Into the Woods we go...

For months my friends have tried to convince me to go camping with them. I was intimidated by the thought to say the least. I haven't been camping in about 20 years and definitely never been camping with children as a single mom. But they all assured me that they would help me and that it would be fun, so I took the plunge.

Preparations for the trip seemed to take a full week. I went to four different people to borrow camping gear, we had to get food, a cooler, pack our entire household and think about every single detail. 

When we finally pulled out of our driveway, the car was packed to the brim...and I have a pretty big SUV. 

We went about two hours away, to a city named Cornville in Arizona. We left at Finn's nap time and he slept all the way there...Hallelujah! 

Being the punctual German that I am, we were the first ones there, with no clue on how to set up camp.

I set up a play area for the boys while we waited for our friends.

We borrowed this tent from one of my friends and it was teeny tiny. I had planned to have Finn in the pack n play, because she had said that it would fit in the tent, but she didn't mention that after the pack n play, nothing else would be able to fit...haha. We only had this one air mattress and I put Finn on a little pack n play mattress next to it and we had to leave all of our clothes in the car, but this guy right here was so excited for his first night in a tent.

After we set up camp, we explored the camp ground and the kids had fun running around and playing on the playground.

Finn loved Corinne's puppy, he always smiled and giggled whenever he saw her, it was so sweet.

I think she loved him too.

Our camp site was right next to a creek and the boys were ready to dive in.

I didn't get the memo that basically every toy you bring to camping would be ruined afterwards and they are all still sitting in my garage waiting to be cleaned, but it was well worth it to bring them, because it kept all the kids busy.

Fox was especially excited that his bestie Jake was camping with us.

The creek wasn't very deep and the boys had so much fun in it.

Fox called this area "the current" and he absolutely LOVED it. I could hear the excitement in his voice, it was like the adventure of a lifetime for him to get through it.

Funny side story: One of the dads was in the creek with them to supervise. Fox had never met him and didn't know his name, so he kept calling him "dad". 

Another adventure

The boys were freezing after they got out, even though it was a hot day, but the creek was super cold. They played in the mud while the adults started dinner. In this picture they found a huge rock that was underneath the sand and they tried to get it out, pretending it was a dinosaur bone. They worked on this for hours and I loved seeing their imagination.

He's just always happy to be along for the ride.

The moment Fox had been waiting for all day (or maybe week): S'mores!

Happy boy and happy Mama

Jake's marshmallow caught on fire

The first night it was just our little group of 4 families. We were a total of 8 families, but the campground didn't allow us to book next to each other, so we had two groups of 4 families, which was kind of annoying. 

Finn passed out and took a little nap outside.

The first night was rough. Fox and I had to share the air mattress, but it was super high, so he kept rolling off, which would startle him and then he would cry, which then would wake up Finn. It was freezing and I had no room, but we survived and how cute are these sweet boys?

Bringing a high chair to camping was the best idea I had. It helped so much to have another safe (and clean) area to put Finn down in and helped with his meals.

I was definitely part of a pro camper group. They whipped up some amazing meals and even had a full camping kitchen. I was so grateful for them letting me tag along, even though I had nothing to offer in the camping department. I told myself I would be in charge of capturing the memories, so I took a million pictures as you can tell!

And they all took turns helping me with the boys and were happy to do it.

This was the only way he would nap during that weekend, but I didn't mind.

The boys couldn't wait to get back in the creek. Fox freaked out for a little bit, because he saw crawdads in the water and there were a lot of them. I would've freaked too. He recovered after about an hour and was ready to go back in and play with his friends.

I can still hear the giggles when I look at these pictures.

I think Finn really liked being outdoors, he never whined or cried once, he was just so happy.

The campground also had a pool, so the boys went swimming one afternoon.

My friend Tilly offered to get Finn to sleep in the baby carrier, so I could go in the creek with Fox and I was so grateful. Not because I was dying to get into that muddy creek, but because I hate having to always say no because of Finn to Fox, and wanted to do something fun with him.

We had a great time and I so enjoyed spending some quality time with just him.

Some of the crawdads the boys captured. The dads actually cooked them up and ate them that night...yuck!

All of the kids were obsessed with Finn, especially this little guy here.

We were lucky that the little convenience store had a popsicle that was safe for Fox to eat.

I have never seen him dirtier!

All of the kids played so hard, they were all tired early. One night Fox asked me to go to bed at 6pm.

It was so special to me to see all of the kids play together in the dirt. They were all so content and happy.

The whole group! I love these people so much!

One of the moms started a game of "Duck, Duck, Goose" and the kids loved it. Their "circle" needed some improving though...haha.

And again...favorite part of the day!

Look at that dirty face!

Christmas Jammies in June? Why not...

I love this family so much! Stephen came up to me one night and told me that he thinks I'm so brave for coming here by myself and that I'm rocking it, I thought that was so sweet. And Tiffany is one of the funniest people I know and I love her dearly.

Day 3...back in the creek of course!

I was so surprised how content Finn was in the baby carrier. He spent so much time in there while the big kids were in the creek or we were walking places and he never complained. He was just so chill and loved to be snuggled.

They were all looking at crawdads again.

On the last day we found this rope swing and the kids had such a blast (the dads too). It just warmed my heart to see other parents take care of my kids and make sure they had a good time. From carrying 40lb Fox around the creek because he was scared, watching over him, catching him over and over again on the rope swing to organizing a scavenger hunt, group games, and treasure hunts.

The kids wanted the moms to do the rope swing too. Tilly didn't want to and all the kids started chanting "Do it, do it, do it", so she couldn't say no. They were so funny.

Kristy organized a painting party with fly swatters. 

This guy may or may not have eaten a stick while I took this picture.

Even he got dirty.

Fox really wanted to go fishing. They were no fish in the creek (as far as we could tell), but they wanted to try anyway.

Again, one of my friends to the rescue to show Fox how it was done.

He was very happy, even though we didn't catch anything.

This weekend fueled my soul. I didn't think I would enjoy it as much as I did. Sure, it was a ton of work, but we made so many amazing memories that will last a lifetime. This must have been one of the top five occasions of Fox's life where I have never seen him happier. 

We had amazing company and I will be forever grateful for them, from convincing me to come to making us meals and playing with my kids and all of their encouraging words.

My emotions are pretty much up and down lately, but this camping trip was just what I needed. And I know I wouldn't have gone if I was still with Katie. And I'm so glad I did and that my boys (and Fox in particular) got to experience this. 

When we got home, we were so dirty. I don't think I've ever been this dirty in my life and taking a shower and sleeping in my own comfy bed felt amazing. But we can't wait for our next camping trip and we even bought our own (bigger) tent already!