Camping in Tehachapi Mountains

We've been promising the kids that before we move from Bakersfield, we would take them camping. Geoff and Kolby and Carson discovered Tehachapi Mountain Camp when they went there for the ward Father/Son campout. The great thing about it is that it really is only one hour away, the facilities are great, it is in the mountains so it gets cool at night and it is really pretty. So this weekend was the weekend we put on the calendar. In spite of my broken toe, we went and had a great time. We are not a super camping family so we did things as simply as possible. We grabbed Subway to eat in the car on the way up there, got there just in time to set up camp and then Kolby and Geoff went hunting for firewood so we could have a campfire and roast marshmallows and make yummy S'mores. The kids were pretty tired by the time we were done with marshmallows and chocolate and were begging to go get in the tent and go to sleep. So we headed to the tent and everyone cozied up in their little sleeping bag. The kids were envious that mom and dad got to sleep on an air mattress, but hey, we have spent plenty of nights sleeping on rocks so now it is someone else's turn. The night was so cool. We could see tons of stars through the netting at the top of the tent. It was so pretty and the temperature was just right. I was amazed at how well everyone slept. Even though the sun was shining bright and early our kids didn't get up until 8:00. That is a record. They have NEVER slept that late. We might have to do a little more camping!

The kids were so cute. Eliza definitely wasn't fond of how dark it was and having to go use the potty in the dark (even though we had flashlights) and she definitely didn't like all the bugs, but Carson and Kolby had few complaints and just loved playing with sticks in the dirt, searching for big walking sticks, going on "hikes", chasing after squirrels, learning how to build a fire and how to properly put out the fire when we were done with it. Carson was pretty giddy the whole time because he was just having so much fun. And Geoff had to be superdad because I sure couldn't move around very easily, especially in the uneven ground. I think Geoff and his 3 boys are going to have lots of fun camping trips in the future. Maybe the girls will come along, but maybe not...

After we cleaned/packed everything up we headed to downtown Tehachapi. My friend's parents own the new yogurt shop that is there and so we thought we would go check it out. That took us on a tour of some other shops downtown, the train museum, which was pretty cool, and then to the yummy yogurt shop. Everyone was in heaven and filled their tummies to the brim so they were ready for a nice nap in the car on the way home. It was a perfect little family camping trip. We spent the rest of the day at home making banana bread, swimming and doing laundry. Fun times for the Howards...