My husband introduced me to one of my favorite hobbies: camping and hiking.

When we first started dating we went on several hikes and in each one I was in awe of the beauty around us. If memory serves me well, I think my first camping trip was when my husband took me to Joshua Tree National Park. The reason he chose Joshua Park was because during one of our conversations he was telling me how beautiful the sky looks when it’s completely covered with stars and I shared that I have never seen that, especially always being in the heart of the city. So he planned a camping trip for us to Joshua Tree.

It was a pretty warm day when we went and as it began to get darker he told me not to look up. We had dinner and talked and then when it finally got pitch black we walked a little ways to a little spot and he told me ok now look up and I couldn’t believe my eyes. The night sky was filled with so many stars, unlike anything I had ever seen. We even spotted a couple shooting stars.

Since then we’ve had our baby girl and when she was about 6 months old we did our first RV camping trip on Mother’s Day weekend. We had a great time and since then my husband has been excited about doing a camping trip (a la tent style) with her. I was a bit more hesitant about it and mentioned we definitely couldn’t do it in a 2 person tent.

So a few weeks ago my husband bought us a 10 person tent, booked us a camping spot at Malibu Creek State Park and the three of us had our first camping trip in our new very spacious and comfy tent.

Our daughter, who is now a little over 2 1/2 years old, had such a blast. She loved playing with the dirt, exploring the walking trails, and climbing the rocks that were all around the camp site. I loved watching her feel so free and having so much fun.

Here’s our daughter happily running to our tent. She was so in love with her PJ dress she wore it nearly all the time.

Walking one of the trails with her Papa

And one with Mama

We had such a great time we’re planning for our next camping trip in August.