Camping at Maplewood

We went camping at Maplewood State Park for one night on Friday!!

3 other families from our church came along! 

There were 19 of us all together!

8 adults

8 kids ten and under

2 babies under a year

&

1 baby in utero 

We got our campsite all set up.

We were the last of the 4 families to arrive. Chris got home around 12:30 Friday afternoon, but we felt it was important for the kids to have a good nap since who sleeps good camping anyways! :) 

 Everyone brought their dinner to one campsite and we all sorta shared everything. 

It was a blast!

I forgot to mentioned that last week, Chris smoked a 12lb brisket in our smoker! It turned out fantastic...and for me to say that, you have to know that it was just mouthwatering! He did such a good job! It's was a huge hit while camping!

Thankfully, Sorraya is a good napper in the carrier! It was a life saver!

 Ryken got to sleep on a little bed made just for him! He was excited about it!

Since it was the warmest in about 3 weeks tonight, Ryken slept just in his diaper to keep him cool.

Getting the kids to sleep took a little while. Our tent was close to the road and every time a truck drove by, Ryken popped up and was curious about what it was. Plus all the lights that came in was distracting.

 Chris was starting a fire for us as I was finishing off with the kids. 

I got them both asleep and left the tent and zipped it back up (which who know a zipper could be so loud)  and looked around and didn't find Chris. Then a kid was up again...so back in I went!

Once the kids were really asleep, I come out and Chris was back. He told me he was over at the Johnson's camp site helping them pack up. Their little boy, James, had thrown up twice while we were over at the one campsite around dinner and s'mores time. They didn't know if it was going to continue on all night or what. Earlier in the afternoon, all the families who were there before us went to the swimming hole with the kids. Apparently, James was drinking the water in the lake and after they got out of the water, they saw a sign that said there were parasites in the water. So they think that is what was upsetting his stomach. It was a bummer for them and for us that they had to leave. But we would have done the same. Thankfully, James didn't throw up anymore and was like himself again the next day!

So Chris and I sat under the clear, star filled sky and enjoyed talking!

It was really nice!

Sorraya and Ryken were up at 5:30am. :)

Sorraya was squealing and playing and Ryken was excited to see the kids again.

Mom and dad were tired...

 So we packed up the kids and drove into town to get some caffeine! 

Even though we thought we would have rather still been sleeping...we were wrong, as we were driving out of the park. 

The sun had just started coming up and it was so beautiful and peaceful.

 There was mist all over and that made it all the more glorious!

 Back at the park and a little more awake

 ...we warmed up our breakfast which was sausage and egg breakfast sandwiches.

 Loved his little dirty face.

Amazing that it wasn't even 8am and it was that dirty already! He had a blast!

 We all went back over to one campsite as families finished up breakfast!

Those families with the babies both said we heard each other's crying at some point!!! :)

 Plans were made for the rest of the day and off we went back to the campsite to pack up!

 Family picture of our first time camping as a family of 4!...and as a family! 

 Ryken was excited for a hike! Just our family went on a hike. We had gone on this one last fall.

 We didn't go very far because it was super hot and sticky and the bugs were really out to get us! 

 So we went to the beach area for a bit.

 And then over to where the other families had rented canoes and were just coming back when we got there. 

 Ryken thought it was pretty cool!

 Sorraya was sleeping, so Chris stayed in the car with her and listened to some of the soccer game that was on! :)

Ryken came and joined him toward the end!

All the families went to this "resort" for lunch! A guy from Chris' work had told him it was really good and another family had heard good things about it! So we stopped. It was beautiful under the tree's and the lake was right across the street from us! 

The kids enjoyed playing in the sand while we waited for our food!

 It was yummy! Nothing like a good cheeseburger and fries!

 We said our goodbyes and were on our way home!

I loved all the grain fields...so Chris pulled over so I could get a good picture, instead of a bunch that you could tell we were driving in! :)

 We spotted a few sunflower fields as were drove too!

We are thankful for the time we had together! It was fun being in a relaxed setting with the other families as well! Stronger relationships were built.

Praise God no one got hurt or lost! The bugs were very, very mild, which was a huge praise! 

I did get a little run in with some poison ivy, but it was pretty mild. 

All in all, it was a wonderful time, with great friends, in a beautiful place!

We look forward to doing it again next year!