Homeschool Wins

A list of fun homeschool wins:

 You can wear your pajamas.

 Reading time . . . turns into snuggle time . . . turns into nap time.

 Nature studies at the park.

 Nutrition class is yummy.

 It's a nice day?  Well, shoot.  Let's school outside.

Big kids voluntarily teaching the little kids.  

Beacon Rock State Park

A couple of week ago we were able to take off on a two-night camping trip to Beacon Rock State Park.  This park is in Washington snuggled up close to the Columbia River.  This is only the second time we have been on longer than a one-nighter with our own little family.  It takes so much work to set up a campsite!  Why not stay for as long as possible? 

The view looking up from inside our tent.  How fun to just lay there, staring up at the tree and the blue sky.  The weather was perfect.  Not too hot, not too cold.  

My super happy campers.  They were loving it.

From the campground, there is a nice, 2.5 hike to Hardy Falls and Rodney Falls.  Our kids were great hikers.  Libby even found some hiking poles to use along the way.

There is also a nice view of the Columbia River from the hike.

Libby decided it was best to carry her hiking sticks in her belt loops so she could pick up even more sticks.

Looking at Hardy Falls.

This picture above is of Rodney Falls, the section they call the Pool of the Winds.  The water pours down into this little pool, surrounded by rock, making a constant rush of wind from the opening.  It was very cool.  My picture definitely doesn't do it justice.  You should Google some better pictures.

Later that day we found a little spot to get down by the Columbia River, close to the Bonneville Dam.  To our surprise, there were sea lions fishing in the river not too far from us.  We didn't realize they came up the river so far but a local told us the sea lions have been doing that for a little while now and it's causing quite the controversy.  Fisherman don't like the sea lions taking the fish, but no one wants the sea lions hurt.  Apparently, relocation doesn't work. They just come right back.  But they were fun to watch for a little while.

We all had a blast.   The kids all told me they wanted to camp a lot more!  They also asked if we could stay longer, but unfortunately, we had to get back home.  We definitely need to plan another trip soon!

Camp Cooking

I loved camping as a kid.  Camping as an adult though?  That was different.  First of all, you have to be in charge of everything!  The cooking, cleaning, packing, planning.  It was like all the stuff I do at home but with fewer conveniences.  Second, I had such a hard time getting a good night's rest while sleeping in a tent, in the cold wilderness, on the ground, in a mummy bag.  Third, I was constantly worried about losing kids. Kids wandering away at camp.  Kids falling down cliffs while hiking.  Kids falling into the fire  Kids getting eaten by bears or cougars . . . Camping became less fun and more stressful.  

But I was determined to have the same fun experiences as an adult as I did when I was a kid.  I love being out in the mountains, in the forests, in the wilderness - it's so calming and I wanted to feel calm while camping so we set out to fix the things that made camping hard.  The sleeping situation was remedied with new, better camp pads and a doubles sleeping bag that Ethan and I share.  Now I stay warm and comfortable all night . . . for the most part anyway.  

The worrying about kids problem just fixed itself as the kids got older.  No more children wandering away (which really did happen once).  The kids are all old enough to know to stay by us and stay away from dangerous things.

Now to fix the problem of all the work!  Well, some of that you just can't get away from.  Setting up camp takes time.  But it's a lot easier now that the kids are older and can help with a lot of it.  We are starting to get the packing down.  The more we do it, the easier it gets.  And the cooking, something that I used to hate is now becoming kind of fun.

My favorite part about camp cooking may sound odd: cast iron.  My goodness I love cast iron.  Several years ago Ethan bought me some cast iron cookware for my birthday to use at home in our kitchen.  I was doubtful that I would like it but gave it a try because Ethan was sure it would be great.  And I do love it.  So much.  I love how well they cook food.  I love how they really are non-stick.  I love that they will last forever.  I even love the way they look.

So for out camping trip I decided to pull out one of our dutch ovens and just cook over the fire.  I was a little worried about how that would work out, not being able to control the temperature as much as I can on our little gas camp stove, but it turned out great.

Our first night we made something similar to this Summer Vegetable with Sausage and Potatoes, a favorite recipe, but simplified and without the zucchini. Everything was cut up in advance and thrown in at different times according to how long that particular food took to cook.  It was super easy, yet delicious. You see it got a thumbs up from the kids.

The next day we had leftovers from home.  Earlier that week I had made this for one of our dinners:

• Slow Cooker Pork Carnitas
• Slow Cooker Black Beans
• Chile Lime Rice

We wrapped it all up in some cook-yourself tortillas with some chopped greens, sour cream, and homemade salsa.  It was delicious.  And made a lot!  So it just bagged it all up and took it camping with us.  All we had to do was reheat the pork, beans, and rice together in the dutch oven over the fire, then use the lid to my dutch oven, which upside is a skillet, to cook the tortillas.  

 

It was delicious and exactly what we needed after a day of hiking.  Although, some were a little too tuckered out to enjoy theirs.

Later on, after cleaning up, I baked cinnamon rolls in the oven using some briquettes I had thrown into the fire while cooking dinner.  I had a moment to just sit and stare at my beautiful dutch oven while the kids and Ethan went down to a stream to play.

They turned out perfectly.  Considering how easy it was - I just used pre-made dough from the store - it was definitely worth it and I'm sure the kids will want some every time we go camping.

We absolutely enjoyed our camp food this trip.  It was nice to get away from the hot dogs we used to always have.  And the clean up isn't that bad either.  Because I cook it, Ethan always volunteers to clean the dutch oven.  I'm good with that!

It was the best camping trip we've had so far.  We slept well, ate well, saw beautiful things, had a lot of fun, and the kids got a long so well!  No one wanted to go home.

Hiking Beacon Rock

The thought of hiking Beacon Rock was intimidating.  I knew Ethan really wanted to do it, but I was scared.  You hike up about 848 feet in less than a mile and let's face it, I haven't been so consistent with the exercise lately.  But I didn't want Ethan to miss out on something he was so excited to do.  So I put on a happy face and tried to convince the kids that, "It won't be that bad.  You'll have fun!"  They weren't that excited either.  They could see that rock.  They didn't like the thought of hiking up, up, up.  Doubtfully, they followed us up the trail.

 The "before" picture.  I saw that rock towering over me and was sure I was going to regret it.

 Look at all those switchbacks.  I was also worried about my fear of heights. I did alright, though, as long as I didn't look down while I was walking.

 The views were great.  See how much the kids love it?

 This is, oh, I don't know, about half way up?  Maybe more?  What a beautiful view of the Columbia River!  It was so awesome.  And you know what?  The hike really wasn't that hard.  In fact, I was doing just fine.

 Here's the picture to prove it.  See?  Happy face.  That's a face that says, "I don't know what I was so worried about!"

 Here's the view from the top.  Yup, we made it.  With no problems.  They kids were less excited about the view, and more excited about the fact that they got to eat lunch at the top.

Then we had to go down.  That did make my knees a little achey.  But, yes, it was definitely worth the trip and not nearly as hard as I thought it was going to be.  The kids felt the same.  They ended up being glad they did it.

It makes me wonder how often in life we decide not to do things because we think it will be too hard when, if we were to actually do it, we would find it really wasn't as bad as we thought it would be.  Do we hold back because we are afraid of not being able to do it?  Or  afraid of not being able to do it as well as someone else?  Or are we not afraid we will accomplish it but afraid of the discomfort it will create along the way?  Do we hear people say it's worth it but we doubt them?

Have you ever failed to do something you wanted to because of these reasons?  I know I have.  Maybe we should just try anyway, and maybe, just maybe, it won't be as bad as we thought it would be.  Maybe we will find it's definitely worth the trek.