of Anthony riding his bike.

A pic of Madeline riding her scooter.

Where is Anthony? Where is Madeline? Grant took this picture during one of the many times he got up in the middle of night to cover up and help kids get comfortable.

Madeline and Anthony cooking their hot dogs for dinner. Madeline loves the campfire. We had to have a good lesson about fire safety and the way we walk around the campfire. This girl is either clueless or has no fear.
Madeline and Anthony enjoying the evening by the fire. Notice the tea kettle, the kids loves to have hot chocolate it is one of their treats they look forward to every night.
Anthony fishing.
Madeline fishing.
Anthony wanted to take a pic of everyone by the tent.