Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Camping at the Beach

Last weekend, we had the opportunity to go camping with our Moms Group at the beach; and although we were all worried to camp with so many toddlers, the weekend passed without use of a single Band-Aid! We spent the entire day on Saturday at the beach, we trucked in snacks, naptime equipment, toys and much more. The guys played football on the beach, the ladies chatted, kids played, and the hours passed too quickly. Much to our surprise we all had sun/wind burns despite the cloud cover! We laughed and ate around the campfire all evening, watched the kids play, and enjoyed sharing stories and memories. We hope to camp again as a group next summer, it was a wonderful experience.

On our Sunday drive home, Mark and I chatted about weekend highlights and what a great time we had (Ruth slept the entire way home--good job, Ruthie). And as we drove, we heard for the first time the song that accompanies this video montage. As I listened, I couldn't stop crying. I have reached the point in Motherhood (thought I would never get here) where I cherish every moment of every day. I feel so incredibly blessed to be Ruthie's Mom and truly don't want her to grow up! What a gift she is to us, each and every day. And what a blessing it is to have incredible weekends like this with our daughter!

Thank you Eric, Trina, Chris, James, Katrina, Anthony, Kathy, Aaron & Kristy for sharing your time and your children with us this weekend. We wouldn't trade these memories for the world!

5 comments:

Big Sister said...

We had an absolutely wonderful time on our first camping trip as a family. I can not say enough great things about all of the families in our mommy group. We are a lucky bunch of ladies to have such fabulous toddlers and amazing husbands.
The montage is lovely Esther, that song is perfect!
Thanks again for organizing:)

Naomi said...

We loved the video of your Mom's Group campout! Ruthie, you are so blessed to have so many friends to play and grow with. We can see that you really LOVE the sand, too. Great pictures Mom and Dad!

A & E said...

Thank you so much for sharing not just about your trip, but where you're at as a monther. Boy, can I relate! That song brought tears to my eyes, too.

My favorite part of the montage was when Ruthie was "all done" wrecking the sand castle. That whole clip reminded me of Zara. I am really looking forward to seeing the girls play together next weekend.
Love to you all!
Auntie Angela

Leslie said...

A beautiful movie. Very touching. Thank you, Esther. It was great seeing you last week, BTW.

Kristy Warren said...

The camping weekend will be my favorite memory of the summer! I am so glad you organized the trip. It was better than I could have ever expected.