July Date: Camping for Three & Campfire S'mores

For our July date, I opted for a little *free* outdoor fun as a family. Last year we camped a mere 30 minutes from home when I was severely pregnant. I remember looking at the family next to us with a new baby thinking these people are cray cray. Guess in the midst of making these dates a few months post camping & baby being born I forgot. Oops! In all seriousness, camping with Adelaide was not more difficult than had it been just Ryan & I. See after camping last summer and making notes on all of the things that crazy family had brought, I in turn bought many things to make camping with a baby feasible. Of course I did because I was in full nesting mode and had already nested the crap out of everything else. So you can imagine how thrilled I was when we were packing Friday night and I recalled how smart I had been last year. YAY for me outsmarting myself ;)

Albeit a major heat wave in New York, we packed up our little family of three four (including Beau) and headed up north for some 4th of July weekend camp fun. Nestled just an hour and a half away is Mills Norrie State Park yet it feels worlds apart from the hustle & bustle of NYC. We left late morning on Saturday and arrived in perfect time for lunch. We unloaded the car and got Adelaide situated on two large blankets with her toys (she cared more about playing with rocks but whatever). Then set up camp via our tent, camp couch, picnic table (I purchased some adorable tablecloths last season!), camp kitchen, & cooler.

After lunch, we took a little hike towards the cabins & river. We only went about a 1/2 mile before turning back because Beaumont was panting like he's 100 and Adelaide I was desperate for a swim to cool off. Changing into our swim gear and jumping in the car, we drove a few miles up the road to Lake Taghkanic. It had a make shift beach with volleyball to boot. Adelaide & I dipped right in with the other fellow campers. We waded around and made friends with a little girl names Madison. She was smitten with my baby girl. The boy stayed cool under the shade of a nearby tree.

Once we had satisfied our need to swim like fish, we headed back to our campsite to get dinner ready. Ryan prepped & cooked while I handled the princess who kept attempting to eat rocks and chase Beau around. The three of us enjoyed dinner, steaks & veggies for the adults/formula for the baby, and put the little one to sleep as the sun was going down. Of course no camp night is complete without a few s'mores so Ryan roasted a few up as we gazed up at the stars.

Ms. Adelaide was up bright & early at 6:30am thanks to the blazing, bright sun. She flipped & flopped around the tent, over the sleek sleeping bags from mom to dad to Beau for about an hour before we all decided to finally get up. A quick camp breakfast of egg & cheese sandwich then we were breaking down camp to head home.

Although short, our camping trip was sweet. I think we plan to make it a yearly tradition. Who knows, maybe next year we will make it two nights. The important thing is that we are getting out & enjoying nature together as a family!