Yes, the Evans family ventured to Clinton Lake in Lawrence, KS for a couple of nights this past weekend. But, as any seasoned camper knows.....so much time, effort, and planning goes in to getting ready for those few evenings away, especially for a family with small children on their rookie camping outing! As I spent the weeks leading up to our trip pouring over suggested packing lists, perusing possible campfire recipes, polling camp-savvy friends for their best advice....and then doing my best to figure out with Shawn which of those morsels applied to our family, and this trip, and how to simplify things so we could fit it all into one vehicle.....I wondered how the trip would go. Would my children be bored at all? Would it all actually be so overwhelming that I'd end up stressed, and thus the trip would perhaps not be very enjoyable for any of us? (I mean ... wow. Never before have I packed SO many items for a two-night excursion!) How would the kids do sleeping in the great outdoors - would any of us actually get to sleep?! Would I hear a whined request for some technological device (TV, smart phone, tablet or otherwise) approximately once every 7.2 minutes? I wondered, but I did not worry about it. I reflected on my limited amount of personal camping experiences over the years (fond memories!), and the beauty that is nature...and then my thoughts shifted to last week where I watched my children be perfectly content to play for an hour on simply an enormous pile of dirt.....and I figuratively placed my bet on the belief that this was going to be a fun weekend. What I was not prepared for, was just how fun it was going to be.
We kicked into high gear in the days leading up to our departure: I made homemade cookies and potato salad...chopped some fruits and veggies and stored everything in disposable plastic containers, made multi-categorical packing lists, and spent a lot of time gathering items and packing. Shawn took care of a lot of the supply purchasing, and thinking through the technical aspects of the trip. The fact that the entire family spent so much time working together to plan for this little trip was the first thing that set it apart for me....and I loved every moment leading up to departure.
I took off work early on Thursday, August 7th, picked up the kids, and got the final items gathered. Shawn started loading the Highlander while I finished up the last of the cooking and food prep (which never quite goes as quickly as I hope it will). By the time we were ready to roll out, the vehicle had sat on the driveway longer than we'd planned....and the battery had gone dead! Fortunately a quick charge to the battery was all that was needed, and we laughed as we finally departed, in a vehicle that had literally zero extra space. :)
The drive to Clinton Lake is a relatively short one, and we were there in no-time. We stayed at the Hickory Campsite, #131. We unloaded, snapped a quick pic of the littles at the site, and then proceeded to unload, and set up our brand new tent!
Shortly thereafter, our friends the Schumachers arrived, and we all set up camp, and then spent the evening making a fire, having dinner, and just hanging out! I have known Amy for over 20 years! She was a youth sponsor when I was in youth group, and now we sing together on the worship team at church, and have kids that are close in age. We've talked for a couple years now about camping together....and we finally made that happen!
 |
| Schumacher and Evans kiddos...gathered around the campfire! |
We love this family, and had SUCH a relaxing evening. There is something magical about being surrounded by nature, with not a thing to do but let your kids run around and play while you watch the fire and swap stories. It was relaxing....fun....even magical.
We awoke the next morning (yes, the kids did so well sleeping in the tent, and we actually did sleep! Well, some of us more than others....Shawn and Anthony chatted by the campfire until almost 4 in the morning).....we ate breakfast (opting for the simple option of a pop tart from home), and then headed out on the day's adventures.
The kids played for a while with scooters...we played some Uno....and Grace even helped Gabe make his very own bow and arrow out of materials they gathered.... :)
We took a walk down to the shore of the lake. Lauren enjoyed wading in the edge of the lake (until she fell and plopped her little behind right down in the water) but she quickly got over that and enjoyed the mud in her toes....
Meanwhile, Shawn helped Gabe with some fishing from the lakeshore!
Lo and I also shared a really beautiful moment as we walked along the shore that morning. During one of the seconds that I had the camera on her, snapping photos, a Monarch butterfly flitted into the frame, and landed on a leaf. It has been forever since I've seen a Monarch, and I was so excited! It was breath-taking. We followed it up the shore a bit more, and I snapped a few more photos...
The Schumachers have a canoe, and we brought it down with us to the lake that morning! Amy and I took Lo for a ride - she was NOT happy about it at first, but by about 5 minutes into the ride, she said "Oh this is better!" and seemed to enjoy herself! Gabe enjoyed the ride too, and we let him help paddle a bit at the end....
Next stop was the swimming beach! I've swam in a few lakes in my lifetime, but Clinton Lake's swimming beach area may be the nicest yet! The kids had a blast here!
We then finally headed back in for some lunch, and wrapped up the day with some badminton, a nature scavenger hunt, a bit of "Catchphrase" while dinner cooked in the campfire coals (or rather, "got torched in the campfire coals" as I let ours do) and then more campfire time. There were also some sweet moments of Sam and Lo playing together. They are just a few months apart in age, and they adore each other! At one point in the day, they had dragged their little lawn chairs side by side under a shade tree....and I could have mistaken them for a sweet, old, married couple later in life....sitting side by side. :)
We slept one more night in the tent - Gabe and Lo decided to use their air mattress as a pillow..... :)
Our final hoorah was getting to participate in an archery demonstration! Gabe loves the idea of a bow and arrow, and he got to shoot a real bow, and was able to be instructed in the very beginnings of how to shoot. He got to take three turns through the target practice, and he was on cloud nine!! He would probably tell you that this was the highlight of the trip for him. :)
Looking through these photos and journaling about the weekend brings the wonderful feelings RIGHT back. I'm so thankful for technology that allows me to memorialize what will forever be in my heart and soul as one of the best weekends of my life! I can't put it into words.....but there were so many things that made this trip amazing: the kids were amazingly well behaved, we got to experience so many fun activities together as a family, we got to spend time with some great friends, we tried something new, we were surrounded by the beauty of nature....and the list could go on and on. But what I'm most thankful for was the precious, relaxed time together.
I know we all can't wait until our next excursion. Next time we will hopefully get to have our T-Bear with us too - we were sad to not have her there to share in the adventure. Gabe has already asked if we can just put up the tent in the backyard this week. I think his quote from the trip says it best: "Mom.....now I know about camping....and I know I love it."
Thank you God for my wonderful family, and our wonderful time together!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment