S'more Family Camping

So I know I haven't blogged about our Alaska trip just yet, but if you know anything about the activity level on my side of the family you know that a week-long family reunion cannot be described in just one sitting. Rest assured I will blog the details of our trip shortly.

But in the meantime, allow me to share the details of our latest weekend adventure. Although we did a one night camping trip during the family reunion, Justin and I had yet to take Kendry with us for the very first Gimlin Family Camping Trip! (voiced with the Chevy Chase "Griswold Family Christmas!" enthusiasm) Although we were told last summer that camping with an infant is certainly easier than camping with a toddler, our summer just got too busy to squeeze in a camping trip. We decided early on this year that we were not going to let another summer go by without getting out into the wild outdoors. So even though our luggage was still warm from the trip back from Alaska, we packed up again on Friday and headed over to the Tucannon River / Umatilla Forest to go camping.

Kendry started out as a Grumpy Gus...

...but was in a much better mood when he got to help Daddy set up the tent.Everybody loves a little bedtime snack.

Much to our delight, our tent (which hasn't seen the light of day in three years) is actually big enough to sleep the two of us comfortably along side a pack-n-play. Hooray for toddler containment devices, right?! So with the kiddo sleeping comfortably I got to snuggle up next to the fire and continue reading "New Moon" (aka Twilight Book II).

Justin having fun with the camera:What we didn't account for was a 5:30am wake up call the next morning, thanks to daylight streaming into the tent and sub-50 degree temperatures. Poor little Kendry had gotten a little chilly - which, by the way, makes him super hyper. We had a blue-lipped toddler jumping all around the tent before we could even say "good morning".

Kendry wasn't too interested in the fire, thank goodness, although we did have to remind him to stay back. His new word for the weekend: "Hot!" Thankfully, he learned it solely from us repeating it over and over and not from direct contact with a hot surface.

Eating some lunch before our hike. Stopping for a snack during our 4 mile hike along the Tucannon.
Kendry eating...again. The kiddo loves to eat!My precious little hiker. He actually rode in the Kelty for the hike, but we let him down for a little while so he could feel like he contributed.
Upon returning to camp, Kendry stumbled for the 186th time of the day and got his first official skinned knee.

But the knee was quickly forgotten when Kendry's s'more initiation began. "So this is a marshmellow, huh?"
"Yep, I could get used to this s'more thing!"





And dessert for the adults? Peach Cobbler! I tell you what, camping with my chef of a hubby certainly has its perks.

Aside from our failure to bring enough proper layers for the chilly night temperatures - nothing a little snuggling as a family can't fix - it was a wonderful weekend. And for the record: yes, I'm pretty certain it is much easier to camp with an infant than a toddler.