Anniversary Camping
This month, Mike and I celebrated five years of marriage. It’s hard to believe that it has been F-I-V-E whole years already! It goes quick. From my first teaching job, to buying our first home, and having not one–but TWO– sweet little girls… I sure am thankful to God for this man and for this journey we’re on together.
We are a pretty simple couple. With me staying home, we don’t have an excess budget to spend on luxury trips or stay-cations. And to be honest, even if we did, I don’t know that we would. It seems like such a chore to me to try and plan something romantic and then find a baby-sitter and figure out logistics. I’m such a people-pleaser, yet ironically it seems I’m a very hard person to please. So if Mike had tried to plan something, sadly I probably would have found the negative in it. One of my many character flaws. Something I’m asking God to help me work on.
Anyway, myself and a couple of friends had actually been planning a camping trip for a few months. I really wanted to try to take the girls on their first trip. I thought it would be a fun way for us to spend some time together. It just so happened to work out on the weekend of our anniversary. It was a very memorable one… let me just say that.
The amount of planning that went into this trip was pretty impressive (if I’m allowed to toot my own horn). I had our bags packed, coolers, baskets, towels, sunscreen, food, lanterns, utensils, clothes, swimwear, hats, drinking water, s’mores, tent, toys, air mattresses, sleeping bags, sheets, pack-n-play, and of course our lovely girls in tow. Wheeeew. I’m tired all over again just thinking about it 
Oh, and did I mention that I picked up my brother from the airport on the way?! Welcome to Hawaii, Aaron! Now let’s go sleep on the ground without A/C!!
Oh, and did I mention that I picked up my brother from the airport on the way?! Welcome to Hawaii, Aaron! Now let’s go sleep on the ground without A/C!!
It was a ton of work preparing everything, but I actually enjoyed the preparation! I was ready for EVERYTHING… or so I thought. Everything except for rain. Which is just what happened [insert sigh].
Getting the campsite set up was a bit stressful as we all arrived at different times from work, naps, airport, etc. Of course, Lily had a meltdown as we were putting the tent up. Sand was EVERYWHERE. It was chaotic. And it was beautiful.
Everyone had different expectations I think, and those weren’t addressed until we were all in the thick of things. But overall, I’m really glad we did it. Next time, we’ll make sure that our tent door closes though. I had a rough night.
At different points throughout the night, the wind was whipping, the rain was pouring, the tent was leaking, Emma was crying, the mosquitoes were biting, the air mattresses were deflating, and I was asking myself why I ever thought this was a good idea… Then, at 5:30, the sky started to come alive with a majestic light. It was glorious. God painted a masterpiece for me to wake up to, and suddenly the night didn’t seem so rough. The day before didn’t seem so stressful, and my heart was simply thankful <3
Above, picture credit: N. Byrd
Friday evening everyone turned in early. We did hot dogs on the grill in the dark, then put the kids to bed shortly after. The adults stayed up a little later, but by 10pm we were all kaput. I’ve already talked about how the night went, but Saturday morning was especially relaxing. Our friends also ended up with a cabin last minute, so we all headed down there for breakfast and morning fun together. Eggs and sausage, delicious fruit, blueberry muffins, skillet potatoes with bell peppers. What a treat! Next time, I think we’ll do a cabin as well. It just makes more sense with babies. Live and learn.
Above, picture credit: C. Ro
Above picture credit: C. Ro
Mike watched the Notre Dame game on the 80 inch TV in the Lodge (with no children). It was my anniversary gift to him… Once that was over and the babies got naps at the cabin, we all headed to the beach for some fun in the sun and surf. Mike got stung by a Portuguese Man-of-War, but he was the only one. He’s a magnet for those things. Maybe because he’s so good-looking 
I love you, babe!
I love you, babe!
Above picture credit: C. Ro
After we were all worn out at the beach, we headed back to the campsite for some sandwiches. Then got ready for round two of naps. After a short rest, we headed over to play some mini-golf. The kids were really into it!
Once we got the mini-golf out of our system, we decided it was time to pack up. Ideally, we wanted to make it two nights, but with stuff getting soaked the night before and the terrible night of sleep I had, we decided to stay for s’mores then pack it up!
By the time we got packed up, I was exhausted and Mike had thrown his back out. Happy Anniversary to us! Then there was all the unloading… In the end, I really am glad that we went and experienced camping for the first time with kids and other families… but man was it work! I sure am thankful God grants us energy to handle all of our tiny humans. #grateful
Do you have a best or worst camping experience? Bring ’em on!
April
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