Into the Woods

We have been so lucky this year to be a part of a small group bible study that meets outside of any church-run program.  We get together about 1-2 times a month to chat bible stuff (Romans, lately) and have dinner together and we even have a sitter that watches the kids while we talk.  I have known these families for a few years now, but we have quickly become an even tighter group of friends and this past weekend we all headed off into the woods for a camping trip together.  It almost didn't happen when the government shut down trickled down to our campsite at Ragland Bottom.  They called us the day before we were supposed to arrive to say they were closing.  Luckily, we were able to pull together a decent Plan B.  Standing Stone State Park!

The weather was gorgeous and only a smidge on the sticky side.

We had wonderfully shaded campsites all together
and we had clear skies.

We enjoyed the cool evening breeze once we all got tents set up that first night.

I loved staring into the fire and listening to the crickets chirp, the kids play, and friends laugh together.

The kiddos enjoyed much bike riding and all the free play time.

I use the term "kids" loosely. :}

We {mostly} turned off our iPhones and tuned into our beautiful surroundings and the freedom and fun of our weekend escape.

There was this driveway that looped around our campsites and a number of others near us.  Very convenient!  It really was safe enough for the kids to do laps alone, but one or the other of us ended up walking along behind them.  At times you would find us stationed all around the circuit.  We were a well-oiled machine of parents of many little people.  :}

Our own parking pad and tent set-up.

All four of our campsites.  From left to right was us, the Williams, the Lewis' (whom we adopted into our little group for the weekend), and then the Graffs.  We sure did miss the Jeffs who couldn't make it at the last minute. :(

More of our view. 

We all really looked forward to fishing.

Not wanting to touch worms or get caught in any child's stray hook, I designated myself the photographer of the fishing trip and stayed in the background snapping pics of any and everything going on.

Anna cringing as Josh baits the first cricket.  I'm with her; I don't know how anyone can stand to stab those poor little things.

Noah was in his element again.  This reminds me of him fishing last Fall Break at Fall Creek Falls.

Anna gave it a go, too ...

But her interest languished rather quickly.

Isn't she sweet?  Grinning at her folding of her legs here.  So her.

Josh spent much time baiting the kids' hooks, but got in a few casts of his own along the way.

The only picture of the weekend with all of us in it ... except me. :S

When the kids *really* lost interest, the grownups got in some good fishing of their own.

While we were out, we explored the park's suspension bridge.

The lower side of the dam.

When we got back, we were all tickled to discover Anna's pole that was left in the water had actually caught something!  The only fish of the day.  :} 

Anna even got the nerve to touch it and throw it back in.

Enjoying a little downtime back at camp.

Besides resident photog, I also stepped up to the plate to kill as many yellow-jackets as I could. My apologies to any and all who got caught downwind of my efforts.  Ha!

The crew loaded up later on that day to go hiking.

This proved to be an more of an adventure than they realized they were getting into. More on that later.

Back at camp, Anna (who was stricken with a bout of untimely diarrhea) got inventive with how she spent the next few hours alone.  Here she is a pirate, the table is her ship, the bowl is her steering wheel, and the coloring page was her map.

Back on the hike, the kiddos were troopers!  Turns out, everyone thought the other knew where they were going and no one knew til after the fact that they were following the most strenuous of the hiking paths offered at the park. 

Several hours into their hike, they stopped and checked the map and realized they were lost.  Love the look on George's face!

An angel in disguise just happened to pass their way and drove the guys back to the truck to return for the rest of the hiking party.  Phew!  After a restful BBQ dinner, we gathered around the fire once again.  It goes without saying that we enjoyed more than a few s'mores both nights. :)

The kiddos followed suit with their own version of a campfire.  They even got a round of almost-ghost stories going.  All weekend we remarked on what a great age range we had and how well all the kids were getting along ... not counting that sucker punch Noah got from his buddy, James, during a game of zombie chase gone wrong. :}

The morning we left, there was rain moving in, so we packed and boogied on out of there a little early just to be safe.  I snapped a parting shot of the falling leaves that came down in the finally cool air.

I even had to pull out a fleece.  I also forced my way into a picture of just us girls. 

Josh proved himself a Camper Extraordinaire.  He basically packed this entire weekend's necessities; I really only packed my own clothes and the kids'. He did all our camp set up, cooked our assigned weekend meal, and pretty much managed all the kids' showers and medicines along the way, too. It's too bad I didn't snap a pic of Noah hooked up to his nebulizer in the great outdoors.  It was something to see!  Anyway, Josh was really in his element on this camping scene.  That said, he votes for a cabin on our next woodsy adventure.  Ha!

 

Our fearless leaders!  Good work this weekend, guys!

Just a few of our motley crew of kiddos.  They had SUCH fun in the wide open space and outside air over the whole weekend.  We hadn't even gotten home yet before Anna starting counting down to our next bible study gathering. Apparently, the littles bonded as much as the grownups did.

Before we left the park, Josh and Noah gave it a go with the fish one more time.

After 30 or so casts, we told Noah he could do one more and then we needed to jet.  Wouldn't you know he finally caught one of those elusive fish on that last try?  So fun!  You should have seen his celebratory dance lap after that! 

It was the perfect end to a great weekend.  So great, in fact, we are already googling cabins for a Gatlinburg group getaway in January.  You just can't know how significant these relationships have been to us during this season where we were starving for community at our old church and as we continue to seek it out within our next church home.  (We are getting close, btw.) So thankful for these families and for getting to share these memories with them.  So blessed by the Lord's provision.