We will be back...

Well, we did it... survived our first camping trip during ridiculously hot weather and the threat of possible bushfires looming in the background.

The kids loved the whole experience. They did get hot, but it was a great reason to spend loads of time in the pool. (I couldn't convince them into the river, despite my best efforts)

The tent experience was enlightening for us. Mike and I have both been camping before, but testing this particular tent out with the kids showed us that what we have doesn't cut it and we are now researching other brands and designs.

I had thought we had grossly over-packed the amount of camping "stuff", but most of it was used or the potential to use it was there.

We had friends staying nearby which turned out to be fantastic. I had always thought that holidays with friends kind of defeats the purpose of going away- you can spend time with them at home, why travel to hang out? But spending an evening with friends while the kids entertained each other was a great break for us as parents.

Taking the kids' bikes was a GREAT idea, too. Whenever they got underfoot, or bored, we sent them out on their bikes to do laps of the caravan park. Thankfully it was a small, quiet caravan park so they passed us often enough for us to keep an eye on them.

So, all in all, it was a great few days away. Just long enough to enjoy, despite the weather, and we are already planning our next sojourn. Hopefully it will become a regular event on our calendar and maybe even an Easter trip is on the cards.

(I had hoped to add some photos from our time away, but Blogger is being a pain and not letting me upload. Visit me over at http://instagram.com/linbritt/ if you have an Instagram account for the few pics uploaded there. I think the time has come to move on to another spot in cyber-space!)