Our First Camping Trip!

A couple weekends ago we went on our very first family camping trip. We've done a couple of vacations in the past with the kids but this was the very first camping trip....in a tent and everything! :)We went with 2 of our friends and their kiddos. total we had 4 toddlers (ages 19 months, 2, 2, and 3) and all three of us mamas are pregnant again. Yea… it was fun but exhausting! Certainly an adventure!

We packed entirely too much stuff and jammed our car full of things we may possibly need in the 3 days we would be gone.

*Rylee and Jake and allllll our stuff!! Let's go!*

We arrived at Caspers Wilderness Park on Friday afternoon. First of all, HUGE Kudos to the Fedlers for finding this gem in Orange County! Just 40 minutes away (and 10 minutes from the nearest city), it’s close to home but feels so far from it. It was gorgeous and filled with tons of little creatures, mountains, fields, hiking trails and dirt! : ) You can tent camp, tent trailer, RV or even bring your horses. It was certainly a family friendly place, had clean bathrooms AND hot showers! Seriously – best of both worlds! Here's a quick snapshot I took as we were driving in!

There was also this AMAZING playground that was just a short walk from our campsite. We went there everyday with the kids and they LOVED IT!

The kids had a great time playing together and getting dirty. We all brought different things to keep them entertained for 5-10 minutes at a time. This giant playpen was a great blessing too -- they stayed in for about 20 minutes! :)

Nights were filled with campfires, marshmellows, popcorn, and very little sleep! Jake, our normally GREAT sleeper was just not having it. Poor guy woke up several times and when camping, every little sound is LOUD. So Darrin ended up taking him to the truck to sleep. :/ Days were fun but nights were tough!

Since the nights were so rough, by Sunday we were ready to come home! We weren't suppose to leave until Monday morning, but we all decided that a couple days were enough! :) One family was already scheduled to leave Sunday. So us and the other family decided it would be nice to get home, do laundry, sleep in our own beds and enjoy the day off on Monday. By Sunday though, my patience was pretty low (especially with the kids) and I did not have the best of attitudes. I'm so grateful for good friends that love you no matter what and are so gracious even when you're at your least!! We packed up, had lunch and was out of there! I think the kids were excited to go home too! :)

Overall, our first trip was a success!! Had some ups and downs, but that's life, right? Even though we had a grea time - I think we all decided that we'll wait to camp in a tent until the kiddos are a little bit older!! :) Maybe rent a cabin somewhere next time... ;)