Cabining at Frio Bluff

For spring break this year (yes, this marks the first year that we have joined the ranks of the spring break crowd) we headed with good friends, The Bonniwell Family, to Frio Bluff cabins on the Frio River a bit northwest of San Antonio.  Wow.  What a difference a cabin vs. a tent makes in easing the stress of daily camping with four young kids.  At the top of my list was the refrigerator, but close behind was the roof over our head during 24 hours of downpour.  We are all still patting ourselves on the back for a good decision made, though some of the youngsters in the group said it didn't really feel like camping!  Oh well!

Here the kids are eating breakfast, served straight from the kitchen, not the cooler.

Our days were fairly unstructured.  The cabins were on some great private land right on the river, which we could reach with a quick hike; perfect for the kids.  We hung out at the river, took the grill for hotdogs, the kids tried to catch minnows, and the Daddies swam in the frigid (hence the "frio) cold water while the Mommies actually read a magazine or two.

 

The vans (two red Odysseys, nonetheless) were loaded with activities: kites, mitts, rockets, frisbees, craft boxes, face painting kits, etc.  So back at the cabin, there was always plenty of activity going on.  There were trees to climb and rocks to dig.  However, refreshingly, we had absolutely no access to internet, Blackberries, or cell service, so we were completely unplugged the entire time and had nothing but our own fun and games to occupy our time.

Each night, we all enjoyed the campfire.  Scott pulled out the guitar and each kid took a turn singing their favorite tunes.  There was glowstick activity permeating the dark night.  We roasted marshmallows and biscuits under starlit skies. The the kids really took a liking to telling ghost stories...what a way to test their creative juices.  (By the way, each story ended up with a traditional pancake breakfast in the morning when all was well after a scary adventure.  Too cute!)

Luka and Lauren seemed to enjoy playing "babies" together quite often!

Another highlight was a trip to Garner State Park, right down the street.  We enjoyed a family hike to the top of a hill which the kids thoroughly enjoyed.  They experienced the intrinsic reward of a view from the top after a lot of hard hiking, and were very proud of themselves!

So, not to say that we did not have the typical vacation drama.  TJ still struggled several times with total meltdowns.  There was some expected kid competition, scrapes and bruises, and midnight rendez-vous in the kitchen when one or more kids were up in the middle of the night.  I even managed to slice a two-inch gash in my hand right below my thumb which provided some drama for Denise and me during the one 45-minute period that we had to ourselves the entire time.  Oh well!

All in all, a very fun vacation that we hope to repeat in some form or fashion, but I doubt we will pull out the tent anytime soon.

Of note, Scott is bald for the first time in his life due to his participation in a fundraiser for St. Baldricks, which donates money for kid's cancer research.

Cute tidbit: Luka to Scott while sitting on the pot: "Daddy, shut the door!  I need some PRIMACY!"