What I'm Loving Wednesday (Yes, I know it's actually Friday. )...... Family Camp

So the month of July ends and so does the Bauer's vacation galavanting! It's been such a fun month filled with settling into a new house, going on an awesome family vacation (which I still need to devote at least one more blog post to) and then going on another kind of family vacation. Last week we travelled up to Potter Valley for our church's Family Camp. Family Camp isn't just camping with my family. It's camping with our church family, which is just like having a super huge family. Having a church family that you've grown with, not necessarily grown up with, is such a blessing.

I took all my family camp pictures on my phone, which was not many,  so I'm not sure if I remember how to download those on my computer. I'm computer challenged in so many ways! So this post may or may not have pictures!

Andy grew up going to family camp. The first year I ever went, was the year after we got married, 11 years ago. We spent the week in a tent ( not a cabin ) which was on an incline. So each morning we woke up at the "bottom of our tent". Good times! It's actually one of the only memories I have of that year.

After Lily was born, we restarted the family tradition and have been going ever since.

I could go on about Hartstone Family Camp; but I've got to get dinner on the table so, I'll make this quick.

10 Things I Love About Hartstone Family Camp:

1.) Hartstone Bible Camp is a no frills kind of place. That's what we love about it. Sleeping in a cabin, afternoons on the river or chatting with friends, campfires at night, volleyball games and games of Boggle and Dirty Ernie. That's all you need.

2.) Just spending quality time with friends. You are not in a rush. There's no where to go and nothing pressing to do!!

3.) We did have a speaker, Don Donovan, who taught from God's Word each morning. Singing worship songs to the Lord among the majestic redwoods and learning about God in His creation. What could be better? (Meeting time coincided perfectly with Henry's morning nap, too.)

4.) Getting to eat meals with different people each day. When you spend most of your days eating lunch and dinner with a 4 year old and 1 year old who throws half of his food on the floor, this is kind of nice!

5.) Hanging out around the campfire at night and roasting marshmallows.

6.) We have one community bathroom/shower for the women and one for the men. Yes, this a tad inconvenient; but it was just for a few days. I loved it that each time I went to get ready for the day, there was another friend to chat with and catch up with. A little reminiscent of college dorm life.

7.) Snack Shop: Open every day at 3 p.m.

8.) It's beautiful at Hartstone. It's peaceful and quiet and quaint. I love it.

9.) You do not worry about your kids at Hartstone. They run free with their friends and play in the dirt. They can't get lost or taken. It's such a safe, worry free environment. There's no place like it. Lily interacted with her friends, the teenagers and adults. But no matter who she was with, I was never worried. I had to watch Henry of course, but he loved roaming around camp, too.

10.) Hartstone Dirt! Hartstone dirt is like no other. It sticks to you and doesn't let go. By the end of the week, Lily was completely covered in a rusty shade of red. And everyone's feet!!!! To know Hartstone is to love the Harstone dirt. (Let's just say I was happy to get home, throw everyone in the tub and begin the laundry!)

So there you have it. Good-bye for now Hartstone. We'll see you next summer!

* So it took me two days; but I was determined to post pics with this post. I figured it out. It was so easy!!

I love these pictures of Andy and the kids.

We had a birthday pinata for people celebrating their birthdays that week.

Roaming as free as can be and loving it!

We loooooved the snack bar!

Silly friends.

Making new friends. I really love this picture. Sarah and Kelsey are such sweet girls.

 

Aren't these how your family pictures go down? This is how it is for us almost every single time. Thankfully our friend, Sarah, was very patient. We got a good one.