Sunday, June 9, 2013

Camping at Dan Nicholas

Between the busy-ness of VBS and upcoming youth and childrens camp Chris and I decided a couple of days of quality, face time with the kids was in order. So, we loaded up the camper and headed out for Dan Nicholas Park. It's a great, fun place for the kids and only about 30 minutes away so it makes it perfect for a quick trip out of town. 

 Dinner the first night - HOT DOGS!!! The littles were in heaven! It was so fun because we let them "cook" their own hot dog. This literally meant that it was on a stick and in the vicinity of the fire for maybe 10 seconds before they would eat the hot dog right off the stick. The hot dogs literally didn't even get hot enough for us to need to tell them to be careful eating them, but they had a good time so we let it be what it was :)

Camping with little man is tricky. A 15 month old who doesn't walk but can get around crawling very quickly in the woods has the potential to be a disaster. But we kept him confined to a chair alot :) and tried it all different ways to keep himself occupied. 






 After dinner the first night the 2 year olds and I went on a walk along the water. We ended up seeing ducks, turtles and fish so we went back to get pretzels to feed all the animals. It was so much fun to get to spend some time with just the 2 of them and get to watch them experience animals that close for the first time. 





 This is what Caleb did while we fed the ducks :)
 Breakfast the next morning. The Andersens can throw down some food!  I was stunned at how much our kids eat. For breakfast this morning they literally ate 1 dozen eggs, 1 pound of bacon, and 5 potatoes. We're in trouble when they're bigger!
 After breakfast we rode our bikes from the camping area to the play stuff. Our kids are a perfect age for this park and it's entertainment.

The train from Daddy's view...

and from Mommy's view....


 The reptile area...Creed didn't love the "nakes"

and as we left the reptile area there was another "nake"laying right out in the mulch!! 
 Cadence thought it escaped :)




The Carousel 


Creed was afraid of the carousel (and the train) so this horse was much more his speed

 The girls looking at all the birds

and the water area!!!  I mean who doesn't like a good splash pad on a hot day?



Dinner night 2.....Hobo dinners with potatoes, carrots, onions and mushrooms....YUMMY!


 Daddy taught the boys how to do this and then we saw it ALOT! 
they thought they were big stuff peeing on trees :)

There's something about all the kids playing together that just makes me so happy!

and s'mores for dessert!! Because you really can't go camping and not make them...




 We had such a great time camping. I was so grateful for a few days away because for me, when I can look my kids in the face and play with them and not have 100 other things vying for my attention, 
I remember how much I like my kids :)  We really are so blessed!




2 comments:

mama said...

You are truly blessed and so are these kids! Having fun with just mommy, daddy and each other is priceless!!

Elizabeth Bradley said...

Not sure how or why, but I never realized that your littlest man isn't walking yet.

And in no particular order, I love...

Livie's eyelashes in that smore's picture
that your boys are such boys
that your blonde boy is often shirtless... and scared
the ways you make memories with your kiddos
seeing you as a mom... you're doing a good job!