Fort Rock Mother/Daughter Retreat

Earlier this fall, Madisyn, Felicity and I attended a Mother/Daughter retreat at Fort Rock Family Camp.  This was my third trip to Fort Rock and I just can't say enough good things about the whole experience. If you know anything about our family, you know that we love to do things that involve the whole family. Fort Rock is wonderful for that. The entire family can visit and work and play together.

One of families we met at family camp last year was also in attendance. We bought some wonderful handmade soap by the girls. We're years away from thinking of creating as many wonderful soap variations as the Runyon family, but Madisyn and I might have to try our hands at making some goat milk soap this winter.

Of course, we did all the iconic Fort Rock things - archery, shooting range and even tomahawk throwing. Who knows, if we attend a few more times we might be able to get all the arrows in the target {archery and shooting 22s with a baby in a Ergo requires extra skill}.

The highlight of the event was the workshops. Michelle, Jana and Jinger Duggar and Nancy Newport brought wonderful sessions on strengthening our Mother/Daughter relationship. Michelle and Nancy are both wonderful Titus 2 ladies. I really wish more older and younger ladies would try to learn from each other. These ladies that have raised faithful, Christian adults without rebellion have so much to share.

I have to say, Michelle Duggar is just as sweet and wonderful in person as she is on TV. It's too bad she doesn't do home visits ala Super Nanny style. I would be first in line to sign us up!

Fun at Fort Rock, Part 6

I'm sad to say that this is the last installment on our fun at Fort Rock. Check out part 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.

 

 

I loved the view of the mountains from the camp. I wish we could visit in the fall and see all the trees with changing leaves.

This was the view from the front porch of our bunkhouse. We stayed in bunkhouse 1, cabin 1.

The main building of the camp is designed to look like main street from an old west town.

The four bunkhouses contain four cabin each, so 16 families can experience the fun of Fort Rock together.

During our family sessions Liberty liked to peek around the pew to get a better look.

The food was wonderful. We had ate a great variety and there was dessert with lunch and dinner.

Madisyn was quite excited to  meet a couple of girls her age, Georgia and Madeline. They visited the jail and dressed up in old west dresses.

Joanna and Mary Claire have really become buddies. I'm not sure what they were talking about before the session started but there was lots of whispering and giggling.

Liberty was too young for most of the activities but she thoroughly enjoyed meal time. Each morning she was the last person finished with breakfast. The morning session would begin and she and I would still be sitting at the table while she finished her biscuit or eggs.

When we left Fort Rock and headed towards the interstate we decided to stop at a scenic overlook on the "Pig Trail". Liberty didn't make it off the campgrounds before she was asleep. Henry and Mary Claire lasted about 5 minutes after this picture was taken.

We had a wonderful time and Fort Rock and it's on our short list of places to visit again . . .soon!

Fun at Fort Rock, Part 5

This is the fifth installment about our fun at Fort Rock. If you missed the other posts find them here - part 1, part 2, part 3 and part 4.

Horseback riding was another highlight of our trip. Kids under 8 had to ride with an adult so Ben and Kent saddled up together.

Griffin was quite proud that his birthday was just last month so that he could ride all by himself.

I do believe that this was Madisyn's favorite activity. She had never been on a trail ride before and thought it was really neat. {I didn't get a good picture of Ty waiting for the trail ride to start.}

While I was busy taking pictures, Henry decided to audition for the Baby Whisperer. Liberty thinks he needs to work on his technique a bit.

My little cowboy heading off on his "own". He definitely thought that he had arrived. LOL

Madisyn had been looking forward to going on the trail ride for months!

Ty liked it but it lacked a little excitement for him.

Ben still had that look on his face when he returned.

Fun at Fort Rock, Part 4

Only three more posts on the great time we had a Fort Rock. Check out parts 1, 2 and 3.

It goes without saying the the zipline was the most favorite activity at Fort Rock.

There is a minimum weight requirement so Griffin and Ben rode together.

While waiting for our favorite flyers to zoom by, the younger set discovered plenty of water and mud to keep them occupied.

Madisyn enjoyed the zipline even though she kept getting turned around about a fourth of the way down.

She did say that she did not care for the stopping mechanism, like mother like daughter.

Ben loved getting harnessed up for his adventure.

Griffin was more concerned with getting back to the top for his second turn.

What is it about little boys and splashing?

Ty really liked the zipline and was trying to talk Daddy into installing one in our yard. Too bad we don't have any hills much less mountains!

So maybe splashing in the mud isn't a boy thing. See what I mean about Mary Claire being the prissiest tom boy around. She puts on the perfect shoes and outfit and then gets just as dirty as the boys.

The great thing about being on the side of a mountain is the awesome speed you can achieve running downhill.

The view from the zipline is unbelievable!

Fun at Fort Rock, Part 3

Thanks for joining us for part 3 of our Fort Rock adventure. If you missed part 1, click here and click here for part 2.

 

What kid {or adult} wouldn't love throwing an ax?!? That's not exactly an activity you can participate in everyday. LOL The tomahawk throwing was a really neat activity.

The target was more worn that it was when we visited in March for the Marriage Retreat and we didn't have much luck getting the tomahawks to stick but it was still lots of fun to try.

After the tomahawks we moved on to archery. Our homemade bows and arrows from Christmas didn't seem to give anyone an advantage.

Just like the rifle range, Ty's slow, methodical approach yielded him success. He did a great job and hit the target several times.

Ben and Griffin had more trouble pulling the string back. Their arms weren't quite long enough. Even with this handicap they managed to earn a few points. They already have plans to do even better next time.

The baby always misses out on the fun but Libby found a great spot hanging on Mommy and even Daddy. We saw lots of babywearing Dads.

Once again Madisyn wasn't going to let the boys have all the fun. She tried her hand at the tomahawk the next day.

Daddy was the most successful and earned us a few points with his great technique.

Fun at Fort Rock, Part 2

Our fun at Fort Rock continues! Check out Part 1, here.

If you've never been to family camp, the best way to describe it is that it's kind of like visiting your favorite state park and staying in a cabin except someone else handles all the meals! They also provide activities for you to participate in but you aren't require to do anything.

On our first full day of camp we woke up to gray skies. Determined not to let the rain dampen our fun we outfitted the youngest kids in trash bags. {I've since updated my emergency supplies in the van with ponchos.} Thankfully, the rain was light and helped to cool off the normally scorching late July heat.

Visiting the rifle range was a highlight for the kids. They've shot the BB gun here and there but a "real" range with a "real" gun complete  targets was more fun than they expected.

Future suitors beware! The big brothers in this house are prepared to protect their sisters. ;-)

Madisyn wasn't about to let the boys have all the fun.

Of course, not everyone can shoot at once so the little guys had fun exploring while they waited.

Ben took his target practice very seriously.

Each cabin got to pick two people to shoot for points. Daddy and Ty were our selected marksmen. They each got 21 points and came in second on the rifle range. Considering Ty fired more bullets at Fort Rock than he had previously in his entire life, we were quite proud.