Grace Church Campout {2013}

This weekend was the first annual church campout with Grace Church Bellingham. I won’t lie, it was a bit of a rough weekend at times. One child refused to use the campground bathroom to relieve his or herself of a heavy load all weekend…and ended up moaning and groaning in pain, doubled over, expecting sympathy from me.

There were plenty of fights and too much whining…

But there were also adorable teeny-tiny tree frogs. 

And a handsome teen boy who enjoyed knitting by the campfire in the mornings.

And another who played This Is My Father’s World on his harmonica for us.

And a curly-haired boy who sipped hot chocolate for the first time ever.

And some pretty sweet times as a family around the campfire.

Apollo worked hard on mastering the art of log-walking.And JUMPING!

Then there was the Mystery Poop. You know what I mean. Like when your husband says, “Hey, Honey, what’s that on your pants?” and you look down and say, “I don’t know, but it really looks like poop“. And then you realize that the smell of poop that has been wafting through your nostrils all morning was actually coming from your pants. But the thing is, you have no idea why you have a giant smear of poop on your leg or where it came from. And your youngest child is potty-trained and you haven’t held anyone else’s baby…so you get cleaned up, but you are constantly worried by the Mystery Poop. Believing it could lurk around any corner. Just lying in wait for you. Where did it come from? Is there more? How much more? Where will I be surprised by it next? Then you realize, with some sadness that this is not the first time in your seventeen years of mothering that you have been plagued by Mystery Poop. There were those slightly-too-plump raisins you caught one-year-old Iris eating once…and who could forget taking a bath with toddler Iris and baby Judah and finding carrots and peas suddenly floating in the water like a flock of colorful (if digested) rubber duckies. The good (?) news is, Chuck eventually found the source of the Mystery Poop. Apollo had stepped in a pile of dog doo that some fellow camper neglected to clean up…and it coated his sandals and stroller and my leg. Finally, the mystery was solved, but to be honest, it didn’t make me feel a whole lot better…

But there were funny moments. Like when Chuck had a can of Apollo’s formula in one hand and his coffee in the other and he accidentally took a gulp of formula instead of coffee! {And by the way, that is a reusable coffee cup. No Starbucks runs on our camping trip}

And who could forget the real highlight of the trip: The Kids’ Olympics!

Sweet Calvin was more than ready to join in. I photographed Calvin’s birth almost three years ago…and his hair looks almost the same in this picture as it did then!

The teens had a rockin’ jump rope competition…

Tilly and Enoch were the two finalists and in the end, Enoch won, gaining points for his team.

I have plenty more pictures that I will be sharing in the next day or so…

And last, but not least, the winner of the Flash Kids giveaway is…

_________

_________