CAMPING ADVENTURE!!!

We just LOVE this amazing group of people. We are blessed to have them in our lives and we treasure our every other week meetings, our Sunday mornings together, and our visits during the week. These are the people who we laugh with, cry with, pray with, and learn to parent with. This spring we thought it would be fun to plan a bigger adventure than just a night at the park together….so, we thought about CAMPING!!! Over the next few months…people were convinced that camping can be fun, a campsite for 30 people was found, lists were made, people were still convinced that this could be fun, shopping was done, food was prepped, and cars were packed (every single inch of the car was packed). We headed all the way up to Placerville on Saturday morning of Memorial Day weekend. We joked about only going 40 minutes away, but it ended up working out perfectly. We arrived first, as our boys were very excited to get there for the fishing derby. Grandpa had prepared a bunch of fishing lines for them and they were ready to fish. We got camp set up and then headed down for the derby. Unfortunately they didn’t catch anything in the competition but they still got a prize for participating. As the day went on our friends began to arrive and each family got their tent set up. We had bits of rain during the day, but the sun kept peaking out.. The day was lovely. It was filled with kids catching fish, kids learning how to fish, playground time, lawn chair time, and good conversations. By about 4:30 everyone had arrived and all tents were set up (6 BIG tents). We started prepping our hot dog dinner when it started to rain. Well…..it continued to rain all the way through dinner and for some time after. Everyone was hanging out in tents and at about 6:30 after learning that our tent was leaking, we decided to head home for the night. All the families except the brave DeJongs threw the kids in the car and drove 40 minutes home for warm showers and dry beds. In the morning the sun was out and we all met back at the campground at 9:00. Things had dried out and we went on with our day. After a yummy breakfast and a devotional time we started the day. More fishing took place, kids played mini golf, kids swung on the swings for hours (Allie Marie), they watched the goats, played at the park, did crafts, and enjoyed a whole day with no agenda (SO LOVELY). We had a yummy taco salad dinner and then roasted marshmallows. We finished off the night at the campground karoke night. It was a time of good laughs and interesting music. We all nestled into our tents and attempted a good nights sleep despite the chilly weather. Monday morning we hung out for a bit, let the kids play, and then packed up and headed for home. We survived the adventure…all 12 adults and 18 children (aged 7 and under)!! I just love seeing my kids when we are camping. They LOVE it and they are so happy. They all love the simple things that come along with camping and being outdoors is just about their favorite place to be. I love watching them interact with their friends and laughing with each other. Thanks FRIENDS for a wonderful weekend…..even if we did get a little wet!!! We missed you Corsons and Frosts!