Camp Ahistadi 2014

We are tired, the laundry is piled up with dirty clothes and bedding, and this girl is ready for her fluffy king-sized bed tonight, but we had a total blast at Camp Ahistidi camp with our kindergarten-fifth graders from church. 

Here are the opening gates of the camp-we had no cell service but we made it:)  It was actually nice to be unplugged for a few days and connect with real people and kids. 

We had a wonderful group of adults and kids.  I was amazed at how well behaved they were and how excited they were to do everything!! Here are the girls from the girl cabin with David:) In all we had seven adults and 12 campers! 

This picture sums up lots of happiness for me.  It was a lot of work to take that young of children camping, but it was so worth it!!  Here are some wet, muddy and tired girls after an afternoon swimming in the creek.  I value precious moments in time and this was one of them. 

Amber went with us to keep a watchful eye on David.  I really worried about the heat, the activity level, and his drinking his daily 70 ounces with all the fun and friends around.  He stunned us all and had a total blast!  He drank very well, he had no stamina issues and he was truly a star camper.  My heart was so full of joy watching him enjoy every moment. 

Smores was a hit with them all.  David ate almost ten marshmellows after roasting them:) 

The second morning we hiked out to the outdoor worship area and here is a group picture there!  Camp Ahistadi is remote but so beautiful!!  I truly did not want to leave. 

Most of us mommies went au natural and went without makeup and primping.  This is a terrible picture of me, but I was happy and having fun with kids in the woods. 

This was my favorite moment of the camping trip.  After our photo ops at the altar, we were getting ready to head back to the camp when Dave started singing.  After a few moments we all joined in with him singing 10,000 Reasons.  Be still my heart.....

After lunch we had a mandatory "no feet on the floor" rest time in the girls cabin.  David had woken up at 6:15 ready to get back in the creek so we had had an early morning and he was not the first one up! I know the kiddos enjoyed all the activities but I also think some of their favorite time was in the cabin hanging out. 

The second day we headed to the watering hole to swim.  We were a little skeptical to take our little kids to a watering hole, but it was a total blast!  I will not post pictures, but I too went down the natural water slide!

This was another favorite moment!  David was skpetical about the watering hole, but after some encouragement (and notice that Amber and Kelly are totally in the water with their clothes on) David decided to do it!  He did it and he was so proud!!!  I love to see him do something that he was nervous to do

Olivia and Sarah brought a special cookies cake to share for Hope's birthday!  What a sweet guesture:)

Our bible theme was Fruit of the Spirit and we planned a keepsake craft to do with all the kiddos that went on the trip.  Our restident artist Caitlin, painted the tree and grass and then we added each child's handprint with their name and age underneath.  We will hang it in the church somewhere as a reminder of what we learned.  Caitlin then had the idea to get each adult to use our fingerprints to make the butterflies.  Hope and David's hands are the lowest orange ones and my orange butterfly is underneath theirs:)

As we talked about the fruits of the spirit from Galatians 5:22, we used kool-aid to paint the fruits on the card stocked that I had printed at home.  We then cut out all the fruits and glued them onto their flat stanley picture of themselves to take home to remember the fruits that God wants us to show.  This picture does not show that David and I drew glasses on his flat stanely:)

This morning before packing up we headed to the field to play some kick ball

and a brutal game of Red Rover.  We had to quit when one of our friends got clothes-lined:)  I love seeing this joy on Hope's face! 

All three of us had a blast with our church friends learning the fruits of the spirit and having fun at beautiful Camp Ahistadi.  We are already planning a return trip next year.  Learning about God and making memories is what it is all about!