Camping : Anderson Island

Before any of the boys were born, Brandon and I went on a camping trip with our friends Stefan and Molly. Best camping trip EVER! Crawdads, Settlers in a tent, packing in containers of jam, butter and sour cream, rebel campfires, homemade rafts and tablecloth blankets. Our second camping trip was only dampened by the rain. Molly commented, "We don't hang out on a regular bases, but when we do we always have epic adventures!" North Carolina and our most recent adventure to Anderson Island were no exception.

We took a short ferry ride from Steilacoom to Anderson Island and camped at a friend's property. The field was covered in dandelions. And the light was perfect, which made it fun for the kiddos and me.

lana and greta

We set up camp and played on the rope swing.

Camping isn't camping without s'mores for dessert and biscuits on a stick for breakfast. Though we have enhanced the recipe by wrapping the biscuit around some sausage. 

We explored and collected treasures. Though they didn't look much like treasures until they went from rocks to painted, sparkling, glittery gems. I failed to get a photo of all of the treasure before it was scattered around camp for the next group to discover. They are in for quite the surprise when they stumble upon rock completely doused in gold glitter.

For a little afternoon break we headed to the lake. It was the absolute perfect beach for the kids. There was a sandy area for digging moats and building castles, a shallow area of water caged in by a little floating boardwalk, which was perfect for jumping. The kids did lots and lots of jumping off the dock.

jackson, sam and greta

max preferred the sand : max and lana

After getting back to camp and some naps for all but Sam and Greta, we hung out and enjoyed more of the rope swing.

jackson : sam : emily : greta

Random photo, but I loved the fact that Jackson would announce he had to use the bathroom, march to his designated spot and drop his drawers. He had no reservations about who was around or the fact that he was only about ten feet from the campfire.

The property was covered in blackberry bushes. The boys loved that they could go pick a snack whenever they got hungry. Max especially loved being fed and would scream if he hadn't yet got his fill.

lana and jackson

molly and lana

being serenaded by Felicia : lana

perfect trap to keep a baby away from the fire

jackson and stefan working on the perfect fire

max's two favorites of the trip : blackberries and dandelions

 

 one last hurrah before heading home : until our next epic adventure with the gehrings