After getting burned out on camping years ago, when we had one toddler and our lives revolved around her, we put camping away on the shelf of things that were just far too difficult to enjoy at the time. With all the packing of toys and diapers and snacks and things, it all seemed entirely too much to handle for a short weekend getaway.

Fast forward to six years later…. We now have three kids, one of which is still toddler age. One incredibly difficult toddler age kid actually, but our perspectives have changed dramatically. This year, we’ve learned to embrace the chaos and buck up and get ourselves out there!

We’ve been fortunate enough to go on a couple camping trips with the kids this year and one of those was a couple months ago at Lake of the Ozarks State Park, located in Kaiser, Missouri.

We went with friends (which makes any camping trip that much better) who had been camping here before and knew the best sites to book. We ended up with one of the best views in the whole park.

Section 4, site 129 was great for us because we were so close to the water that we had amazing views but with three small kids, we were still far enough away that we weren’t worried about them heading straight for their death-by-drowning. We were close to a water spigot, which ended up coming to my rescue. Second day in, I watched with bated breath, as the last drop of water from our holding tank floated down the drain. I had to beg and plead for my husband to get more water in our tank and not just suffer through the last day of the trip. He was able to string up enough water hose to get our camper filled back up. Yay! Also, just a couple sites up is a playground for the kiddos and just beyond the playground is the bathroom/shower house. Super convenient!

One of my favorite things to do when we go camping, is get up before the break of dawn, get my coffee going and get the puppy dog out for a walk. There’s something unexplainably relaxing about the quiet and the stillness of a campground before the campers start stirring. This also gives me time to just wander and go where the paths lead me so I can see where I want to go exploring later that day.

Most state parks I’ve been to are clean but LOTO is a very clean state park and sits on the shores of the Lake of the Ozarks— which is a really big lake if you didn’t know. The area of the lake that the state park is located in is very quiet which is perfect when you’re trying to enjoy a nice, relaxing weekend of camping.

We took our boat and got to enjoy hours of playtime out in the water with all the kids. The cove is really shallow in some spots as well and would be a great place to kayak. There were some early morning ‘yakers out fishing and I think they definitely had the right idea. We didn’t bring our kayaks but after seeing the pristine early morning paddles that others were having, I wished we had. The marina store has kayaks to rent if you don’t own your own. I would highly suggest snagging one and going out on the water before the campground starts to come alive.

The deer that call this park home, are so used to the campers that they feel free to wander the park as close to people and campsites as they want to. We got to enjoy watching a baby deer trail after its herd for the longest time! This was so enjoyable to show the kids and just be able to enjoy nature at its best.

Aside from the obvious amenities of being right beside one of the best lakes in the state of Missouri, the park also offers trail rides for the equine enthusiast, trails for hiking, a marina store (which is not very big and doesn’t have a lot of stuff on the shelves), a boat ramp and a playground. Of course you have endless opportunities for fishing as well (duh).

On Sunday, we all headed for the beach. We weren’t quite up to taking the boat out and going through all that hassle and we weren’t quite up to going home yet either so the beach seemed like a good compromise. Their swimming area is roped off for safety and has a small, man-made beach area for sitting and watching the kids laugh and splash in the water.

Although our campsites were just beside the playground, the kids only played there briefly. The adventures they were having in the wooded areas were much better than the fun offered at the playground, apparently.

Which had to have been my favorite part of the weekend. Aside from the fun of boating and relaxing with friends, watching your children play house made out of some fallen tree limbs and catch fireflies at dusk have to be some of the most pleasurable moments of the whole weekend. Life is noisy but when you go camping, the noise quiets to a buzz and life gets that much sweeter.