11.04.2013

Where do I begin...

So I am officially so far behind on my blog I feel completely overwhelmed. Instead of backing up to July (or before) and trying to catch up...I shall just start at the latest activity I want to do and work backwards. It might seem weird...but right now I will just write on what is still fresh on my brain...
and that will be...

KNIGHT CAMP 2013


Owen-8, Clay-6, Will-5 and Emma-4

With invitations in the mail a month ago, we had excited little kid once the date finally arrived. We were super excited...we just love camping with this little crew! This year we reserved a spot at Mineral Wells State Park. 

We packed up the travel trailer of Zach and Meg's (Thank you Z&M for letting us borrow your lovely trailer again) the day before, picked up the boys early on Thursday and headed to Mineral Wells. We arrived, parked the trailer and about 5 minutes Ashley arrived with Emma. We got to get some quick and very sweet snuggles from Hudson before Ashley told her daughter goodbye and headed out. 

This years theme was HAPPY CAMPERS....and lots of other adjectives describing our weekend together. ADVENTUROUS, HUNGRY, PLAYFUL, CURIOUS, SLEEPY, HELPFUL, ETC.
As always we had such a great time together. 

First of all, thank you Ashley for helping with the invitations design and for letting me describe to you what I would like our shirts to look like...and you drawing up a design that was EXACTLY what I had dreamt of! You are super talented and Knight Camp appreciates your help! :)

These 4 kids are so sweet and so very good. It is so fun to see the changes in them from one year to the next and the way they help each other with activities, etc. Emma is always SOOO excited to spend time with her "cousins" and the boys are just as excited to hang out with her. They are so sweet to one another and the boys are always falling over each other to help Emma with everything. So sweet. One of my favorite things was at each meal a different child would pray...and oh my...what precious sweet prayers they said. One of those memories we will treasure in our heart!

The weather was sooo wonderful. In the mid to high 70's and 50's in the night. So mornings were the perfect hot chocolate kind of mornings! We cooked outside, which seems to always make us so much more hungry! Lots of fun meals, including letting the kids help and learn how to make some dutch oven meals. 

We did all sorts of fun activities including hiking, a scavenger hunt, playing games, doing crafts, reading all sorts of books about some of our favorite characters camping adventures, fishing, rock climbing, nature hikes, eating lots of yummy food and falling into bed at night completely worn out! :)

Saturday afternoon, when the parents arrived, we fed them lunch and then we did some fishing and went over to the rock climbing part of the park for some fun rock climbing. It is really such a beautiful area and the colors were changing so it made for such fun and very beautiful hikes!

Here are some of my favorite pictures from this year...and since I took over 400 pictures...I will try to limit it to a few! :)



Our schedule and a few pxs of Bud and Honey with all their sweeties before Ashley took Hudson home!

Honey and Hudson...such a happy little guy...two more years and he will be big enough to join us!
 One excited little girl!
 Clay and Emma get ready for our first craft...so nice to have Helpful Campers!
 Our first little craft...decorating drinking cups to use for our Hot Chocolate!
Clay and Will deep in duct tape decorating.
 Sweet Owen helping Emma with some very sticky tape!
 Creative Campers
Time to eat!
Hungry Campers
Honey introducing a new camper this year...
Flat Stanley
 Clay holding Stanley while they listened to Stanley's story!
 Cool...he even came to camp with a shirt like us!!!
 Sweet brothers...hmm...wondered what they are planning!
 Emma getting her "noculars" ready!

Time to fish!
 Emma was quite taken with Owen's fishing hat...so he let her wear it and she thought she was hot stuff!
 Hmm...what do you see Emma??? :)
 Clay...our little fisherman...he is so patient!
 Good cast Will!
 Fishing makes you hungry...so time to cook up some hot dogs!
Check out these s'mores we had for dessert!
Will liked them... 
 So did Owen...
Emma was a big fan... 

Emma fell in love with Flat Stanley and carted him everywhere we went... 

Sweet brothers headed on a hike...such little leaders!
Owen loves exploring....
Will showing off one of his treasures...
Another craft....
before books and bedtime.

FRIDAY:
Yes, yes we are in our same shirts...
the kids BEGGED to wear them again on the second day!
Hey...we are camping...who worried about smelling! :)

Little coloring while Bud & Honey cook pancakes and sausage...
Emma and Stanley...
Love this of Clay and Emma looking at each other...
Will doing a little coloring while waiting for breakfast
Breakfast!!!

Next activity:
Break into teams and do a nature scavenger hunt!
Team Bud with Emma and Owen
Team Honey with Clay and Will
Afterwards we climb on some fun rocks
"Look! Its a bear track!!!" Emma cracks us up with the things she sees!!!
Bud teaching his sweeties
Climbing...
They made it to the top...
Honey and her sweeties
Emma working on a rock painting
Owen working on his creation
Playing the Jelly Bean Game
Little book time...love reading to these little ones!

Will...."I found me a sling shot!"
Clay and Will....looking for treasures
Skipping rocks...doesn't get much sweeter!
Emma and Owen feeding the ducks
Emma...had so much fun hanging out with her "boys".
Growing up tooooo fast Owen
Sweet boy Clay
Emma girl
Way to go Will!!! It's a new Knight Camp Record!!!
Emma touching Will's BIG catch!!!
Even Stanley needed his Joe in the morning!
Hanging out at camp with Bud
The family hanging out with the kids and doing a little fishing!
This boy loves to sleep in his mobby wrap!
David fishing with boys
Hudson and Ashley on the hike...whew...she got a workout!
Incredible...this tree is growing between two cliffs...
and is completely out of the soil!
Zach leading his boys on a hike
David and Emma 
Sweet Hudson and Bud
The view from our camp chairs...nice!
A little color...I want that in my yard!!!

Okay, I know that was a lot of pxs. But its my attempt to keep things recorded for my kids.
It was another fun year and we can't wait till next years camp!!!
Let the planning begin....