We went on our first family camping trip this summer! It was so much fun!! We went to Cougar Rock
on Mt. Rainier for two nights with Gramps, Oma and Kai. They are seasoned campers so we pretty much just showed up with our clothes and some food and they were gracious enough to hook us up with the rest :)
...And it's a good thing, too! Even though we didn't even bring a lot of camping necessities, we still had a very packed car! (A lot of the space was taken by Tycen and Shaylie's bikes...we need a bike rack)!
We had a kids' play tent and place for Alyssa to crawl around (other than dirt)...
Our campsite was right across from Gramps, Oma and Kai's...and close to the bathroom, which I was very grateful for (I drink a lot of water :)!
Kai, Tycen and Shaylie spent a lot of time riding bikes together. They were in heaven. They could ride back and forth in front of our campsites or the adults took turns taking them around the loop (on Gramps' bike).
We went on a fun hike just a few miles from Cougar Rock. It was really beautiful!
Tyce loved running ahead and 'camouflaging' :)
They found the perfect hiding spot!
We drove up the mountain after our hike so all the kids could take a nap in the car. It was so beautiful!
Gramps set up this huge tent for us before we arrived to our campsite. It was a lot bigger than ours and was able to fit our air mattress, pack n' play and Tycen and Shaylie's beds. We were hoping that Alyssa would sleep in the pack n' play, but she wasn't interested. At. All. So, she slept with daddy and mommy on the air mattress.
The first night, Alyssa fell asleep while I carried her around 8-9 pm. I thought she'd just stay asleep the rest of the night. Well, she had other plans. She woke up right when we all decided to call it a night (11ish?) and stayed awake for what felt like forever. We were so tired. And we were trying so hard to keep her quiet since it felt like the whole campground could possibly hear us. Oh, boy! It was a rough night!! Thank goodness for camping coffee the next morning! :)
The second night went much better (for Alyssa, Scott and I...Tyce and Shay slept well both nights). I think we were so tired that we fell asleep and stayed asleep easier, Amen! :)
They loved exploring and playing in the woods!
Shaylie's family portrait:
Making s'mores...
Tyce and Shay were a little bit scared but thought is was really neat that they could stay up and be out past dark. They also really loved looking at the bright stars!
Despite the lack of sleep (which goes with the territory, right?!), we truly had the best time! We're hoping to make this an annual tradition!! So many fun memories!
