Family Camping

From 16.11 to 19.11, the whole family plus grandma and grandpa and the dog went on a camping trip to Hopetoun (Where? - see post 'Hopetoun& Football Finals'). Unfortunately, contrary to all weather forecasts, it rained, stormed, and thundered from Thursday to Saturday noon, so we could only spend time in the campervan, tent, or with the kids' great grandpa. That's why we decided to stay until Sunday evening and enjoy the only beautiful day properly!

We had our camping trailer with us again, which Jenna and Scott unfortunately had to set up in heavy thunderstorm while I was in the car with the kids. Scott's parents arrived a little later with their camping van, in which we spent most of the time (especially the evenings). Except for one night, Jenna slept with the little one at her grandpa's, whom she wanted to visit as often as possible during the camping trip, and I slept with Scott and Harry in the tent. Most of the time, both of them slept on the upper floor and I slept on the air mattress below, until the last night when Jenna and Freyja stayed with us in the tent, and Harry and I had a 'sleepover' upstairs ;)

Therefore, we could only go on one trip, but it was super interesting for me because I could observe kangaroos in the wild for the first time. Not far from our campsite, Lake Lascelles in Hopetoun, there is a nature park where hundreds of kangaroos live. However, we could only drive through the park with the car, as it was too muddy to walk longer distances, we just got out once. We were really lucky and saw numerous kangaroos up close, including a mother feeding her baby.

We all really enjoyed and took advantage of the little walk we could take together during a short break in the rain to get some fresh air. Jenna and Scott had their big camera with them, which they bought before they had children to document all their travels. That's where some of the photos were taken, which I used as calendar photos for Harry and Freyja's grandparents' Christmas present! Looking at the muddy ground, you can see the weather situation during those days ;)

On Sunday, the weather at the lake was exactly as originally forecasted for all days - fantastic! We could take our own little canoe out on the lake and Harry got to try his hand at fishing. We also all went for a swim and in the evening, we had a big cozy campfire... just as you imagine camping! The kids were in a great mood all day and visibly delighted by the wonderful weather and all the sudden activities :)

Harry and I splashing around

Suddenly, we needed sunscreen too

Unfortunately, we had to drive back home on Monday morning because everyone had to work on Tuesday. Despite the weather and sometimes challenging kids, I'm super happy that I've been so integrated into the family and accepted so well by grandma and grandpa. I think it's really nice of Jenna and Scott to want to take me on such family trips, but still allowing me the freedom to decide. I feel like the shared days have further strengthened my connection with the whole family, especially with the kids, and I'm more than happy to give up my usually free weekend for that :)