This may just hold the record for the most picture heavy post I have ever shared. But honestly guys - we had so much fun camping and I can't wait to share these with you! 

I grew up camping with my parents and I have so many wonderful memories of those times. We camped on the shores of the Oka River many times and there was a time we camped in the Carpathian Mountains in Romania where my parent's mattress deflated during the night! We had some awful times too, many "crisis" situations, but looking back the stories just make us laugh and we mostly remember the good stuff. That's the thing about camping - it's unpredictable, not remotely glamorous and "bare bones" but it's very unifying and detoxifying too. So needless to say I've been dying to take the kiddos on their first camping trip and make some of our own memories, now as a family of four. 

I'll go into more detail regarding what we brought and cooked and how we slept in another post so for now just enjoy these snaps we caught while in the great outdoors with our family of four!

I found this darling hooded sweater for Teddy at a thrift store for just $5! I'm pretty sure it's handmade too. It has a handy zipper down the back which makes it very easy to zip him in and out of. It was also perfect for night time as it kept his head warm. Lord knows he would have ripped off a hat in two seconds. 

Three times a day for three days straight Birdie would help papa build the fire. She took her job so seriously. She would forage around for kindling and I once overheard her say to herself under her breath "this one's perfect!" Also, when we got home I asked her what her favorite part of camping was and she said, without missing a beat: "fire with papa." My little outdoors girl! Makes my heart burst!

During the day time we would remove the rain cover from the tent and it would turn into a fun house for the kids. The loved playing in there and Kevin and I loved those times to just be together and talk. 

Only when I downloaded the photos to my laptop did I realize how much this looks like an ad for Kodiak Cakes, lol. Which honestly I would be perfectly fine with because we LOVE them at our house. We just started making the protein packed ones and it's incredible how full they make you and for how long! Perfect for camping!

We camped in the Cloudland Canyon State park and the views were just breathtaking. We came back to this overlooked many times. 

It was nice to have exercise be a part of our daily routine. We went on many, many hikes and I couldn't be more proud of this girl that would walk for almost a mile without ever complaining! Also, a little tip we learned - pack lots and lots of snacks. She would get super hungry from all the exercise. 

Not the best photo but just wanted to share what our campfire set up looked like at night. 

Another part of camping Birdie relished - getting to help with the dishes. I may just have to put her to work at home too :).

After hiking half a mile downhill!! Vicotry!!

My sweet, sweet boys. Having Teddy with us definitely made things a little tricky as he doesn't walk confidently yet and would resort to crawling a lot but by the end we worked out a good system where we could keep him occupied and pretty happy. Besides that we felt like the trip really revved up his mental development. He started pointing and grunting a lot, especially at animals and gets really excited any time we go outside now. Here's to hoping we're raising two nature lovers!

I'll be working on a "how to" post of sorts this week so if you have any questions you would like answered shoot me an email or let me know on IG!