Oh yes, we did!!! We took our [almost] 10 month old camping...in tent...for 4 days...and she LOVED it!!!!
Whew, thank God! It would have horrible if she was a wreck all weekend, but luckily, it was the opposite. Michael and I have always said we will not stop doing the things that we love to do when we have children...we will just do it with them so that we can all enjoy it as a family. And that's what we have done.
We headed up to Wild River State Park for Memorial Day weekend, and...well...IT POURED ALL WEEKEND!!! Ok, not literally all weekend, but it sure did feel like that at some points. I was actually very impressed with our Coleman Tent, which held up pretty well...except for the 2nd night of non-stop rain when it started to leak just a little bit. So...well...we improvised to make sure Addi didn't wake up (the things you will do to keep a 10 month old sleeping!! - and yes, that's an umbrella in/over her pack-n'-play! But hey - kept her dry all night!!)
In between rains, we were able to enjoy our time at this beautiful state park (we went camping with my cousins...below is Sarah and Hannah)
And I'm not quite sure why, but Caterpillars were EVERYWHERE around us! I'm talking like you throw them all off the picnic table or your tent, and 5 minutes later, there are 13 more of them! Kinda gross...
And thank goodness for Pack 'n plays. Even though we had a ton of other "baby equipment" with us (camping high chair, go pod, blankets and tarps), nothing quite beat the pack 'n play, where Addi could play with her toys while being "confined". Love it!
One of my favorite parts about the weekend was the biking that we did!! It was seriously just gorgeous wherever we went, and we were lucky to have a very hot and nice day (the calm before the [next] storm) where we got to enjoy God's creation in this way!
When we first started biking, Addi wasn't too sure about going so fast...but after only a minute or two, you could hear her squeeling all the way down the trail. Lovin' Life!
One of the great things about camping with my cousins (whom we LOVE!!!), is that we just get to be goofy and be ourselves. This is actually a very typical picture of my cousin Holly and me (except of course when we are voice blogging...but we don't let anyone see our faces then!)
Oh and the food! What is it about camping food? It's soooooooooo good!!! We made Hobo Packets over the fire one night, and they were divine!! (props to my hubby for rigging this tarp-contraption so that he could cook in the rain! And to deal with the smoke of it all, he borrowed Rachel's goggles).
Sunday after our bike ride, we were so hot that we ventured out to find somewhere to swim. You wouldn't think this would be a hard thing to do, since we were camping right on the St. Croix River...but the problem was that because of all the rain, all the swimming areas were either closed or flooded!!! Here's our first spot that we attempted (Pic doesn't really show the spot...but I just loved this picture of Addi and Hannah)
So we left the park and drove south a little bit to hit up the town beach...which was also flooded (go figure). But we didn't let that stop us!! Heck no! Where there is water, we were bound and determined to find a way!
Even if that meant swimming in the flooded parking lot:) haha.
Clearly, Addi didn't mind. I have posted before that she has a love of water...and this weekend proved no exception to that! Here's a shot of all us girls (Left --> Right are my cousins Sarah, Hannah, Addi, Rachel, Holly & me!) Seriously so blessed to have these guys in our lives!
And after swimming, we went on a short hike to a waterfall...and Addi got to experience the back side of a waterfall for the first time in her life; )
Sunday was definitely a fun filled and busy day!! Just as we got back to the campsite on Sunday night and started up the fire for dinner, it started raining (go figure) and it rained and rained and rained. And then it stormed. And then it rained again. And then we realized that our campsite was now a lake. And then we checked our tent and realized everything in our tent was either floating or drenched. And then the little State Park officials came around telling us to get ready for "big" storms tonight (what had we been having all weekend??), so we decided to pack up camp at 8pm that night and go somewhere dry. No, we did not end our camping trip...we just relocated to 25 minutes away to Lindstrom (which happens to be where my cousin's live) and had a sleepover in their basement. We had been having too much fun over the weekend that we didn't want to end it short.
Good thing we did too...cuz the next morning, we went to a state park in Wisconsin, and went on a beautiful hike and spent the rest of the day together. A great way to end our camping weekend!!
All in all...through the rain and storms and VERY unpredictable weather, we had an absolutely incredible weekend with amazing people and beautiful creation!! These are the moments that will stay with us forever:)
Happy Memorial Day Weekend 2012
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