Family Camp

This past weekend we had the chance to go to Creekside (part of Young Life's Washington Family Ranch) for a family camp. A group of families from Oregon would be there and they needed childcare during their worship and speaker times. So we decided to volunteer with some other friends and headed up. One catch. We had to stay in one big room, all of us together, including kids. Now this might scare some people off right away, and with good reason. But we decided to go for it with the thought that its only two nights and how bad could it really be. Our kids are good sleepers so I felt pretty good about it, but as it got closer I started getting nervous.

Creekside is out in Antelope, Oregon about 4 hours from Portland. The drive went great and we caravanned with some friends. The weather was gorgeous.

We ate and settled into our bunks, Lucy went straight for the top and was so excited. After the session, we headed to the room. Time for bed. One 3 year old, one 12 month old, one 7 month old, and one 4 month old along with 10 adults. We were all set up with fans, noise machines, the works. Aside from a few little peeps here and there (mostly from our kids ha) they all slept really well. Of course I sprung into action in a hot second when either of my kids stirred or made the tiniest noise, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it went. Lu and Jack were ready for the day a little earlier than I hoped, but they were troopers (and so was everyone else in the room.)

The next day was a blast. After the morning session, we had the whole afternoon. Lu was a big fan of the watersides. As soon as she flew off into the water she was ready to head back to the top to do it again. We also had lots of fun mini-golfing and trying out the different climbing walls. The food was great. Lu is definitely a fan of the sweets and was beyond excited that there was juice at every meal and desserts after lunch and dinner. Totally living it up.

The next night of sleep went even better then the first. Seriously shocked. The 12 month old slept like a champ for a good 12 hours, even with everyone packing and getting ready in the room. Unreal! The next day we had one more session, a hot dog lunch, and a last bit of pool time. So much fun. Would definitely do it again, kids, bunk-beds, and all.

One thing that was really cool was to see our kids up at a Young Life camp. I took Junior High kids to Creekside last summer when I was pregnant with Jacksen, but just to get to see Lu running around, participating in all the activities and just loving it there was such a cool experience. That's one part of Young Life they never get to see so that was super special. So glad we took the chance and went for it! Totally worth it.