1st campout of 2016!

Oh, hellloooooo there.

I have meant to update all week but things have been busy. Otherwise prioritized. That's ok though! 

Last weekend was super fun! We had our first camp out of the year! It has been a LONG time (like, since Sophia was 11 months old!!) since we went camping. The last time we went, it was October, and the days were warm but the nights were way too cold for me. I woke Andy up at like, 2am and had him start the car so the kids & I could sit in and get warm while he packed up our campsite to take us home! It was awful and I still hear about it. 

Naturally. haha.

So Saturday morning we lounged around and had coffee, then loaded up our gear and headed out to Mount Magazine. There's a lake trail that starts at the lake (also called the bluff trail, I hear) and its about ten miles from the lake to the bluffs at the top of the mountain. We obviously knew we wouldn't do ten miles with our kiddos, so we just planned to hike at least two and see how they were doing. We made it 2.3 miles before they just couldn't hack any more. It was super warm! We were sweating and wearing tank tops. IN FEBRUARY! I'm loving this winter (although it actually IS cold outside right now, dang). 

Super cool tree- I see an elephant when I look at it. I love elephants, and collect them. :) 

We let Olivia choose the spot to put our tent and we were settled nicely between the trail and a spring fed creek. This was excellent because I grossly underestimated how much water we would need! Andy & I refilled our water bottles from the spring, and we of course had plenty of tap water in other bottles for the kids. I wouldn't want the kids to drink unfiltered water from the earth. I was most praying that Andy & I didn't get sick. We didn't. WHEW!

For our first  camp out, we brought canned Chef Boyardee products. It was super easy (although not healthy) and the kids had a blast cooking the cans on the hot rocks. We also brought along KIND bars, banana chips, apples, and clementines for healthier options. Oh, and PopTarts for breakfast (they're not allowed at our house because of.. well, I'll write about that silly story another time).

The low Saturday night was 57, so the weather was actually spectacular. It did rain on us, but barely. The sprinkles began around 8:30, but we had the rain cover on the tent so no worries. We did go to bed about 8:45, and it was way too early. We didn't have sleeping pads for under our sleeping bags so we were basically just on the ground. It was SO uncomfortable. Once the kids got to sleep they stayed asleep though. My old bones tossed and turned all night, I think I woke up every single hour! I just kept thinking to myself, this is like the Lambchop song.. "the song that never ends," only its the night that never ends! ha! 

We all woke up to the sound of an owl HOO-HOOing and that was super cool. I don't think I've ever heard an owl before. I mean, maybe, but this is the first time I remember. We pretty much packed up and hiked back to the car as soon as we were all awake. It was a super fun trip but the kids are definitely sick of hiking and camping, so we are taking this weekend off. That's ok with me though, Andy is taking me to to driving range and I'm going to try my hand at golf. We will see how that goes. :) 

Tuesday morning after we dropped Sophia off at school, we went to Pack Rat in Fayetteville to check out some hiking boots and new packs. I'm really hoping that we can spend some time this summer doing long hikes/camping trips without the kids. It would be such a fun experience for Andy & me to have together. 

Here are a couple of the things I found that I love::

These things were pretty light on the foot, but seriously they're HUGE. I felt like I had on weighted clown shoes in every single pair of hiking boots I tried on! 

Something for Sophia- a camelbak! Its cute and small, so she can carry her own water. I think that getting the kids their own cute hiking gear will get them excited to spend more time outdoors. 

This Osprey KOBY pack doesn't come with its own water pouch but it does have the space for it and the elastics for the water straw. This is Olivia's size and both kids will probably get one of these for Olivia's birthday.

I tried on a lot of packs, I fell in LOVE with an Osprey that didn't have customizable hip/torso pieces and it hurt my feelings. haha. This pack was pretty good but obviously not in this color. Still shopping. The sales woman at PackRat was SO kind and helpful, I'll definitely be going back there when I make the purchase.