Camping With Friends Part 1

A couple of months ago my friends, Renana and Nikki, and I made plans for a camping trip together at Copan Lake with our families. We have camped together before, but this was going to be the first time since children joined our families.

About a month and a half out from the trip we happened to be in Bartlesville checking in on the house and came across an awesome deal on a pop up camper. This particular deal was being offered by Eddy and Esther Shigley, our Sunday school teachers for the past six years. They have a big, awesome family of kids and have taken many trips in the camper. Research shows camping as a family forms lasting bonds and memories. If I could hope for one thing for our family (beyond salvation in Christ), it would be that as we grow the bonds would remain strong for a lifetime. I'm already dreaming up possibilities for future family trips in our humble little pop up camper.

Because we had no way to tow it home the kind Taskers let us store it in their backyard until the camping trip. Meanwhile, back in Kansas we purchased a hitch for the van and Casey and my brother in law installed it without a hitch (haha...pun intended). We left on a Thursday evening, spent a night in our Southview home and then picked up the camper at the Tasker place Friday. Both big boys were very excited about getting it loaded and heading out to the lake.

Casey said, "And everybody is happy, happy, happy."

(Just like Phil Robertson of Duck Dynasty.)

 

 

We reserved the perfect spots at the lake and got to work straight away getting the camper set up.

Barrett tucked in amongst a van full of cargo.

I'm going to have to learn the art of compact packing if/when we have more children.

Backing it in, nice and easy.

 

Cranking her up.

This little guy loves things on wheels and freedom to roam.

Testing out his new camping chair.

 

Our humble pop up abode.

I bought those great stacking baskets at the Dollar Tree.

 

We set the dining table up outside and used the space for the pack n play.

Worked beautifully.

A little night time ambiance.

That only lasted an hour before one of the bulbs burned out.

It's fixed now.

There she is in all her glory.

The angle of this picture is distorting the ends of the camper.

Both ends are the same oversized queens.

Once we had the camper set up it was play time. The Rigsby family came to the site next and while Jon set up Nana and I took the boys to the nearby playground.

Isaiah and Gabe were so happy to be back together.

Gabe only wished Bradley could have been there too.

Barrett is holding on for dear life.

But Isaiah was not having it. LOL!

Oopsey, daisy!

That's probably a safer way to do it.

Although, I can remember from my little girl days that this kind of bridge is great at pinching fingers!

There's my cautious Gabe chickening out of the slide.

I hope these sweet boys will be buds for life.

That first night was SUPER cold. I wish we had brought the heater. Casey and I slept on an air up mattress and the boys were up with the first sign of daybreak. We were short on sleep and the coffee never tasted better than out there around the morning campfire. The second night we let Gabe sleep on the air up mattress and we just doubled up the camper mattresses. Much more comfortable and it was much warmer so I slept better the second night.

More camping fun to be posted tomorrow!