Family Campout

I have so many fond memories of family campouts growing up,

and Clay has enjoyed his share as well.

We have always talked about sharing this experience with Max,

and after we took some crazy pills (I jest...but seriously)

we decided that last weekend was the perfect time to start the tradition!

We packed the car and headed south to Lake Whitney State Park.

Max was so excited he could run free (well, mostly) was thoroughly sweaty within minutes!

After we'd been there about an hour, Max motioned like he wanted to get back in the car.

Silly boy! We're staying here and get to play outside all evening!

Max LOVED helping Daddy set up the tent.

 

 Max LOVED picking up rocks (and fire ants - whoops).

Max LOVED sitting on the shore, throwing rocks and watching the canoe row past

(we're going to pretend that they were being romantical

and not that they have no idea how to properly sit in a canoe).

 

Max LOVED eating dinner outside, though it was difficult to get him to sit still!

Max LOVED playing with glow sticks.

Max LOVED eating a few bites of s'mores trail mix 

while sitting in his very own Max-sized camp chair by the campfire.

And then it was time for bed...

We may have let little man stay up a bit too late;

he was quite cranky and not at all okay with our planned sleeping arrangements

(a pallet of blankets next to us) ...so we ended up letting him sleep on the air mattress

between Clay and I, which was quite an adventure!

At one point, Max had managed to get himself into the perfect position

to put his rump in Daddy's face (after kicking him, of course)!

I could not stop laughing - and shaking the bed. :)

We definitely had our share of wallops from little man during the night;

he is quite a little mover in his sleep!

 

We knew a cold front was forecast to come in overnight,

but it was kind of difficult to dress our cranky toddler in footie pajamas in the 80-degree heat.

So to make things even more fun, we decided to do it at midnight instead - ha!

Eventually we all got settled and managed to get a bit of sleep.

(I was surprised how well little man snoozed, though I feel like I reverted 

to the newborn days where every single noise or move startled me awake.)

The next morning we were greeted by our lovely little alarm clock!

After a yummy breakfast of pancakes and stale hot chocolate

(yes, it does go bad after three years),

we packed up camp and headed down to the water for one last look.

 After a quick photo stop at the entrance, we were on our way back to Fort Worth - by 10:00am!

So our first family campout was a short and sweet one, but definitely a success!

We look forward to making many more future family campouts - just maybe not for a while. :)