Off the Beaten Path

We went on a camping trip this weekend...just one night.  When we go camping, we like to find a camping site off the beaten path...not your normal campgrounds, but a place out and away from all the people...where you are able to enjoy God's beautiful nature a little more and have to worry less about how your children may affect other people's camping experiences.  We had a great time!

The best part is James just loves camping!  He thinks it is great excitement!  He talked about it the whole way there, and then upon our return home, he wanted to go camping again.  There is a lot of nature exploration and time spent going for walks.  James was able to be the leader on our family walks together.  We went on a walk after dinner and were able to see the sunset.  Then after breakfast the next morning we went on a nice, long walk together.  Also being able to stay up later and watch the stars light up the sky also adds to James's sense of enjoyment.

My husband and I managed to get both boys asleep and laid down in the tent, and we were able to spend some time by the campfire together making smores and talking.  I called it our "smore date" just because with two young children, it seems it gets more difficult to find that time to really connect and communicate as a couple. 

This time the sleeping went a lot better than our last camping trip a few weeks ago.  This was only Sam's second camping trip.  I didn't end up needing to pull Sam into my sleeping bag with me because he stayed plenty warm enough.  Also James slept much better...he still woke up a lot, but he didn't cry out "Daddy!" each time he woke up which is an improvement to last time.  We expect the boys to wake up or get startled because they are not home tucked away in their cribs, and there are all kinds of unusual noises.

Anyway...I am glad we take the boys out and enjoy these experiences together.  James already has a love for camping and hiking, and of course, that may change as he gets older, but hopefully since we have managed to instill that love already, it will stick with him.  Maybe the same will be true for Sam as well.  Only time will tell as with many of life's mysteries...