Fall Camping Trip

Well, we did it!!! We went camping as a family of four ALL weekend!!! We went to Portola Redwoods State Park for Mountain School's annual fall camping trip! Last year Gavin and Derek went, but I stayed home with Austin at night...too much of a baby...me and him!

We left as soon as school was over on Friday afternoon, and headed over the mountain. We got there around 5 and quickly set up camp. We were so lucky to get a GREAT spot at the end of 'camp point' and we were right with our friends Jenni & Chris (son Will 2yrs) and Tandem & Erik (Sean 2yrs & James 4yrs). It was perfect! Between the three families we had plenty of food, toys, and camping gear!

On Friday night we just set up, and made a huge fire...had a nice dinner and of course s'mores. The kids ran everywhere and played...had a blast. A little after dark we headed into the tents to sleep. The kids were OUT in seconds. Derek and I were able to sneak out to have some wine and listen to Erik play guitar by the fire. Perfect.

The boys slept great. I was SO nervous that Austin would be up all night, but he was such a trooper! He was cold (it was probably 40degrees or less) so he was snuggled up by my side the whole night. His head was in my armpit, with my arm around him. Happy as can be. I swear, this kid was meant to be a co-sleeping kid. If only I could hack it full time! Gavin did not move an inch, and went to sleep saying "Oh my goodness, Camping is SO SO fun! I LOVE camping!!!!" with a big grin on his face. He woke up with a huge smile saying the same thing. SO so cute.

We had a gourmet breakfast (eggs, bacon, breakfast burritos, banana bread...) and then played by the fire for a while. As soon as the sun was up, we were out for our hike. We first went to the ranger station to get advice on which hike to go on with 6 kids. Thankfully we had the hiking carrier for Austin, and the rest of the kids are Mountain School kids....they can hike anything! 

We went on a hike to a waterfall, and stopped to have a big snack. (beer for the adults) Then we did a loop around back to the campsite. Austin was fast asleep during the hike back...so cute. 

For lunch we had sandwiches and Austin had lunch with the rest of the campsite....he was so funny. At every mealtime he would eat with us, then walk around to see what all the others had on their picnic table. He would check it out, and a lot of the families know him from school, so they would feed him. One time I looked up and could not find Austin. Then I looked across the path and there he was sitting with a Chinese family eating fried rice for breakfast. Of course!

We spent the later afternoon taking a long nap and playing around. Had a nice dinner of bison burgers and salads, soups, and desserts. Of course s'mores for the kids and margaritas for the adults.

The boys were asleep after dark, and we had one more night by the fire with our own personal band, Erik Hayden. All the other parents from around the site came to our spot for the fire and music. It was nice. 

Overall, I was VERY surprised with how well the trip went. I was a little nervous about Austin and sleeping, but he did great. We are already talking about a big Yosemite trip in the future. So fun!