Thank you to YMCA Camp Cullen for hosting our family at Family Camp.
If you were not following us during the summer, you missed our oldest boys adventure of their first overnight camp at YMCA Camp Cullen. They spent a week without us making friends, having so much fun, and learning about all the things they are capable of doing.
We were all kind of jealous of the fun they had at camp. The middle boys kept asking when they were going to be able to go to camp. Waiting for summer 2020 felt like a really long ways away. We found out that YMCA Camp Cullen has several family camps throughout the year and I immediately knew we wanted to book a weekend for our whole family to experience the fun the big boys had last summer.
YMCA Camp Cullen Family Camps are available throughout the year and are a perfect way to introduce your young children to camp.
If you are how I was when planning our weekend at family camp, you are wondering about the details of the weekend. Where would our family stay? What was the food like? Would there be enough fun things for the whole family to do?
Lodging
Our whole family stayed in the same cabins the boys did during the summer. There are bunk beds and single twin beds in each cabin with bathrooms & showers. The cabins are able to be divided in half by a large barn door and would be perfect for extended families going to family camp together to all be together, but still have privacy.
There was plenty of hot water, an air conditioning, and heat for the cold nights during November.
Food
We arrived Friday night at the camp, but we were responsible for our own dinner that night. They had snacks, hot cocoa, and coffee available in the dining hall when we arrived.
All of the meals were served in a buffet with plenty of options for the whole family. My husband and I were impressed with the variety and quality of food. They didn’t serve pizza or hamburgers once! (Not that we would have minded.) The kids loved breakfast the most. Anytime they can fill their plates with a smorgasbord of food options like a hotel, they are overjoyed. All of that to say, we were well fed and happy with the food served.
Board Games
I had planned on packing some card games for us to play in the cabin over the weekend, but completely forgot! But it was not a problem as the camp had a large cupboard of games to play for all ages of children. This was a highlight for our family. We love games, but don’t always have a chance to play where we are not all exhausted.
Epic battles of Uno, Jenga, Shoots & Ladders, and chess raged for two days in the dining hall between my husband and I and the kids. Jayden thoroughly slaughtered me in chess while Jon beat the boys in every game at the end of the table. The twins and I played Candyland and Shoots & Ladders 7 times before they finally moved on to another game.
So much laughing, a little of sore losing, and a whole lot of bonding happened over those board games.
Activities
Since our family camp weekend was during the colder months, we were not able to go on Wet Willie, canoeing, swimming, and sailing. But that did not mean we had nothing to do.
Fishing, obstacle courses, hiking, rifle shooting, archery, horseback riding, lawn games, jumping pillow, zip lines, and more were all open for us throughout the day.
I could barely keep up with the pace of the kids as they went from activity to activity with insane energy.
Justin was the only one who made it to the top of the climbing tower which was not surprising as his upper body strength is ridiculous.
The twins went on the zip line and loved the adrenaline rush, but not the walk back up the hill with their gear.
The horses were beautiful and fun. This was the first time for all of the kids to ride horses on a trail. No one fell of their horse and everyone asked if we could ride again the next day. YMCA Camp Cullen has about 50 horses on their ranch and many of them are rescues.
Learning
One of my favorite parts about YMCA Camp Cullen is their passion for learning and allowing children to explore. The science center was open on Saturday and we happened to be the only ones in the room for an hour, so the kids had a lot of one on one time with the camp science expert and asked a billion and one questions.
They are now all obsessed with rocks and are constantly looking to see if they can spot fossils, petrified wood, and more.
This post could be much longer telling you of the rest of the fun we had during our YMCA Camp Cullen Family Camp, but I will end with this…
If you are looking for a way to bond with your children, unplug, get away, and stay in budget, YMCA Camp Cullen Family Camp is the perfect option!
As we sat around the fire on Saturday night, eating s’mores with all the other families, the kids all agreed that this was the best weekend ever!
Check out YMCA Camp Cullen’s website to see the available dates for Family Camp and to book your child for their week of overnight Summer Camp! There are so many memories to be made and fun to have!
Happy Camping,
Keikilani
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