2017 Year in Review

It’s New Year’s Eve!!! I feel like 2017 flew by!

What fun stuff do you have planned for tonight? We usually spend the holiday at home in Virginia, but we are visiting family this year. So we’re probably ringing in the new year with Ryan Seacrest on Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve. Hopefully Mariah Carey has better luck this time.

One of my favorite things to do this time of year is reflect back on all the fun we’ve had during the year. As a family we talk about things we’d want to do again and why. We talk about trips that were a total bust and whether or not they’re worth a second chance. This is also a great time to start thinking about any small trips or activities we want to do next year. The bigger trips are probably already on the calendar since they involve more planning.

Our Favorites

The five of us had a great year of exploring. First, our blog was born. Five Happy Campers is our way of “scrapbooking” our adventures while inspiring other families to get outside and explore. We all agree that camping at Assateague Island National Seashore and hiking along the Appalachian Trail to McAfee Knob were two of our favorite activities. We also enjoyed the Violet City Lantern Tour at Mammoth Cave National Park. Honestly, there wasn’t much we didn’t love.

I think we learned a lot about ourselves this year. We realized that we have a major case of wanderlust. I could spend all day scrolling through Instagram. Sometimes it makes me want to home school and live in a camper van. Just kidding, sort of 😉

We learned that Kris and I have three outdoorsy kids that love an adventure. I mean, we knew they loved the outdoors but I didn’t realize they wouldn’t be phased by the epic Rollins Pond canoe loop. They had fun! In fact, despite the muck and mosquitoes they all said it was one of their favorite things we did this year. They asked for hiking boots for Christmas. They’re little nature lovers.

Lastly, we learned Kris loved the total solar eclipse. I just had him proofread this post. “You’re not going to include something about the solar eclipse? I loved it!” Here you go Kris 🙂 Seriously though, it was awesome and you can be sure we’ll see the next one in 2024.

What’s Next?

At the start of the year we’re going to try something new…snowshoeing. My understanding is it’s not hard to do and quickly becoming a popular winter activity. I’m one of those people that hates being stuck inside, and I love snow! So, we’re gonna give it a try. It has to go better than our first snow tubing experience a few years back since it doesn’t require using the magic carpet (the conveyor belt that takes people to the top of the hill.) We had no clue how to get the kids, the snow tubes and ourselves up the magic carpet to the top of the hill. One of the girls stumbled essentially knocking all five of us down. The magic carpet had to be shut down temporarily for us to get off safely. Man, did we feel like idiots! Haha!

We are so excited to be taking our longest vacation ever in 2018, two weeks! We’re visiting a ton of National Parks in the Southwest. I’m hoping to come back with lots of ideas for new blog posts. I have a feeling 2018 is going to be a busy year for us so I’m glad we made time for a nice trip.

We have a few small camping trips planned and hoping to cross a few of the Adirondack High Peaks off our list!

Here are 10 of our favorite pictures from 2017. Maybe something will inspire you to make “being more adventurous” your New Year’s resolution.

What fun stuff are you thinking about doing in 2018? Share in the comments.