Pre-Christmas Camping

We headed back to the campground last Friday for Andrew's birthday weekend and stayed two nights instead of just one. Steve, Ali, and Maisie joined us during the day on Saturday, and it was so much fun to just spend the day playing outside. :) Our camp site was literally right across from the playground, so the kiddos were constantly busy and entertained. They played so hard each day that once the sun went down and we finished eating supper, they were asking to go to bed! They had no idea it was only 7:00, and I wasn't about to tell them--ha! So we all got two good, full nights of sleep, which felt wonderful. :)

Yum...hot chocolate with marshmallows!

enjoying a little quiet time, just doodling

Andrew gave Ryder his first small pocket knife, so Ryder spent a lot of time whittling at small sticks he collected off the ground.

Andrew bought us "Mama Bear" and "Papa Bear" shirts for our camping weekend.

Maisie and Ali

On Saturday afternoon we walked over to a small outdoor amphitheater where we hoped the kiddos would put on a show for us! They had fun climbing onto the podium and singing some favorite songs. 

I think the girls were singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" here.

love that smirk!

I told Ryder he was going to end up doing the splits if he fell!

serious faces

Steve and the kiddos in front of the big screen

Maisie looks so lonely as she waits for a snack!

Grapes!

Andrew and his camper van :) If you look closely, you can see the kids in the pop-top area playing on their bed.

This one makes me laugh! I was showing Andrew a picture that my parents had just sent, showing all of the snow they were getting. Andrew just had a look of disgust on his face!

"I'm not eating this flip flop....I promise."

Ryder loves the pop-top as much as Andrew does! :)

One of our campsite neighbors invited us to stop by while he played Christmas music on his saxophone. He let the kids make requests, and then he also played some traditional Christmas carols as we sang along. It felt like a true kumbaya camping experience!

Ryder picked out a scooter for Harper for her birthday, so Harper wanted to give Ryder one for Christmas. We wrapped it and brought it to the camp site so he could open it early and enjoy scooting around the campground. It was a hit!

Harper's "free" leg is always out to the side in a flamingo-like pose. It's amazing she can keep her balance!

sweet boy

good times!