Camping Fun

A few months ago I planned ahead and booked 2 weekends for the family to go camping.  The kids have backyard camped a few times and loved it.  Gwen has been asking to go "real camping" - meaning not in the backyard.  I thought if I booked 2 weekends we would have good weather for at least one.  In October we went to Colorado Bend State Park.  Bummer was that it was FREEZING cold out in hill country, the coldest weekend of the fall.  Even with the chilly temperatures the kids loved it and we had a great time.  We roasted marshmallows and I discovered that the best s'more is made with Nutella. 

We went for a very long hike to see a waterfall and the kids walked for 3 hours with little complaint - only Maddy got carried at the end.  We also learned a lot about each other.  Gwen will not use a composting toilet but she will squat out in the open and poop when she really has to go.  Mommy has a really terrible night of sleep on an air mattress and requires coffee to function as a human.  For being a princess, Maddy camps really well.  Dad can build a fire - using Mommy's trick of Doritos as a fire starter.  Jack gets really mad at Gwen when she doesn't let him lead on the trail once in a while. And socks make excellent mittens.

This weekend was camping trip #2.  This time we went to McKinney Falls State Park.  We decided we like this park better.  It was only an hour away, campsites had water and power, nicer bathrooms and they sold coffee!  Lucky for us it was also a much nicer weekend for camping, low 60/high 80.  We got to the campsite Friday at 6 and had enough time for John to build a fire, set up the tent and get dinner started before it got too dark.  Once again the kids had a great time and loved every minute of it.  ~Sigh~ while Mommy much prefers her own bed and comforts of home.