Vogel State Park

Last Memorial Day weekend, we went camping at Vogel State Park with some other UUCA families. There was a delightful gaggle of kids.

There was a bit of a hike to get to the campsite, but once there it was beautiful and private -- a great spot for the kids to run and play without any danger of cars or bothering other campers.

Our friend Todd introduced Hazel to the joy of soaking tired feet in a cool creek after a long hike. She approved.

Lucky kids to grow up in this community and this environment!

This one's for Mark

Kids are gross.

Cold weather camping

We had this great idea for a family camping trip with DeeDee, Mark, and Luke the weekend after Thanksgiving. The original plan was to play it by ear and go to Watson Mill Bridge state park if it wasn't too cold.  This trip reminded me that my too cold  starts at a higher temperature than everyone else's. Aaron and I now have an established cut off: no camping if the low is predicted to be below freezing.

 But the campsite was lovely, and the kids had a blast.

 Hazel especially enjoyed snuggling up with DeeDee and spending a night in her tent.

And our PJ walk included a great hill for rolling. There were some good times, despite the cold.

(There was also a broken arm near the end of the trip. Thankfully we have access to excellent medical care, and Janet is having a great recovery.)

Red Top Mountain

These photos are from a camping trip we took to Red Top Mountain State Park in early November.

It was a fun, if cold, weekend. Hazel learned a valuable (and somewhat sad) lesson about keeping your gloves on to PREVENT your hands from getting too cold.

The very first time we did it, the PJ walk was instantly enshrined as a Family Camping Tradition, without which no camping trip can be complete.

This rock/tree climbing spot was probably the weekend highlight for the girls. (Well, maybe a second, after s'mores.)

And for us it was one of those moments where we felt like we were doing something right as parents.

Camping!

We recently went on our first camping trip since having kids. We had a fantastic time and are wondering why we waited so long to get the kids into a tent. (Many thanks to Katie for the hand-me-down grown-up tent!)

 

Our campsite was next to Lake Hartwell. We had a lovely view and a great spot for the kids to play.

We were expecting cold weather, but when the day turned out warm and sunny, the lack of bathing suits didn't stop the kids from enjoying the lake.

  

Juniper was excited that some of the other parents on the trip fish. No one caught anything, but Juniper enjoyed learning how to cast.

 

 A gaggle of kids, getting ready for s'mores!

 Happy family by the campfire.

Eli brought glow bracelets, which delighted the kids and made them easy to spot at night. Juniper was especially proud of following the instructions to make the amazing glow ball all by herself.

 Sunrise by the lake...



...documented by two family photographers.



Happy, happy girl. We're looking forward to the next camping trip.

More after the jump if you haven't seen enough photos of smiling girls by the lake. (Click Read more at the bottom of the post.)