Happy Friday, friends!!! Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us!!!! If you're linking up with us make sure you grab our graphic, link back to one (or both!) of us and share your own Friday Favorites post.
Yesterday was my first day back for in-service and it was SUCH A GREAT DAY! I had to pack up everything at the end of the year due to some repairs that were being done over the summer and so I spent the day cleaning, organizing and getting things set back up for the year. IT felt so good to get back in my room and I'm EXCITED for the year! And my new FAVORITE mug came with me ;) hahaha
Today I thought I'd share some of our Back-to-school FAVORITES in case your crew is getting ready to head back like mine is!
Luke's super cool backpack from last year bit the DUST after 6th grade and I really feel like it was "user error" since he had that thing crammed with SO MUCH STUFF all the time :) hahaha. This year I'm hoping that a better quality bag AND reduced carrying load will mean he carries the bag for at least the rest of middle school.
Today I'm linking up with Shay and Sheaffer to talk a little bit about what's been going on around here!
I don't even understand why these are SO GOOD but they're SO GOOD! My kids have had them before but then I bought a few bags for our road trip to Colorado and they quickly became a hot commodity in our house. If you haven't tried them yet grab some on your next grocery fun and let me know what you think!
Earlier this Spring Dave and I decided it was time to finally get a "grown up bed" ;) Dave bought a bedroom suite when he moved out his freshman year of college and we were still using it 20 years later. Our only regret is that we didn't do it sooner!
Today I'm answering the questions y'all had about Family Camp but first... here's a quick video with some highlights from the week :)
CAN THE PARENTS CHILL A LITTLE WHILE KIDS DO STUFF?
Absolutely! Our kids ran around and did all kinds of stuff without us :) But there aren't photos of that because well... I wasn't there! hahahaha There are counselors at every activity and your family's counselor will go with your kids as well!
DO YOU HAVE TO DO CAMP SPONSORED THINGS THE WHOLE TIME?
No ma'am! We love the night activities and Bible studies and all of that but you can participate as much of as little as your family wants.
WHAT IS THE AGE RANGE ALLOWED TO PARTICIPATE?
All ages! There were families there with teeny babies and families there with college-aged kids and everything in between. As long as your kids are into outdoor activities you're good :) There are several hikes available and a ropes course that are perfect for older kids and adults!
HOW DOES THE DINING WORK?
It's honestly my favorite part :) There's a full breakfast, lunch and dinner provided every day and the food is GOOD! There's a cereal station 24/7 along with a toaster and bread and things like that out in the lodge all the time and on the off camp day they set up a whole sack lunch station where we were able to pack lunches to take with us off camp. There wasn't a single meal that the kids didn't like which is a HUGE accomplishment!
BEST PLACE TO STAY (CABIN OR MAIN LODGE)... PROS/CONS?
We stayed in a double room in the lodge our first year and in a cabin this year and we preferred the cabin. We loved the "living space" in the cabin, the front porch with rocking chairs and just having a bit more room.
IS IT CROWDED?
We definitely noticed a big difference in how busy it was between this year and three years ago but it didn't feel crowded.
WHAT DO YOU ALL NEED TO PACK?
Layers! Just what you'd pack for any week in the mountains. Shorts, t-shirts, sweatshirts, leggings, tennis shoes, etc. I wore a t-shirt with leggings and Birkenstocks pretty much every day. GLORY!
COULD I GO WITH JUST MY KIDS IF MY HUSBAND DOESN'T HAVE VACAY TIME?
I just had a conversation with a sweet reader who lost their husband recently about how awesome this camp would be for that exact reason - tons of helping hands!
CAN YOU SHARE ABOUT THE COST? IS IT ALL INCLUSIVE?
You can find the exact cost for your family size and lodging choice on the Sky Ranch website but I'll tell you that Dave and I both agree that it's a great value for what you get. Activities get so expensive when you travel and the fact that there are so many things for the kids to do all day long is priceless! Same with food - even on the off camp day and parents night out they provide the food which is great.
WHERE DID Y'ALL GO ON YOUR DAY OFF?
We went to the Cheyenne Mountain Resort. The last time we were there we did the train ride through the Royal Gorge and the camp has a partnership with a local rafting company that lots of families took advantage of and had a great time.
SKY RANCH V PINE COVE - HOW DID YOU CHOOSE?
If you're not local, Pine Cove is another popular camp in our area and we chose Sky Ranch because of their Life Map programming and the great experience we had during a Launch Camp at MCA. I really can't speak to Pine Cove other than their camp in the city that Mason and G did this summer and I have no complaints.
I hope that answered all your questions - obviously we're big fans :)
Happy Friday, friends!!! Erika and I are so excited that lots of y'all are linking up with us!!!! If you're linking up with us make sure you grab our graphic, link back to one (or both!) of us and share your own Friday Favorites post.
We got to visit with Dave's family earlier this week and Griffin showing Granny her newly lost tooth is my FAVORITE!!!
Wednesday was our off camp day and after looking at a few different options of things to do we decided to head about an hour and a half away to one of our very favorite places - The Cheyenne Mountain Resort.
Today I'm sharing another go-to dinner recipe. It's quick, simple, all my kids devour it and I typically have everything on hand. You can find the original recipe HERE.
Last Sunday we headed out super early for one of our very FAVORITE places - Sky Ranch Family camp! We left a little before 6 a.m., stopped for breakfast/lunch at Whataburger in Amarillo a little before 11 a.m. and then headed straight on to CO.
We're back from a week in the mountains and are diving headfirst back into "real life" as we get ready for our last few weeks of summer. I have about 7000 pics to sort through so I'll be back tomorrow with a recap once I have a chance to go through those (and finish doing laundry) ;) hahaha
Happy Tuesday, friends! Today I'm sharing a few of the things that have landed on my doorstep via Amazon this month.
First up - these string backpacks. The boys each needed a bag to take to camp that they could toss their water bottle, towel, sunscreen, etc. in and these were a great price with awesome reviews. They'll use these during the school year for PE and other things as well.
