Camping with the Randall Family

When I was growing up we use to go camping a fair amount. I have great memories of camping with my family. We started out in a camper on the back of the truck, I just remember it was so cool to ride up on the top and look out while we were driving, plus we were always jamming to the beach boys. We found a campground as a family a few years back that was like a dream. It was the perfect campground and had so much fun stuff to do. Only problem is, it's a little far away. My parents have really wanted to take our family camping with them. Kyle is NOT a huge camper, he didn't even really go to scout camp. I don't want to have to do all the work that comes with camping, and I do enjoy sleeping in a nice comfy bed and having flush toilets and a shower. But I do believe camping is a wonderful experience that every child should have. My parents invited the whole Randall family to go camping. We went to a campground that was about halfway between my parents and my siblings. It was a beautiful campground and worked out perfect!
We were actually only about 10 minutes from Spanish Fork so we went into town one day to take the kids to the park and splash park just off the freeway. (I have been wanting to try it for a while, every time I drive to my parents house I think how awesome the park looks.)

It did start a torrential downpour while we were there. But the kids were already in their swim suits. So they made the best of it and still had fun at the park even if it was raining. It was short storm and the sun came out just a little while later and warmed everyone up.


They also had a fun splash park, the kids loved it!My kids were really excited to see all of the fun "wilderness" animals. We saw lots of "brave" and "not starving" squirrels. The kids loved to feed them. We also saw a snake, it took everything in me to get close enough to get the kids close (I have the worst fear of snakes). I mostly carried McKay around in this pack. Kyle's parents bought it for us to use at Disney since McKay is getting hefty and still has to be carried everywhere. It was a lifesaver! He loved the pack and it was a nice rest on my arms.
These two little girls were INSEPARABLE! Every time I turned around they were together. I never saw them apart. They did everything together. Rode bikes and scooters, colored, collected rocks, and went walking together. I even saw them grab hands and hold hands when they were on a short hike. So cute! Right as we were leaving I was getting everyone in the car and Brynnley got a panicked look on her face and said "Mom, wait... I forgot to give Kate a hug and kiss good bye." They were so cute and I am so glad they love to play with each other.

I went up and spent the day with everyone in my family and then had to drive back that night because McKay had an early Doctors appointment the next morning. I drove back up after the doctor's appoitment, but Carson and Brynnley stayed there. So my parents volunteered to watch the kids and let them sleep in the trailer. I was so incredibly nervous for my kids, and maybe even more nervous for my parents. But Carson and Brynnley were SO excited to get to sleep in the trailer. Luckily it went very well, no meltdowns and they slept great!

The campground had a really fun nature trail that we went on numerous times, it even had a Tepee, you know the kids thought that was awesome!
We spent lots of time playing games, riding bikes and scooters, collecting snail shells, looking for animals, playing hopscotch, playing ice cream truck (the game the kids made up using the screen door on the trailer, eating super yummy camp food, and just visiting. It was so much fun and I am so glad that we were able to go, even if it was for a short time. The kids loved it and came home anxious to tell Daddy all about their adventures.
My parents were a huge help with McKay on the last day. We had a SUPER long Dr. appointment in the morning that he spent the majority of the time crying through, and he only had about a 40 minute nap for the day. So he was beyond cranky all of the afternoon. My dad took numerous turns taking him for walks, and my mom read books with him for quite a while. He was a trooper and my parents were a huge help!

We had an awesome trip and I am so glad my kids could get the real camping experience!