Camping with Rachel just gets easier and easier the older she gets, that and the fact that the people we camp with have older kids and therefore enjoy loving on small kids by taking them on walks and spoiling them with special surprises and treats. LOL.
We arrived to the campground late Friday afternoon after picking up Hannah from school. We got our tent set up and our gear all placed and then we were ready to relax and enjoy all the weekend had to offer. Rachel was ready for a stroll on the beach with Daddy. The tide was high that evening, but it didn't stop her from enjoying her beach stroll.
Having had a nap in the car on the way down on Friday afternoon, Rachel was wide eyed and bushy tailed late into the night. In fact, I was in bed before her! Her and Steven finished off a game of "Go Fish" and came to bed after 11:00. It didn't prevent her from waking up at her normal time the next morning though, and after a stroll on the beach looking for shells, it was off to the donut store for donuts, or in Rachel's case, a pretty cookie. She loves the pretty cookies and cupcakes at the bakery and chose the Happy Face cookie over a donut. She was happy with her choice.
Mid Saturday morning, friends who normally camp with us but weren't able to get reservations, came down for the day. They brought their puppy and Rachel fell in love with little Preston. She loved being able to carry him in this purse. In addition to the five families camping this weekend, there were three dogs and both our girls were in 7th heaven playing with them, hanging out with them, etc. But Preston was just Rachel's size!
Late Saturday morning, the kids dawned their bathing suits, everyone was lathered in sunscreen, sand toys were toted and we all headed down to the beach. Rachel was happy to have her friend Caleb to play with, even if it was only for the day. 
Despite not having anyone her own age to play with most of the time, she managed to be kept entertained. She played dominoes with the big people a couple of times, and rode her bike, and went for walks and helped walk the dogs that were camping with us. 
During the trip to the beach on Sunday, after taking over 2 hours for Steven to build this sand castle, it took merely seconds for Rachel to destroy it, and had a blast doing so! Just look at the smile on her face. Priceless.
Sunday evening, Uncle Bart joined us for dinner and chatting around the campfire for a while. Uncle Bart always provides the fire wood for our camping trips at the beach as he literally lives just a mile away from the campground. It was nice to have him come back and join us for dinner and Rachel loved having him visit as well!
Monday morning, after a trip to the donut store again, and one last game of dominoes, it was time to start packing up the campsite. Check out time was noon and we packed up and made it out with time to spare. We met Uncle Bart for lunch and then were on our way for home. The sure tale sign of a great weekend, sleeping kids on the journey home, exhausted from playing in the fresh air, the sand, and late nights. 
We had a great time once again. And of course Rachel is already asking when we can go back camping at the beach. I love that we're providing great vacation/get away memories for our kids and that they have just as much fun being away from home as we do!
1 comment:
It looks like you guys had a wonderful time. I'm looking forward to having fun family trips like that with Gavin when he's a little older. :o)
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