This week the Cleaver’s went on our first overnight campout! We drove out to Fort Flagler State Park, which is only about a 45 minute drive for us. I’m grateful that we live in a place where there is so much beauty, and that we have so many opportunities to enjoy it.

When we arrived, we spent some time at the beach. It was windy as we approached and I was worried it would be too cold to have any fun, but we found a spot that was sheltered from the wind and ended up enjoying ourselves. Rhett and Mason found a friend to play with right away, Ryan did a cold plunge, and Kender hung out with me while I sunbathed. I’ve been working on training my translucent-white skin to not immediately burn when exposed to the sun, and I’m delighted to report that it’s working! We stayed out for about an hour and a half and none of us burned.

After our beach time, we checked in to our spot and set up camp. Then it was hot dogs for dinner, a little bit of exploring some nearby trails, and back to the waterfront to play at the park and enjoy the sunset.

Once we felt the kids were sufficiently exhausted we headed back to camp and got ready for bed. The boys slept pretty soundly through the night, and I was both shocked and grateful. Our campsite was uncomfortably close to the one next to ours, and I’m sure our neighbors would not have appreciated children waking up loudly in the middle of the night. But there was a foghorn that kept going off, as well as the sounds of nearby animals outside our tent. The sleeping pads were a bit stiff too, but thankfully the kids did great.