It’s become a bit of a tradition to share our annual family camping adventures here on the blog! I have to admit, after last summer’s camping trip where I unknowingly get a little cozy with a deer tick, and was infected with Lyme Disease, I wasn’t quite as excited to pitch a tent in the wilderness this summer. I have this mama-bear quality where I fiercely want to protect my littles from danger. But I also have a quality that doesn’t want to cower in a bubble and hide from life just because of the ‘what-ifs’.
Speaking of bubbles, here’s a PSA for you… BUY A BUBBLE MACHINE (affiliate>> this is the one we got). Your kids will be entertained for dayyyyyys (until the batteries die and you don’t get around to replacing them, and they eventually forget about it for awhile until you busty it back out again). I should really add this to my list of must-haves to make camping not suck.
We always try to get to the campsite before all my siblings and their kids so that our girls can get settled and decompress from the drive a bit before the real chaos starts. It also doesn’t hurt to get first pick of places to pitch our tent. We got the shadiest and flattest spot! BOOM!
Then the troops started rolling in… uncles and aunts and cousins OH MY!
Even our tent was infiltrated with giggling cousins!
There was canoeing…
And water balloon fights…
And there were morning snuggles in the tent…
And in hammocks.
Since I know some of you are going to ask about the little playground in previous pics, it’s by a company called EZ Play, and they sent us one for our kiddos to play with. It was the perfect thing to keep the smaller kids (ages 1-4 ish) occupied and not exploring in the poison ivy. It was so easy to pop together on our campsite, and even collapses flat when you’re done with it. UPDATE! I just got an email from them saying my readers get 20% off the the coupon code REALITYDAYDREAM! And they have a jungle gym for older kids ages 4-10 that the coupon code is good for too!
The weather was amazing, there were no emergency room visits, and not a single tick that we know of.
I love having this opportunity to ditch modern technology and hang out in nature for a couple days. The girls have so much fun and get so grubby!
If you want to read about our previous years of Annual Fam Camping, here is 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011
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What a lovely time! Your girls are growing so fast! You and Nick have a beautiful family, thanks for sharing.
Hey Beth, Haven’t posted in a while but I’m still reading. Love your family camping trips. Can’t believe how big your girls are getting. They are beautiful. Glad you had good weather. As for Southeastern Virginia…it has been Africa hot and the humidity is as high as the temps. Had 104 feels like this week. Vikki in VA.
Just a random follower here, but I noticed Nate in your pics. I graduated the architecture program at ISU with him! Small world 🙂
Oh weird! What a small world!
Your girls are beautiful! Looks like a fun time. We camped at Saylorville last month for a WHOLE week with 3 girls (12, 9, and 4). The youngest got into something that gave her a rash but otherwise we had fun camping and boating! We were out during the storms that rolled through and the girls thought hearing the NWS weather alerts was awesome. Me…not so much. Gotta love Iowa summers!
Agree! Iowa weather is crazy! That’s so awesome you went for a whole week. I can’t imagine doing that with Cypress. 😉 She’s a wild pony.
I LOVE reading your camping posts and wait for them each year! After not hearing from you for awhile and pondering the silence, I had an A-HA! moment and said “Ohhhhhh, I bet they’re camping!” So much fun. I am so totally jealous and wish my family could do something like this. Since summers in Oklahoma are BRUTAL and most of my family are fair-skinned and/or gingers who do not get along with the sun too well, we have actually been discussing renting big lodge/cabin and taking a trip for Christmas instead of just piling into one of our too-tiny houses. It makes me so excited to start planning!!
Anywhoooo…. Your girls are GORGEOUS and getting so big! Can’t believe the girlies are 6 already! Time sure does fly. 🙂
Awwww Meagan, I’m so glad you’re still around! I always wonder if my regulars are still here sometimes when there aren’t as many comments. 😉 The cabin-camping sounds AMAZING! I’m not going to lie, sometimes I just want to roll up in an enormous luxury RV. LOL!
Of course I’m still around!!! I just don’t comment all that often because although I highly enjoy yours and Nick’s craftiness, I do not have an artistic bone in my body and my house is not decorated AT ALL because I have no idea what I am doing… I don’t have much to say on those posts. Your parenting and life posts are what keeps me coming back for more, sister!!! 🙂 After being a reader for 5+ years, I feel like I know you and your little family! Remember that one time I had a dream that our families were having a picnic on the beach together? Hahahahaha. Crazy, I know. I’m not a weird stalker, I promise!! I would have found you by now… Mwahahaha! Totally kidding. It’s kinda hard to be friendly without being creepy on the internet. Hahahahahaaha