Thoughts on Camping

This weekend we took our first family camping trip.  As Ed and I dragged our camping things up from the basement and looked through them to see what we needed for this trip, we were flooded with memories of camping while we lived in Italy.  Oh the memories...I can't even begin to describe what an amazing adventure we were blessed with when we had the opportunity to spend the first 3 years of our marriage exploring Europe.  Not that it didn't have it's share of challenges too...but these adventures are what I remember most.  And there are more pictures that I was hoping to find, but just can't at the moment.  Someday when I have more time to get organized, I'll address the huge project of condensing and organizing our pictures:)  But for now here are a few pics that I dug up from our camping adventures in Europe...mostly in Austria since it was a destination that was close enough for a weekend and amazingly beautiful and rustic.

One of Ed's creative camping setups:)

 I love going to National Parks anywhere, so finding and exploring them in Europe was awesome!

 We were even able to canoe on some of our trips!

 Another National Park find!  I was in heaven:)

 One of so many amazing views, I can hardly wrap my mind around what we saw.

 Another camping setup in Austria.

And I'm not sure if this was on a camping trip or just a day-drive we took, but I remember this lunch and this town so well.  We LOVED the little cafes we could find in Italy and all of the amazing food/wine we could sample.  My mouth is watering just looking at this picture! 

With that trip down memory lane, and many more camping adventures that I wish I could share, I now fast forward to our first official family camping trip earlier this week.  We haven't camped in years and have been anxious to go again, but didn't feel quite up to the challenge of camping with 3 very little ones.  But this summer it finally felt like it might be manageable to at least give it a try.  And what better way to spend some quality time together before school starts, without all the distractions of home.  So we loaded up our gear (the car was literally STUFFED), and off we went!

The fighting began as soon as we got there when each one of the kids wanted to pull the wagon with firewood "by themselves!"  There not so great at the taking turns thing either...everyone wants to be first.  Oh my, we are in a stage of everyone wanting the same thing and everyone wanting to do it first:)  But somehow we managed to get the wagon to the car in one piece and everyone had their own turn, which may not be believed by how many tears were shed over this simple task!  I think Ed and I were both wondering what we were thinking at this point, but things improved from there:)

The kids kept busy while we set up camp.  Sam was anxious to help in whatever way he could and the girls easily entertained themselves.  I think my only "complaint," if I may call it that, about the entire experience was how LOUD the kids were.  I know kids are loud in general, but our seemed extra, extra loud compared to any activity that was going on around us.  There seemed to be no volume moderation...but I guess they aren't used to being in a shared place where they have to be too concerned about keeping their volumes down for the enjoyment of everyone around them.  Other than that, it was great to see them enjoying themselves and the new experience. 

We were able to take the canoe out a few times and decided it might be time to hunt for a few more paddles.  No one wanted to share the one extra paddle we have either:)

We canoed across the lake to this rocky bluff and all scrambled up it to the top.  Great for pictures, not so great for keeping my sanity with 3 kids wanting to look over every edge of this high cliff.  It was enough to almost give me a heart attack!  And I managed to get poison ivy or something like it from scrambling (off trail!) back down the hill/cliff, but it wasn't horrible and the experience was totally worth it.

We roasted hot dogs and marshmallows the first night.  I have so many memories of just sitting around the campfire all the times we went camping when I was little.  The kids didn't want to do much sitting, but enjoyed the roasting part:)

The next day we went for a couple hikes.  The first one was super easy.  A paved trail to a small waterfall area. 

 We've got some great little hikers here!

 This hike was nothing compared to what we were about to embark on next!

The next hike was meant to be longer, but not painful:)  It was a hike to a cave up on a cliff side.  In hindsight, what we should have done was taken the canoe across the lake to the cliff side.  But since we had never been here, we didn't know if we would be able to pick up the trail easy enough from the lakeside and after getting poison ivy the previous day, I wasn't eager to meander through more scrub brush to find the trail.  So we set out for the hike and ended up hiking a total of 4 hours! 

 Even when we got to this sign, we still had a ways to go.

Thankfully there were lots of blackberries along the trail to snack on...I think it seriously saved us.  Both as a snack and as a distraction for the kids.

When we finally made it, there was a cave, and it was a new experience for the kids, but as Sam said, "I wish the cave was bigger."  A LOT of work for a little cave.  But another experience nonetheless!  The hike there was long...the hike back was exhausting.  I seriously can't even believe that Mollie and Emmeline (and Sam for that matter) hiked for 4 hours.  Nobody wanted to hike back, but I think they learned that sometimes you just have to do something, even if you don't want to.  There were no other options!  I hope we didn't ruin the idea of hiking for them...it wasn't our intention at all and hope we can get them out there again without the memories of how hard this hike was!

That evening Ed and Sam went fishing.  Unfortunately they didn't catch anything, but Sam sure had fun trying:)  They tried again in the morning...still no luck, but great time spent together while the girls and I hit the park and beach.

Overall, we had a great trip.  It was a successful first camping trip as a family and fun memories were created.  We look forward to trying a new spot next year with new adventures that await. 

And now we are enjoying our last few days before school starts.  I took the girls to their preschool open house last night and Sam will be going to his tonight.  They start school next week!  It has been a great summer, and it's always sad to see it come to an end.  There's something special about the freedom and unplanned days of summer.  But routine is also a great thing and I think we all thrive on a good routine.  I am looking forward to the start of a new routine and new school year for all of the kids this year!