Mother-Daughter Campout

This weekend Esther and I went on a mother-daughter camp out with our GEMS group from church.  We went to Long Lake Outdoor Center in the Yankee Springs State Recreation Area. Thankfully we were staying in cabins since it was cool and rainy.  It was nice to have bunks and a roof over our heads, although we did have to walk a little ways to the outhouses!

Saturday was dreary, but it didn't rain much, so we were still able to be outside most of the afternoon.  We were put into groups to do a scavenger hunt, and had a list of various things in nature that we had to find.  We had fun exploring the trails and enjoying the beauty of spring.

The girls in our group: 

Laura, Nikki, Esther and Alexis

Before dinner, each group was assigned a picnic table to decorate, using only natural items that they could find in the area.  It was a competition, and they awarded each table a special prize.  The girls got to hold the "Golden Pinecone" when their table prize was awarded.  We also each made a "sit-upon" to sit upon while eating.  We used plastic grocery bags stuffed with newspaper to make the cushions and they worked pretty well!

Saturday evening and Sunday morning were quite rainy, so we mostly stayed inside.  Saturday evening we played games and made our s'mores in the indoor fireplace.  Sunday morning we played more games, ate breakfast, had a time of worship and singing, and packed up to head home.  We were originally going to stay until after lunch, but decided that there wasn't much more to do being stuck inside the cabins, and cooking one more meal outside on the covered porch didn't sound all that fun.

So, Esther and I made it home in time to join Casey, Peter, Miriam, Casey's dad and Nick for a yummy steak dinner!  All in all, it was a fun weekend and a nice time to spend with Esther and the other girls and moms.