Now I love camping.

Our gigantic tent with the beautiful creek in the background. It was amazing to fall alseep listening to the sound of the rushing creek.
The creek.

Samantha couldn't wait to sleep in the tent. She slept better than anyone in her cozy pac n play. I was so glad we decided to bring it for her. She can climb in and out of it no problem but it was still nice for her to have a special place of her own.

One of the reasons that I didn't love camping the last few years was because the girls didn't sleep so great in the tent. There was always a kid squirming around between us or a nursing baby (not too cozy trying to feed baby on an air mattress), or someone was too cold or had to go potty, etc. Anyway, this weekend we had a terrific sleep experience! It's so nice to wake up happy and rested after a night of camping.

Our friend Craig helped all the kids practice chopping wood with the ax. Great fun!

Yummy s'mores (with strawberry marshmallows!).

Sitting around the fire. Samantha didn't like the heat from the fire or the smoke but she enjoyed exploring around the campsite. Danielle was allowed to bring her American Girl doll out for campfire time. Only once did she get marshmallow in the doll's hair! Thankfully it washed out well.

Samantha playing in the creek right by our campsite. Truly this is the prettiest camp spot I've ever been to.

We also went an a hike to a beautiful lake. I didn't bring my camera for that adventure but just imagine me holding Danielle's hand and Jeff packing Samantha in the backpack. Danielle was a great hiker. She had her own little backpack with her camera and journal (she's her mommy's girl). It was a pretty tough hike for a 4 year old so I was proud of her and hopeful that we can do lots more of this in the future!

I loved getting away from it all if even just for 2 days. I'm so thankful that it went so smoothly and we all had a truly wonderful time.