Our First Time Camping After Having Kids
After about a five-year hiatus the Claus House went camping over Labor Day weekend. I’ll admit, I was a little nervous for this excursion. The last time we attempted camping we packed up early and came home before our reservation ended. No one was sleeping, no fun was being had so we called it quits. I wasn’t sure when all those wedding presents would see the light of day again but, Hallelujah, the day came. And it was SO FUN!
It was our first time staying at Pymatuning State Park; we went with a couple of families and I’m grateful we could all lean on each other. Our campsites were right on the water’s edge and those sunrises and sunsets came second to none. They were breathtaking. The boys had a blast biking around the campground - the feeling of freedom is so enticing. 😊 They stayed up late, they threw stones in the water. One of my boys even waded in the water with his pants on. And it was okay, everything was okay. You want chips for breakfast, sure. You want a third cookie, sure. It was a weekend where we said ‘yes’ most of the time. And the parent’s feeling of freedom was also so enticing.
What I loved most about the weekend was reliving camping through my boys’ eyes. My family went camping almost every summer at Terry Andre State Park in Wisconsin. Those memories of sitting around the campfire with my friends, riding bikes around the circles, sitting on the beach, or waking up to a bonfire were magical to me. It was incredible watching Carter, Deacon and Conni fall in love with the same experiences for the first time.
I’m here for it. I’m here to take these boys on a wild ride showing them everything life has to offer. We’ve stepped out of the nursery and sleepless nights. We’re ready to start exploring more with our kids and fully live the active lifestyle our brand holds to.