Camping Day 3

Day 1
Day 2

Day 3 would be our last at Inks Lake. We'd considered adding a 3rd night to our stay, but camping with small kids is pretty exhausting and we had a lot to do at home during Daddy's vacation week. We were able to move back our check-out time a few hours so we could enjoy the morning at the park!

When Steven initially checked in, they told him there would be a field trip taking place on Tuesday morning at 9am, and that we could join the group. What a fun morning!

We had another bacon breakfast, with many volunteers and cars buzzing around the area, getting ready for the students to arrive. They had 5 stations set up and split the large group of children from a local public school. We tagged along with one class of 1st graders.

First, they listened to a talk about predators and prey, and got to check out a bunch of skins and real stuffed animals (I missed this one). Then they went to the station about Native American life, where a man was dressed in Traditional Native American clothing, they had more skins and antlers and discussed how those were used, and the kids got to go in the tipi!


Next was the lake station. They brought in a huge net of fish and let the kids take a fish from the net to put in the tanks (of course my kids had no interest in that).


This man was talking about the lake habitat and different kinds of fish.


Then someone brought out an alligator for the kids to see and touch!
(Why do my kids have no interest in touching wildlife? Their Daddy studied Animal Science!)


The last 2 stations were about birds and plants/trees. It was really informative and a nice long field trip (2 1/2 hours!). I think the girls learned a lot and it was a great way to finish out our time at Inks Lake!

The only negative part of this field trip was experiencing a little bit of what it can be like in a school classroom with a teacher who isn't a very encouraging and positive person. We felt so bad the way many of the children were treated and talked down-to. It definitely made us grateful that we currently have the ability to homeschool. I know that most teachers aren't like this (I did spend much of 22 years of my life in a classroom!), and it challenged me to be aware of my own attitude as I'm schooling my children each day. I'm sure many days I sound just as bad!

Steven Joseph sure loves his baby brother!


and he loves fishing!


Girls standing by Cabin 4 before we left


And a shot of the inside of our clean cabin!


We had a wonderful lunch at the "Country Cafe" down the road. The owner served us and doted on all the kids. Steven Joseph was pouting about wanting lemonade, and she joked that he would be so cute in a commercial for the restaurant! We had a great lunch, complete with cake for dessert, and then took the scenic route they had recommended.

There is a REAL castle up in the hills! From what I read, it appears it's only used for weddings.


We stopped at the scenic spot for some photos but the boys were asleep, so again no family photo for us...maybe at Easter?

The view of the countryside and lakes in the distance


The girls took a few pics of the happy couple :) Can you believe I'm wearing orange? I've never bought an orange shirt before (Aggies just don't), but it was on clearance and will be a good reminder for me of little Cooper whose favorite color was orange and many wore orange at his funeral. A challenge to live each of these precious moments with my kids to the fullest!


(and yeah, half my body is hidden behind my husband, if you're wondering)

We survived the long drive home with iPhone, candy, and crazy screaming the last half hour!
Here's what our truck looked like, filled to the brim!


I love this one with little Tommy in the grass looking back at me.


It was an exhausting, but fun 3 days! I think after a couple months we'll be ready to camp again. It's not my favorite kind of trip, but it's great for us all to be outdoors, it's relatively inexpensive, and can be very educational. I'm thinking I'll need to stick with the places with cabins, though, and I'd sure love one with our own bathroom!

Overall, a fun little getaway. Hope to go back with some friends and/or family some time soon!

Camping Day 2

Day 1, here.

On Monday morning, after the middle-of-the-night thunderstorms, we woke up at about 7:00am to the cool, damp new day. We ate a quick snack and then went out for an early morning hike!

Off we go!


Mom's getting left in the dust!


We don't see cacti much in our area!


The kids climbed a big hill with Daddy. Mom and baby (in the stroller) stayed back. Steven called this our "extreme strollering" adventure! We learned our lesson and used the backpack on the next hike.






Mary Clare brought her backpack with snacks and other goodies for the hike.


Here she's sharing a snack with Steven Joseph while Ellie ventures out.


They really enjoyed climbing around this area, but it was getting too difficult to navigate the stroller, so we started to head back to the car to go make bacon and eggs at the cabin!


But not until a few rocks were collected to bring home to friends and family!


We took a little drive after lunch to get Steven Joseph to fall asleep, and stopped at this scenic spot.


Thomas got a yummy snack of baby food that afternoon.


Peaches!


The girls took about a dozen photos of these dirt castles, so I had to include them!



We got suited up for a swim, even Thomas. He loves chewing on this bottle and taking a few sips of water.


But swimming didn't go over so well. The water was very cold and the lake bottom very slippery. Mary Clare and Daddy enjoyed it for a bit, but we went back to play in the water near our cabin soon after.


Here's the "Devil's Waterhole" area for swimming. I actually took a camping trip to Inks Lake with my high school youth group, but I only have a few vague memories. Swimming here in the lake is one of them!


After resting back at the cabin, we decided to take an evening hike. Here are some favorite shots from that:




Hard to tell, but this was a really big snake!










On our way back to the cabin, we stopped at a little playground and saw some deer.


The girls LOVE these hanging slide things! They are getting strong arms!


Thomas hanging out while dinner was cooking (spaghetti)


Another beautiful sunset


Eating dinner in their PJs!


We had s'mores again but got to bed a little earlier this night. Thomas went to bed really quickly too! I was still waking throughout the night, but enjoyed being out in the wilderness with the fam on this fun adventure...bugs and all!

Our last day...Day 3 to come!

{this moment}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual. A single photo - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. To see more, visit Soule Mama.

Camping Day 1

The day finally came! After waking early for 7:30am Mass, we came home to load up the truck (yes, we fit all 6 of us in Steven's truck!) and to make our way past Austin to Inks Lake State Park.

I chose Inks Lake at the recommendation of a friend who goes there every year. We had reserved cabins with some homeschool friends the weekend of Hurricane Ike 2 1/2 years ago, but never made it there until now.

The drive was a little long (left at 11am, and after lots of errands and stops arrived at 5pm!), but I think the change of scenery was needed for all of us. We had a great time!

Here are the girls when we first arrived at the cabin.


Thomas enjoyed his walker during our trip!


They immediately got their bikes out to ride around!


We were quickly warned that the "sticker-burrs" would pop the bike tires, and they did on the 2nd day. But they still got to enjoy their bikes for awhile.


Couldn't waste any time; fishing rods came out quickly!


But after a few minutes of fishing, the girls were antsy to put on their swimsuits!


Ellie is rushing back to the cabin, ready to swim!


You can see the kids swimming and playing under the tree with our "neighbor" camper.


Jasmine was 10 years old and the girls had a fun time playing with her the first night. But she had to wake up to go home and to school on Monday morning. They enjoyed building castles with her and her sand toys.


It looks like he's "popping a squat" but he'd actually just dropped his pants a few minutes prior to relieve himself in the lake. Oops! Still working on potty etiquette.


Love this one. It may be a false sense of security, but I feel so much better when my toddlers/preschoolers have a life jacket on near water.


I told the girls they'll be all ready for swim team now that they've braved the cold lake water!


Don't they look so old?


And look at those baby blues!


He loves to fish, this little guy!


Here's Thomas in the walker while Daddy is starting to prepare dinner. We had fajitas the first night and spaghetti the second night. You can see the neighboring cabins here. There were some more isolated ones, but the girls really liked #4. It did have a gorgeous view, nice water front, and beautiful oak trees. It would be fun to come with several other families and have this whole area together!


We got to watch the sun set both nights. It was beautiful.


After dark, we roasted marshmallows and ate Jiffy Pop popcorn with the camper-neighbors. Thomas had a hard time falling asleep, and I was grateful that we'd chosen a cabin so I could walk him around. I was also very thankful for the cabin during the thunderstorm in the middle of the night! I only woke up about 10 times, worried about kids falling off bunks or bugs on me. Only once was my intuition correct in that there was a spider on my bed! Everyone else seemed to sleep soundly, and they were all up as the sun rose on Monday morning.

To be continued...