Our second year of camping with my brother and his family and a big group of friends happened last week.
My brother John. We are 18 months apart in age. Love him.
My sister-in-law Liz. Love her.
We camp at a spot near Shelton, Washington on land my brother’s company owns.
This year I really loved the fires.
Last year I ended up going to bed earlier most nights when the kids went to bed.
This year I put them to bed and headed back out to hang out with the grown-ups.
I also love that time where we transition from day to evening clothes – from swimsuits and shorts to jeans and socks and fleece jackets and hats as the temperature drops.
My cousin Rob and my brother are quite the fire-builders.
Such a beautiful spot.
Anna loved, loved, loved being there with all the other kids. From cousins to friends she was in the thick of it the entire time.
They explored and made up games and talked and talked and talked and occasionally got mad at each other and tattled.
They also ate a ton of snacks.
Love them.
This guy came dressed as Finn from Adventure Time (complete with white hat and green backpack).
Upon arrival Liz showed him that she had a copy of Swiss Family Robinson (book) and he dove right in. He might not look happy there but that was more to do with the came then reading. He’s seen the movie and loved it which usually makes him that much more interested in the book.
Simon likes camping. But he also likes being at home. There’s always a push and pull with him between being in a familiar routine/environment and finding/introducing new things that make him happy.
There were moments of great joy and great frustration all in the same day. I think those emotions are confusing to him too sometimes.
Great joy when he caught a fish.
Great frustration when he only caught three and didn’t catch any more after that. Enough frustration that he didn’t want to pick up his pole again.
He took a couple great afternoon naps on an air mattress in the shade.
And played out in the water with the other kids.
Great joy there too.
He even did a craft where he decorated a mug. Hey cool guy.
One of my best friends from high school, Dana, brought her daughter out for the day. She and Liz have become good friends.
This guy made a couple of appearances into the wee hours of the morning too.
My cousin Rob and his son Aidan – modern camping of course.
And of course there was a little of this too.
Good times. Great people. Can’t wait to go again next year!
PS | In case you are wondering we left our dog Lily at home with Chris this year. Last year she got really sick while we were camping, almost didn’t make it, and made an amazing recovery and has been doing fine (as fine as she can at age 12) ever since.
Sounds soooo much fun! I hadn’t been to camp since forever!
Gorgeous photos, family & fun! I can’t wait until my girls are old enough to go camping
Absolutely LOVE this post, what lovely photos and wording. Thanks for sharing this wonderful experience with us!
We love the camping and are going to get back into it this summer. It’s great for the kids.
Wonderful pictures! Thanks for sharing this with us.
I see you got “shut the box”. Such a great game!!
Looks like it was a wonderful and fabulous memory making weekend. So glad the Lily is doing wonderful but I am sure she missed the great outdoors too!
what fun!!! we love camping too. i’ve wanted to squeeze in a family camping trip this year but just haven’t done it…so glad you have.
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh this looks blissful…the kiddo’s are adorable. Thanks for sharing!!!!!
we were up ‘camping’ this weekend too! actually we have a place up in the mountains here in Oregon and most of our kids and eight of our 11 grandkids were there. we made s’mores of course! had a great time! love getting out in the mountains, smelling the fresh air and thanking God for his beautiful creations!
These photos are so breathtaking! I LOVE camping! It’s one of my all time favorite things to do. These memories will last a lifetime. Thanks for sharing it with us.
A beautiful summary. Love seeing your photos, and how you included some of the challenges too, but always with a positive outlook.
Looks like a great camping trip for the whole family!
Sounds like a wonderful trip with family and friends. Thanks for sharing.
Wow, looks so nice & peaceful. Awesome trip. Great pics.
Wow, awesome spot! And stunning photo’s! Especially love the one of you and your brother…and Anna looking so sunkissed. And the one of Simon on the water…glad you had a much beter time this year.
Looks like you had a fabulous time, Ali! So glad you got to get away and spend some time with family and friends!
Reading this post I found myself grinning from ear to ear. Thanks, Ali.
Looks like you all had a great time. We love camping, too…it’s such a great family thing to do. I enjoyed looking at all your pictures!
So glad you had such a wonderful week…and I can very much relate to the ups, downs, joys and frustrations with my child who also wants the life experiences but prefers to be home…you are a wonderful mom
Conjures up lots of happy memories of our camping trips.
Time goes by so fast. Those days are over for us already…
your kids will treasure these trips. you are an amazing mom, Ali!
Enjoyed both your pictures and notes. What a lovely time camping, there is no doubt you enjoyed it!
Looks like an amazing time! Loved your photos! Thanks for sharing!
Great post Ali! Looks like so much fun and relaxation. Nice to see so many smiles. Have a great week!!
awww love the pictures. You should have stopped and visited! I live in Tumwater, WA. You drove right past me.
Looks like you and the kids had a great time. So good to see fun pictures like this. We are heading out to Disneyland in a couple weeks.. ROAD TRIP here we come! 
Nice! Our daughter has no 1st cousins which bums me out sometimes, but I’m thinking I should try to organize some kind of weekend trip with close friends who have kids the same age.
Looks like the weather was good too!
Love the photo of you with your brother! Even though I have never met any of you in person, I can see the resemblance that your brother has to your dad and that you have to your mom.
What wonderful memories (and photos) you have. Don’t you just love it when family all get together………..and along! I miss those days.
Wonderful photos Ali! It looks like you all had a great time!
What fun! Great pictures and stories. Love seeing it all.
Awesome pictures. so good to see your family and friends getting together and having great times at camping. it makes me wanna go camping with my dog and meeting friends or family but my family don’t go camping, oh well!!
i am so glad you had a great week!!! and i wanted to say how much I appreciate that you blog and share with us the moments of great joy AND great frustration in your life. Thanks for being real and transparent. xoxoxo
This sounds and looks like so much fun! And can I add that I am insanely jealous at the thought of changing into fleece and socks and sitting by a fire? Really jealous.
What wonderful memories for you! Thanks for sharing!
Cool! My parents live in Shelton and I am there every week. However I haven’t seen an area this beautiful in my weekly visits. They live near the high school.
I am glad your family had fun. Thanks for sharing these beautiful photos.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful photos and words of your camping adventure! Everyone looks like they had so much fun!
Great momories! Gotta love those summer sun-kissed faces!!
Is the guy who made appearances into the wee hours the new spark in your life? Looks like a wonderful time was had by everyone! Love the pictures of Simon and Anna- they are both just beautiful!
Nope
. That’s Paolo – my friend since I was a sophomore in high school – one of my best friends.
Hi Ali,
Looks like a great camping trip! Bummer we weren’t there with the Saab convertible for a little 4-wheel driving
Think of you often, so thought I’d post a msg on your blog.
xxx
Amsterdam
Love your hat!!!
Family outing such as this is so exciting! I love the photos esp with the kids
I embraced camping this year with my family. My husband had been super keen for a while but in truth I was a little nervous about whole experience. I decided to give in and give ‘it’ a go. I must admit I loved parts of it and we’ve been away three times since buying all the kit back in June. Cooking pancakes on the stove and having camp fires have definitely been highlights. That and body boarding, which has been a new thing for us all, now that was fun. I’m even kind of sorry to pack everything away until next year. Here’s to embracing new things.