Another Camping Trip

It's been a busy month.  I've had a lot of work related activities and a lot more lined up for the rest of the month.  I even found myself thinking that I'll be glad when October is over.  Then I nipped that thought in the bud.  October has always been my favorite month, and I am determined to enjoy it as much as ever.  That's why I welcomed our annual camping trip which we had switched from summer to fall this year.  As I realized in July sometimes it's the times when we are the busiest that a family getaway is most needed.

This year's camping trip was taking place over Charlie's birthday so we prepared for our trip by baking his cake.  I decided to let the kids help again.


Charlie told me he wanted a batman cake.  This was somewhat of a surprise,  because batman is pretty far down on his list of interests.  However, once I realized how simple it would be, I kept my mouth shut.  This was the finished project.


This year's camping trip included the Williams family,


the Wells family,


my step-brothers and their families,




and my dad and step-mother.


Together we made one large, noisy, fun bunch!




One of my favorite parts about these camping trips is watching my kids interacting with other family members.  Sure, they see some of them a lot, like the wells family.


But others are only seen once or twice a year which makes it so special to spend an entire weekend with them.




This year Uncle Danny brought his new toy- a metal detector.  It was a big hit with the little ones even if it only yielded 'a lot of garbage' as Charlie put it.


I did not see much of the big girls this year.  They had a slumber party in their grandparents' cabin both nights.  Here they are serenading Morgan after dinner.


This was Addison's first appearance at a Damon Camping Trip.  She had a wonderful time.


It was a little chilly the first night but the fire warmed us up.






Saturday was Charlie's fifth birthday.  I decorated our cabin while he was sleeping.




I even remembered to pack chocolate pop tarts after a conversation we had weeks ago.  He very sweetly asked me if he could eat one when he turned five.  He said it was delicious.


More on Charlie's birthday later.  Here's one of Daddy and Morgan in the morning, not quite awake yet.


We all enjoyed breakfast in the roomy two bedroom cabin that my step brothers shared.


Then we started our day together.  Morgan especially liked her new coloring book.


So did Charlie.


I did my best to make him feel special on his birthday.


Grandma was feeling very brave and took all seven kids to the playground with Heather.  Unfortunately, they had to cut their playtime short due to some knife yielding hooligans.



I especially enjoyed our hike on Saturday.


We took our time and stopped to explore many things along the way.


Uncle Chad and Grace cut their hike very short in exchange for some fishing.








Finally, that night it was time to celebrate Charlie's birthday properly- with some cake and ice cream!


We put all the children together for a photo before we sang to him.  This might be my favorite photo of the weekend.  Addison grabbing his head and his subsequent expression cracks me up.


I like this photo, too.  Taylor was very concerned when the wind blew out his candle while we were singing.




Charlie got to open some presents after cake.  The boy loves games.  Luckily, he got quite a few of them!




It was a fun whirlwind of a weekend, and I'm so glad we did it.


 I don't think it's very common nowadays for big families to get together like this year after year.  Our world moves so fast, and everyone seems to be busy all the time.  That's why I'm so grateful to have established this tradition that each family respects and prioritizes year after year.  I smile when I think of all the childhood memories my children are creating.  Not to mention my memories.  After all, they are only this young once.