Our first camping trip

The Bullock family went on their first camping trip this past weekend - TENT camping, that is. Let me just say that whoever figured out how to make those sleeping bags was smart! It was in the 30's both nights we were there (brrrr), but we were warm, as long as we were in our sleeping bags. The boys were ALL the way in theirs. You couldn't see them, but they were warm.

I'm very glad that Jeremy made the last minute trip to Cabela's to purchase them. We were going to borrow some, but they only had 3, so we were one short anyway. But, he decided he'd invest in some for us, especially since he only had to pay $20 for the wonderful, large tent we now have, among a few other things including another smaller tent, that he bought from someone from work that was moving out of the country.

Once the sun came up, it warmed up quickly. It was in the mid to upper 60's during the day, and it was beautiful! The boys had a BLAST! We were at Camp Avondale in Clinton, LA, which is a Boy Scouts of America campground, with our cub scouts pack, or at least a few of them. There were a few games and things planned for them to do, but we didn't even do any of it. As soon as they finished breakfast, the boys were off in the wooded areas around us on the trails, climbing up a tree stand, playing indians, ninjas, and I'm not quite sure what else. As the sun went down, the glow sticks came out, which immediately turned into light sabers. Star Wars began. They all loved every minute of it. They played hard from sun up until past sun down!

As for me, I mostly just got to sit in the sun and relax. It was wonderful. The boys played, and I watched from my seat. I could see them most of the time, and they were with their "buddies." A couple of times, we didn't hear or see any of the boys for a little while, so one of the other parents let out an indian cry, like the ones we had been hearing from them. Immediately, we started hearing the same sound coming from different parts of the woods. We knew right where they were. It was hilarious!

Jeremy did some fishing, as did Tyler and Tucker. Jeremy was teaching Tucker how to cast. You can never start that too early.

He was doing pretty well. We just weren't in a good, clear spot for him to practice in the water. So, his practice was in the grass. Then they went to the water, where Jeremy would cast and Tucker would reel it in. Jeremy did catch the only fish anyone caught the whole time, which Tyler proudly showed us all.

Tyler isn't a very patient fisherman at this stage in his life. He fished a little. I think he got a bite at one point, but it got away. He just went back to tromping through the woods with his cub scout buddies.

I think we got a good first time spoiling since we didn't have to do any of the food preparations. We brought snacks and drinks, but the pack leaders brought and prepared our meals. We had hot chocolate and pancakes and sausage for breakfast. Both boys ate their sausage, which they had turned their noses up to at home. And they both had hot chocolate.

I'm sure I'd like RV camping a little better for the convenience of it, but we really enjoyed sleeping in our tent, sitting around the campfire, basking in the sun, playing in the woods (getting really wet and muddy), and just enjoying nature without any TV,video games, or computers. And I barely even touched my iphone, even though I had service. :) I do wish that I had brought my book though. I didn't realize I'd be able to just sit almost all day without having to chase the boys wherever they were exploring. But we could see them at different points on their trail so we knew where they were.

Although the nights were cold, it wasn't the temperature that kept me awake most of the night both nights. There were cows not too far away from us. I never knew how loud cows were, and apparently they like to make a lot of noise when the sun goes down. We also heard coyotes, which concerned Tyler a little when he heard what it was. And what woke us up in the mornings, besides the sun, were geese flying in low and honking really loud. There were a couple of times that Tucker woke up a little disoriented, calling for both me and Tyler. Once he heard my voice, he went back to sleep, way down in his sleeping bag. So, they weren't restful nights of sleep by any means, but I still really enjoyed the trip.

I feel like I'm rambling on, so I'll bring this post to a close. We loved our first tent camping trip, and can't wait to go again. It's good for all of us to get out of the house, away from our technology, and into nature. And now that we've invested in some good sleeping bags, we need to use them!