Girls' Camping Trip 2

Any mom knows that having one kid to yourself is such a treasure! For me, I love the break in mothering four kids to devote my attention to the one that's in front of me. Obviously the child loves it too because they get Mama all to themselves. A couple of weeks ago, I got to have Fern to myself on our girls' camping trip and we had a great time!

We went after school on Friday and stayed until Sunday afternoon. She worked so hard getting everything setup. This is where being one-on-one with Fern really changes things. When we go as a family, she takes care of her stuff, then goes off to play. Being with me, she wanted to do everything with me. I try to teach her as much as I can. She jumped right into tent assembly and did so well for a six year old. She unpacked our stuff, set up our sleeping pads, sleeping bags, and "got it all organized." Fern is my forever nester. 

The reaction I get from people when they find out that the two of us are going camping is always priceless. The questions are hilarious!

Aren't you scared? No, I'm a smart, hardy woman.
Do you know how to setup a tent? Yes, I taught John. 
Can you even build a fire? Yes, but I'm not great at it. Yet.

Saturday was a full day! We ate good food, hiked, went to the fancy campground pool, explored good views, got ice cream, and met a funny boy who camped across from us. He was always saying funny things and he cracked Fern up! My favorite thing he said was that he only swims in swimming holes and not pools because he's "country as crap."

Saturday we did all the things. Before I got the fire built after dinner, Fern was asking for bed. That girl was worn out! I wasn't tired at all. Doing all the things with one child doesn't compare to doing a few things with four children! I had to read myself to sleep. 

Sunday we went to the creek. It's a cute spot below the beautiful cascades and above another waterfall. At first, Fern was afraid to cross the bridge to get there. It is the same bridge that she's crossed since she was a baby! With the right amount of you don't have to cross if you don't want to with a little you've done it before and I know you can do it again and a little I'm going with or without you-you coming? she finally crossed. Then, she realized that it wasn't hard and she walked with confidence. 

We headed back to the campsite to pack everything up before checkout. Then we stopped to check out one more swimming hole before grabbing some lunch for the ride home. 

I love this girl and my time with her! Out of all the things that we have done, the girls' camping trips have taken up a lot of space in her memory bank. To the people who asked, "if it's just girls, why don't you go to a hotel for the weekend?" That's just not how we have fun in this family. I asked her and she's not interested.