camping 2015

Even though Sam took each of the boys camping individually last month this was our very first time camping together as a family. And my first time organizing for camping as an adult ... sigh, what a load of work! But after 36 hours of solid prep and 2 hours of driving north we finally arrived at the provincial campsite in Parksville, right at Rathtrevor Beach. We had planned to join up with the Tanskys on a double site but this year Jeremy got his first summer job (which is awesome!) so he and Jim weren't able to join in. Instead Lorna and Adalee came up from Duncan ... making us akin to a polygamist family with Sam, 3 sister wives and 5 kids, ha! 3 nights, 1 set of very loud neighbors, 2 times of s'mores, morning hot chocolates, daily (propane) campfires, constant trips to the playground right next door all by themselves, endless red ant squashing, bike riding, croquet playing, sand digging fun, hot days and cold nights, and stinky, stinky feet! At first I felt a little let down with our reservation being right beside the children's playground, thinking it would be constantly noisy and annoying, but it ended up being the biggest blessing and a big growing up step for all of us. We let the boys, even Felix, go back and forth all by themselves and stay for long periods unattended. And they loved the freedom and responsibility! There were no issues and having the playground there was a favourite for all of them by the end. There was also a man made bike moguls course and trails around the play area so Henry spent hours taking his bike over and riding endlessly. It was all a well thought out kids area and we were so thankful for it, especially on the last morning when Sam and I realized we hadn't seen the kids in well over an hour while we were busy packing up camp. We made the short walk to Rathtrevor Beach a few times and it was lovely to just get out from under the tall trees of the campground. Rathtrevor is one of my very favourite beaches, it is just so incredibly expansive and beautiful and I'm always so happy we don't have to travel far to enjoy such a magnificent place. Sadly my camera's battery died on our second morning and so I used Joy's camera for lots of photos there when we were all out on the beach. With sand toys, a sunshade tent, food, kites and chairs, we ended up out on the sand for 5 hours. Right until the bitter end when the tide took away all traces of our being there and wiped out even the flag of Morgantown's highest castle tower. Another highlight was the day before when we took the boys and Amy and Adalee to a nearby fun place to play some mini golf in an elaborately decorated set and to battle it out on the bumper boats. The boys had never seen anything like it but they quickly became experts and we all left completely soaked and laughing heartily. It was really, really great fun! I won't quickly forget that. For all the work before, during and after ... it was a great family time together! And it was so nice to spend it with Joy, Amy, Lorna and Adalee too. Walter said that was his favourite part: "being with my friends".