Adventures in Camping

If you follow me on Instagram you saw that I went camping with my in-laws last weekend. Here we are at the entrance to the state park:

All smiles.

And when that giant tent was put together. Look how much fun this cutie makes it look?

We went fishing, hiking, and made s'mores from a real campfire! 

Here's Little Man collecting firewood:

              

We ate every meal outside, played card games, and rode in the bed of a pick-up truck (gasp)! We caught fireflies (thank goodness for awesome aunts!), took flashlight walks, and ate junk food. Lots and lots of junk food. 

In fact, here's my shopping cart at Walmart the day before our trip. I've never bought so much pre-packaged snack food in my life. And now I know why. It was soooo expensive!! But I was the coolest mom ever for like 5 minutes because I let my kids eat Doritos from a small bag at 9 AM. 

We found lots of cool critters...like this cow ant. 

Who knew there was such a thing? And yes, it is as big as it seems in this picture!! And one of our nephews "magyvered" a butterfly net. I'm not kidding. It was genius! 

I actually really like the idea of camping. Being one with nature. Away from the distractions and noises of city life. The simplicity of it all. So peaceful. Anyone else think I'm naive right about now? Sigh...yeah, me too. 

Camping is hard. I got eaten alive by mosquitos even though I bathed in bug repellent. I had to wear shoes in the shower. The full moon shown like a spotlight on me while I was trying to sleep. Oh and it was really hot. Like Texas in July hot. Oh wait, it is Texas in July. 

But despite all that, there was this moment each morning when I woke up and saw this:

And I was reminded of the beauty and glory of all the Father's gifts. All His creations...from those sleeping babes, to the glorious trees, the sunrises and sunsets, and yes, even all those pesky mosquitos. And in that moment I had to stop and thank Him for all His goodness...and then I reached for my bug spray. 

I am glad I went camping. My children had the BEST time. And I even think I could do it again. In October maybe. For one night instead of two. 

This simple mama was super excited to be back home and I'm sure it will come as no surprise to you that everything stayed in the garage until it could be properly washed and sanitized. 

And speaking of washing...I know you're all just reading this to find out the big winner of the laundry soap! I accepted all Facebook and Blogger comments and I had a very "official" drawing...I wrote all your names on pieces of paper and put them in a cup (keeping it simple). My children drew the name of the lucky winner. So if you're disappointed, talk to the 5 year old. :) 

And the big winner of the homemade laundry is...

Linda B.

Congratulations!!!! I'll get that soap to you soon! :)