Johnson Camping Adventures

Last weekend we took the girls camping for the first time. I grew up camping for every family vacation and LOVED it! Brian LOVES hunting and fishing and camping as well. So we knew we wanted to go as a family. While we've been camping several times without kids, this was our first time with them. We decided we didn't want to go to far away just in case it was the worst idea ever. Praise the Lord the girls exceeded our expectations and we had a blast! We stayed at Kathio State Park and it was beautiful. It almost felt like autumn because the mornings and evenings were so cool. The girls were so adorable in their hooded sweatshirts and warms hats. And fleece footsie pjs were a must even in their sleeping bags. We've gotten a lot of questions about camping with the babies. Since this was our first time, we definitely don't have all the answers. A majority of the questions are regarding sleeping all together in a tent. We have babies that have pretty good sleep habits. But they surprised even us this weekend! Normally they sleep in a super dark room with white noise. While camping, we brought our battery operated white noise but they napped and went to bed while it was still very much light out! I think the reason they fell asleep was all the fresh air and that we wore them out with hiking and playing and having fun. We put them to bed at the normal time and only had to tell Viv to stay in her sleeping bag twice. The second time, Brian actually found her INSIDE Lulu's tent trying to hide behind Lulu haha. As if we couldn't hear them giggling haha. It was super funny, but she could tell we meant business and she didn't get up again. Brian and I hung out by the campfire until much later in the evening. Then we joined the girls in the tent and added another blanket to them to keep them warm. The first morning, Viv was up with the sun (like 6am ugh!) but she snuggled with us until Lulu woke around 7am. A little earlier than normal for both girls, but not terrible. We had breakfast and played around the campsite while Lulu too her morning nap. Then we went on a little hike. Viv absolutely LOVED running around and having her freedom. She walked around singing and picking clovers which I braided into a flower crown. I carried Lulu around in our Ergo carrier which she loved. After lunch both girls went down for a nap while Brian and I relaxed and napped in our ENO Hammocks. Then more walks and playing around the campsite. Lulu LOVED watching the campfire and Viv LOVED helping to build the campfire. Viv also enjoyed her walk with Papa and their walking sticks. Adorable! After dinner, Viv requested her favorite "pj party with popcorn" except this time we did it by the campfire! New favorite! Bedtime was even easier this night because we'd done it before so they knew the drill. Night #2 had a couple flukes. For one, our white noise machine started running out of batteries. Lulu slept through it, but Vivi kept waking up at every little noise. She'd fall back asleep after she snuggled up to Papa. Then, it started pouring for a few hours. That fixed the white noise problem, but it meant that it was freezing and we had to pack up camp in the rain. The girls ended up sleeping later because it wasn't so bright... another perk of the storm. All in all it was an awesome weekend away. Exactly what we needed with Brian working so much lately. Viv keeps asking when we can go on another adventure. The answer is SOON!

 Snack time

 Playing hide and seek

 Lulu's tent within a tent

 Our attempt at a selfie together haha