Family Camping

 Over Thanksgiving break 2020, our family went on our very first camping trip. It helped so much that we tagged along with the camping experts-- Andrew and Sarah's family and Kim and Matt's family. Our trip was to Huntsville State Park, a short hour drive away. It was a beautiful location with a large lake and various hiking trails.

We set up camp late Friday night and started our main adventures on Saturday. That morning, Uncle Andrew gifted each of the four 8-year-olds (Jaden, Cody, Abby, and Ryan) with a pocketknife multi-tool.

Andrew gave the kids a tutorial on the various tools and taught them important safety tips as well. The kids all seemed so grown up, using their tools! They were quite excited about the gift.

Our 3 night camping trip was full of lots of relaxation and family time outdoors. We played outdoor sports, 

played games (Careers was the older kids' favorite!),

traded Pokemon cards,

went fishing,

tried out canoeing,

and did a lot of exploring in nature.

One afternoon while the littlest ones napped, a group of adults took the older kids on a hike. The kids' favorite aspect of the hike was cutting down "bamboo" and creating walking sticks/ninja swords (?) for themselves. The multi-tools assisted well with this!

Kim and I had to try out some ninja poses as well. Ha!

Of course, the weekend was also full of some tasty camp food-- including chocolate chip pancakes and s'mores.

On Sunday morning, we held a family devotion around the campfire.

God blessed us with amazing weather during this trip--nice warm days, but cooler in the mornings and evenings. We enjoyed time connecting with family in this relaxed setting and loved simply resting in God's magnificent creation! Family camping trip #1 was a success!