It's Camping Week! We did this last year and it was sooooo much fun we decided to do it again! Who doesn't love a tent and a campfire right in the middle of their house?! Ok... Don't answer that - we love it!
First, we set up camp, complete with a sleeping bag and some wonderful library books to read by the campfire.
Of course, you can't have camp without a campfire, so we made our own out of tp tubes and tissue paper.
We brought out our shakers from Music Week last Summer and sang some campfire songs.
C helped to name our camp, Camp Laundry, which is so appropriate because we use the drying rack for the tent and it is right by the laundry room! We even made a sing out of sticks and other things collected froma nature walk.
Later in the week, we tried painting fire with marshmallows!
"Mama, I love you, but you have some crazy ideas..."
It was more about the process than the product...
And eating marshmallows, of course (NOT the ones with paint on them!).
We made a little handprint campfire craft to keep... If I can find a handprint craft to go along with our themes, I am going to do it - their little hands are so sweet and are GROWING so fast!
Our week included a trip to Birmingham for an appointment, so we made the best of it by "hiking" on the trail like you would on a camping trip. Most camping trips probably don't include a well-manicured public botanical garden, but you have to work with what you've got!
We concluded our week by making our own little campfire and roasting marshmallows. First, we had to gather the wood. Sam and the girls hiked around the farm to find just the right sticks (or logs!) for the fire.
On a side note, FL could NOT walk our driveway last year ( it is about 1/4 mile long). She would cry and fuss and just give out right there in the middle of it because she simply didn't have the muscle strength or stamina to walk that far. It took about an hour if I wanted them to walk the whole thing there and back because we had to rest sooooo much. So, we pulled them in this wagon (a gift from the Stinson family - thank you!) everywhere on the farm. Since the horses had to be fed every afternoon, this wagon got a LOT of miles on it in those early months. Now, a year later, they are pulling it everywhere on the farm, fully loaded, uphill, both ways! ; ) I don't take a lot of time to reflect on how much the girls have accomplished since they've been home, but they really have come so far - thanks for going down this little rabbit trail with me! It's nice to look back and celebrate their progress!
While I was making dinner inside, Sam and the girls worked on the campfire outside! (Excuse the blurry phone pictures - I stopped what I was doing to come and quickly take pictures as the sun was going down)
After dinner, we at around the fire, roasted marshmallows, sang songs and just enjoyed ourselves.
I'm thankful for my two precious little campers and the fun times we have together as a family! I'm pretty sure we will have a camp week next year - maybe even doing the real thing!
