first ever camping adventure

We met up with my brother and SIL, and my neice and nephew, over the weekend for our first attempt at camping with kids.  My family camped all the time when I was a kid, and I can still remember those trips with our pop-up camper, Dad cussing up a storm when the crank broke, grilling out and being filthy.  We thought since Logan is finally old enough (in other words, sleeps well and is potty trained), we'd give it a try this  year.   Our friends invited us to go here this fall with a whole group of families.  Its about four hours away.  So we figured we get our feet wet with this whole camping thing a little closer to home first.... get used to our tent, figure out what we needed to pack, how to cook in the great outdoors, etc.  My brother is an expert camper, ex-Boy Scout and has served as a trained mountain rescue volunteer, so we were in good hands.  And not only is he handy at a campsite, he can tell a heck of a campfire story.

For this first little trip, we kept it simple and booked a site at the Harpers Ferry, West Virginia KOA.  Only about an hour from us, very clean, lots for kids to do...   There are different levels of camping and I knew I needed to be at the level that involved electricity so I could have a fan running in the tent at night.  The level that has flushable toilets close by, running water and a swimming pool.  The level that includes queen size air mattresses.  Hey, at least I know and accept my limitations right?

The boys were SO excited about this trip, and are already asking when we can go again.  Despite a  torrential rain storm and a hovering cloud of gnats surrounding our every move, it was a great weekend.  We took notes and will probably change a few things we pack for next time, but Andrew really took the lead on the whole gear set up/break down thing thank goodness.  We had everything we needed and more, and it was nice to be somewhat 'unplugged' and just spend time with each other.  We met some really nice people, and although it took a lot of scrubbing to get the mud out from under the boys toenails last night, I'm pretty sure we'll be planning another camping trip soon.

We weren't their for long before we had four little monkeys in our tent:

The campground had a ton for kids to do, including a movie theatre and a game room which the boys hit full force.

Andrew hustled the kids at pool (and I think he only got hit in the nuts with a pool stick once!).

Our home away from home.  Andrew fashioned a tarp shelter off the back of his truck.  Here is a glance of it during the day and then at night.

The kids loved wearing their head lamps at night... they kind of looked like tiny gynocologists.

 Pickle, anyone?

Hanging in the hammock.

What's camping without a little mini golf?

 Next, it was onto the giant jumping pillow.

Logan decided it would be fun to fill up his socks with sand and then put them back on his feet.  This from a kid who refused to walk in the sand when he was a toddler.

Uncle Chris and Andrew showed the kids how its done.

The kids made their own trail mix (or in Dylan's case, a baggie of M&M's).

It was starting to look like rain, so we hurried to make s'mores before the raindrops fell.

When it finally started to rain, it wasn't kidding. The skies opened up and dumped for hours.  Our neighbors had constructed an entire city of tents and tarps, and invited us to come watch "What About Bob" on their 6 foot screen, while we enjoyed drinks and dryness.  Had it not been for them, we would have all been huddled under our tarp listening to our iPod and swapping campfire stories.  Which would have been fine, except for like a jackass, I didn't bring a single waterproof article of shoes or clothing and I was freezing!

Now, this is my kind of camping!

We stayed pretty dry that night, and it was even a little cozy laying in the tent listening to the rain.  It made for some soggy, muddy packing up camp in the morning and our garage is currently The Land of Hanging Camping Stuff to Dry.  We got home yesterday and made hot soup, took hot showers and naps.

I don't know that I'll ever be a real honest to goodness wilderness junkie.  But going away for two nights like we did, 'roughing' it, was pretty fun.  As long as I have my pillow and electric fan.