Camping With Four Kiddos...Check

Monday morning, for the first time as a family of six, we departed for our camping trip at Mohican State Park. To date, Ryder and Hudson have never been camping. We attempted tent camping with Parker and Garrett once and it was a failure. I was over ambitious to believe we could tackle a four night stay from the get go. We found ourselves traveling the roads home after two nights due to a teething baby out of his element, a sick mama (hello, sore throat), three older overstimulated kiddos, and rain.

Yes, it was a challenge; however, as a family (on our way home) we found ourselves listing the positive aspects to our trip. Such as...

• Awesome campsite...simply perfect for us
• Hard serve ice cream from the Camp Store
• Tasty campfire food...S'mores, Hot Dogs, Pizza Pockets made with pie irons (a first for the kiddos)
• No kiddos suffering an untimely death due to falling from the Clear Fork Gorge (aka "Mommy Heart Attack" moment)
• We left with four kiddos and returned with four kiddos (the right ones, hey hey!)
• No injuries (Amen!)
• Family fun at the Swimming Pool
• Garrett began riding his bike sans training wheels (again)
• All four kiddos had a BM while away from home. Those of you with kiddos who can typically only relieve themselves from the comforts of their own restroom (ahem, like mine) get where I am coming from.
• Wading in the river
• Great sleeping weather at night
• Nobody caught chiggers or experienced some nasty rash compared to other trips we have taken in the past
  

Our campsite...truthfully, this photo doesn't do it justice. It was very spacious and had some hills (perfect for the kids to ride their bikes down). As you can see there were tons of trees which translates into plenty of shade. We were close to not one, but two bathrooms. Oh, yeah! That gem of a camper...my hubby purchased it for....wait for it....a whopping $250! Truthfully, considering it is a 1985, it is not in that bad of shape. We set up our tent as well...it made the perfect closet.

One happy Hudson to be out of his car seat upon our arrival. Check out those baby blues...to die for!

The shirt says it all. 'Lil dude is obsessed with carrying keys around. Everywhere. Finally, we wised up and gave him some of our spares.

'Lil boys+dirt+cars=HAPPINESS!

Make that HAPPINESSx2

Ryder coasted on his bike down this little hill no less than 200x. Ignore the crooked helmet.

A good representation of Ryder's face throughout most of our trip...dirty!

Checking out the river while on a bike ride...

Hudson LOVED the pool!

Squeaker beaker chillin' in his car seat while the older boys waded in the river...spit bubbles are his current constant look;)

I was 100% floored that Ryder remained on this one lone rock when Eric placed him on it. Not typical of him at all!

Yea, I am pretty sure the look on his face is one of fear...such a little cutie, though!

Fake smiles galore...

We have begun planning another trip to Mohican for next summer...one that will include multiple sets of grandparents and cousins to play with. I can hardly wait to take all of the boys canoeing and tubing...tons of fun! Till then we will stick with one or two night stays at various local campgrounds.

Eric still has an additional week off of work so we will spend the remainder of his time on a "Staycation"...stay tuned!