Last week ended the summer of camps and our crazy schedule. To coordinate childcare the kids went to a summer camp that thankfully they enjoyed, but it took a lot of time prepping backpacks, lunches, swim clothes and drops offs. We made the best of it but promised Carter a week of football camp at the end of the summer as a trade off for the usual camp they were attending. He was SO excited! And then the wildfires across the state brought in horrific air quality and smoke covered the skies. 3 days of cancelled camp left us all a bit antsy to get outside again so thankfully the last 2 days were fun. We needed to leave town for our camping trip Friday afternoon so we got to football camp a little early to watch the final minutes of the game. And the final play Carter got an interception and pick 6! Woohoo! So glad he had a fun couple of days.
And then...we were off! We booked this cabin way back in February as our "camping" option for the summer. We don't have a tent big enough to hold our family and at this stage in life, this is just a little bit easier. Plus, it ended up raining half the weekend. A wet tent and muddy kids would have been miserable. But this cabin was perfect! We were warm and dry when we slept but still spent most of our time outdoors cooking, playing and hiking.
We have a weird tradition that started on our first camping trip to buy a bag of these Mother's Circus animal frosted sprinkle cookies. I have no idea how it got started since we are not a packaged cookie family. I bake ALL the time and we have a stockpile of cookies, muffins, breads and scones always stored up in the freezer. The kids think it's a huge treat to get a packaged cookie (ha!) so this was a big surprise when we pulled out the infamous pink and white bag.
Our first night there was an interactive program put on by the parks department all about bats. They did such a great job including kids during the teaching and we learned so much about these little creatures. Plus, Lucy was chosen to dress up as a bat, which she loved!
Then it was time for s'mores! With the recent wildfires there was a burn ban so we made the best of it with our propane camping stove. Not the same as a campfire but the kids didn't mind.
The parks department also had a junior ranger book the kids could complete to earn an "official" junior ranger badge. This was a great little book to keep them entertained and learn more about WA state parks and WA state history. Lucy finished hers while we were camping and got to bring home her carved wooden badge. When she was sworn in the sweet old volunteer said she was now a WA Parks employee and of course, Lucy took it very seriously. The rest of the weekend she kept saying she needed to leave to go work with the old lady. Ha!
Snuggled up for books before bed.
We kept meals simple but delicious! And Carter brought along his latest NFL Fantasy football magazine to study up before his first draft next week.
The next morning after breakfast we packed up for our hike up to the falls. The kids did great and loved exploring all the nature around the trails. There was even a nature bingo game they could play along the way to earn a WA state parks pin when we returned. (Seriously, such a kid friendly place to camp!)
The temps were cooler but just perfect for our hike. And such a beautiful trail to explore.
When we returned we opted for an afternoon s'more treat! This way the kids could run off all that sugar well before bedtime.
We spent the rest of the afternoon playing cards, coloring, working on our junior ranger book and playing baseball and football in the nearby field. The kids even made some new friends with a family staying in a cabin next to us so all the kids ran around together for a few hours.
The next morning we woke up to rain. Luckily it was another simple breakfast so we chose to eat inside. Of course, the kids immediately ran outside and played in the rain for 2 hours while we packed and cleaned the cabin before heading home. I'd say cabin camping was a huge success and we can't wait to do it again next summer!!
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