Birthday Camping

Months before turning five,
her simple wish for her birthday was to camp. 

So, off to the woods we went. 
(Thanks to Mamaw and Papaw for the lantern!)

To add to the celebration,
we invited the cousins and a couple friends.
The littles made trail mix,  

hung out around our campfire,
and experienced the simple, repetitive joy of throwing rocks in the lake. 

We are campers at heart,
and autumn makes us long for these
sweet family times in the quiet of the woods.

Mark is the birthday cake boss,
and when the request was made for a "camping cake",
he took the challenge!
Sophia was thrilled with her daddy's creation,
and blowing out her "5" birthday candle was a picture perfect memory. 

All the littles had a blast going on a nature hunt
and munching on worm-laden "dirt cups"!

Later, when it was just our team,
the temp dropped and we snuggled up around
our warm fire with lanterns and hot chocolate. 

After a night of tent giggles and snoozes in our sleeping bags,
we slept late, warmed more hot chocolate and
cooked up a breakfast fit for campers. 



Can't believe you are 5, girl. 
Celebrating in the woods with you was
close to perfection. 
We love your nature lovin' heart.