Camping 2010

We spontaneously rented a cabin at a nearby regional park. We wanted to give Sam a last-of-the-season opportunity to fish. We also wanted a couple of days with just our family to be in the woods and get away from home. We've always been tent campers and we love to cook outside, etc. We didn't go that route for several reasons: 1) the warm weather is past and it's just too cold at night for the littlest ones. 2) It's a major production to pack and prepare for a "rustic" trip with six young children. We decided on the next step up, a rustic cabin. This one-room cabin would have a roof, a wood stove, beds, a stove and refrigerator. Just enough extra convenience to reduce the amount of effort and discomfort. Well, what ended up happening was the park manager called and us and said that the forecast was COLD and very WET. He upgraded us to a modern cabin at no additional cost. So...it didn't end up being very similar to camping but it was a blessing in light of the weather. The modern cabin has two bedrooms, living and dining rooms, and kitchen. Oh, and a bathroom. No outhouse visits in the rain. :) Hot water (not to mention running water) and electric heat with a thermostat were the other major conveniences. I also didn't have to pack as much because all dishes and cookware were supplied. Since we had this cozy cabin for such a great rate, we asked if we could stay another night and we enjoyed a lovely mini-vacation, huddled together getting dry from our occasional excursions out into the rain. Our first meal in the little dining room.

This first arrival evening we cooked up some Reuben sandwiches with our homemade sauerkraut and served them with potato salad and iced tea.

I'm not sure where she got this (maybe her friend, Katrina), but this is one of Millie's favorite faces to make for me right now.

Two ready for bed. They're excited. They're holding their flashlights that we got them and they were excited about those too.

Two more ready for bed.

And the last two.

Cal really wanted me to take a picture. What a sweet 5 year old. :)

Some fun in the rain.

The slides and other toys were just too wet.

This was actually on the way to a lake in the park where we were heading to do a little fishing. There are two small lakes there that are both very child-friendly.

My dinner helper, buttering the bread.

Calvin and Dad made up their own game that was like playing soccer with a Frisbee. They called it 'frisoccer."

This is a good shot of the living room. The door to the right leads to the small room for the boys and the one straight ahead is the room that Peter and I shared with the girls.

A game of Rivers, Roads and Rails.

And a game of Oware or Nam Nam, that the boys had just received in the mail from their Aunt Leslie who brought it back for them from Ghana. They loved the game. It was such a fun thing to have along on the trip.

This was the last fishing trip on the last day. Peter took the boys for a few hours over to a lake at a nearby park. Here's Ben showing you a little pan fish he caught there.

Peter said it was so foggy that it was strange standing out on this water-drainage platform where they fished. They could only see a short distance in any direction. But it did not hinder the fun. They caught several little fish and had a generally good time.

This "camping" trip was great for our family. It was wonderful to have a couple of days with no distractions or responsibilities that we could just play with the kids. We played lots of games and did a lot of reading aloud to each other. We rested. We talked. It was great. The Lord worked out the details and we were so thankful for the renewed feeling in the relationships with the kids. I think it was what we needed after a busy summer.