First Camp Out - Only five year olds need apply

On the Monday before Thanksgiving, we had our first "camp out" with Bekah and some of her five year old friends - cousin Parker and Nicholas (who graciously brought their dads!). We set up camp outside of the stocked pond in my parents' backyard in Myakka City. It was legit camping - we cooked our food over an open fire, we spent the night outdoors in tents, etc ...but it was somewhat civilized just in case someone needed to run to the house to seek medical care or go to the bathroom.

I was hoping that this scenario would be PERFECT for three newbie five-year-old campers, but I wasn't sure how it would all work out...would the kids have a good time??? would they actually sleep in tents outdoors??? would they be afraid of the dark??? Well, all of that worrying was pointless - they had a FANTASTIC time!!! We fished, we played flashlight tag, we swung until the wee hours of the morning, and we did indeed sleep in our tents successfully.

On the fishing side of things, we took in a good haul...and even got to fight with the three biggest fish in the pond (Parker fought with the big catfish and the #1 big bass; I fought with the #2 big bass). Both Parker and Nicholas successfully brought some fish on shore, while Bekah mainly coached from the sidelines (see post in October for when she hauled in the big bass! ...its tough to beat that experience!).

Click here for a few more pictures of our adventure!