Spring camping

Not the best picture of me, but you can see how excited the kids are to camp
Our pop-up camper

This past weekend we went camping at Hoffmaster State Park near Grand Haven. Nate has been wanting a pop-up camper for years and we officially grew out of our tent, so we now have a pop-up. We figured out how to set it up fairly easily, but we could not get the awning to work. The awning isn't pictured above. :) We were all getting a little stressed about the awning that night. However, my super-smart husband figured out that part of the awning had been installed incorrectly so we fixed it and the awning worked! None of us slept well on Friday night, the kids were all jazzed up and sugared up from s'mores. The camper is much more comfortable to sleep in then a tent. :)

On Saturday morning I went to an event called Wait No More and left Nate and the kiddos at the campground. I so appreciate Nate's support of my passion for orphan care. My husband is awesome. The Wait No More event was put on by Focus on the Family and the MI Department of Human Services. The purpose of the event was to find families for MI children waiting to be adopted. The speakers were very touching. A man who grew up in foster care, a young woman who was adopted at age 10, a woman whose parents did foster care (and adopted) while she was growing up, an adoptive father, and a state social worker. Each speaker highlighted a different aspect of adopting a child from foster care. I came away with resources to share with families considering adoption.

At the campground it drizzled most of Saturday afternoon, but it wasn't too bad. The boys enjoyed playing in a nearby creek. We then discovered a leech on Caleb's foot- disgusting! Caleb was a little freaked out, but it came off easily. The boys also played "Pooh Sticks" in the creek. It is from Winnie-the-Pooh. You drop a stick on one side of the bridge and see whose stick comes out first on the other side. Caleb also fell in the creek and couldn't get back up the bank. So Isaac comes yelling, "Caleb is stuck in the river!" Not something you want to hear, but thankfully it wasn't a big deal. The kids even splashed around in Lake Michigan- very cold! We all slept better Saturday night and had wonderful weather on Sunday. We appreciated not having to pack up in the rain!

Another exciting event was that my sister, Stephanie, came to visit. The kids hadn't seen her since Christmas and they love their Aunt Steph. Steph and I did an exercise class together and I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We are so coordinated. Stephanie also visited Caleb's classroom and took him out for ice cream afterwards. We always wish the visits were longer, but we thank God for the time we have together!