Ward Campout

I haven't been camping in about 7 years so I was really excited to go to the ward campout this year. The kids had no idea what to expect, but when they figured out they got to stay outside and get dirty, they loved it instantly. Annie and Alex got to go on a "bear hunt," listened to scary stories, roasted marshmallows, and found lots of spiders. The highlight of their night is when we stumbled upon a big brown toad. My kids and about 4 others followed this poor toad around for 10 minutes watching hop around the campground.
Growing up we did a lot of camping in our family. I remember my parents having a huge foam pad that they took with them, but I also remember us taking sleeping bags with us whenever we went camping. Sometimes we would take pool rafts and sleep on them like air mattresses. Anyway, when I started packing for this night out, I packed the tent and the sleeping bags, and left the air mattress at home. Partly cause I didn't want to pack it, partly cause I didn't think a queen mattress would really fit in our tent, and partly cause I figured we were camping and could handle sleeping on the ground for a night. Well, I learned my lesson. I'm not old, but I'm not 16 anymore either. I didn't sleep much of the night... not because of the kids, or the heat, but because every inch of my body hurt from trying to get comfortable on the ground! I love camping, but next year I will be bring my air mattress with me.
It was so fun to hang out with other people in the ward and watching lightening bugs. I had forgotten how much I liked camping. I think we may go again before the summer is out.