Crazy Cave Camping

We finally did it ... we have officially had our first family camping trip!  That's right, we have never before packed up the car (and trailer!) and taken all the kids on a proper camp.  We decided to start small - only two nights.  We also made sure we camped beside a good friend of ours, who is a camping guru in our eyes, so we had someone to call on for advice - and we did, regularly.  I'll bet she was glad to see us leave today.

We didn't get off to the best start .. our five year old severely sprained his ankle the day before we left.  Not to be deterred (and because he was still keen to go), we threw his crutches into the car, along with the dog, and headed off.

We got to the camping ground - which is absolutely beautiful - and parked ourselves right beside our friend, overlooking the local creek with its brilliant swimming hole.  The first job after arriving was to put up our tent (which we'd never done before ... whatever happened to that practice run we planned to do in the backyard?).  Of course, we had the whining children and the dog to deal with too - it turns out a teen boy and pre-teen girl who bicker constantly at home are quite happy to take that behaviour with them to camp.  The five year old kept reminding us he was bored with having to sit and do nothing, because of his ankle injury.  Even the dog looked a bit miffed (probably because she was immediately tied to the nearest tree).  I must say though, the actual "putting up the tent" part went well and didn't take long at all.

Finally, we had our camp set up enough so that we were happy to take ourselves, the children and the dog down to the swimming hole.  This was where the holiday really began ... the kids spent the next three days swimming, kayaking and playing with other kids who were also camping there.  The Caveman and I got to relax and be big kids ourselves.  Even the dog, ten years old and afraid of water since she was a pup, was getting into the creek and swimming alongside us!  

Of course, it wasn't without problems ... the older kids continued to bicker occasionally, the youngest discovered that "time out" still happens even when the only room you can be sent to is a tent and we learnt that we could have been better organised for the trip.  All of that was swept aside though, by the general enjoyment and relaxation we all got from the experience.  We are already planning to do it again soon, without our friend beside us for guidance, and are genuinely looking forward to it!

Oh and that ankle injury?  Apparently almost forgotten in all the fun ;-)