Elijah Turns 4, Part 1: Camping

To kick off the big "Turning Four" weekend, we spent a night and a day in Hawn State Park, camping, hiking and introducing Elijah to smores.

Love these boys!

Lazzy vs. Forest

Elijah carefully waded in the shallow water, but once daddy proved it was safe, he got adventurous. 

Lazzy wasn't afraid of the river at all. He jumped all in, often times slipping and finding himself in much deeper water than anticipated.

By the time we started setting up camp, the boys were exhausted. Lazzy practically took a nap on a blanket in the middle of the camp grounds! Once the tent was up, the boys found their energy and began their usual afternoon play time. Elijah thought it was hilarious that we had a tent (Lazzy's travel bed) inside a tent.

Since the boys had skipped their naps, bedtime was at 6:45pm. Dan and I enjoyed a night of cards to ourselves. Well, we were interrupted by a certain little guy who just got too hot inside his tent within a tent. He tried to help Dan beat his mama, but with no luck and was soon back in bed.

A tropical alarm bird (not sure of it's real name, but it seirously sounded like an alarm clock!) woke us up promptly at 5:45am. None of us were ready for the day, but we couldn't ignore that dang bird. So, we got up. Notice I used flash in some of the photos below...that's because it was still dark outside.

{if you're ever camping with young children, bring coloring books and crayons!!}

We had quite a few run-ins with nature including a snake (no pictures...too busy sneaking past it!), a turtle and a butterfly. Not to mention the monster in the woods at midnight. Dan reassured me it was a squirrel, but I know it was Big Foot!

Packing up was quick and easy. The boys played in the van while Dan and I got things together.

 It was such a wonderful little get away. I can't wait to go camping with these guys again!