Camping

I've been feeling as though it's impossible to have away-from-home FUN as a family.  Anywhere we go Jarett is super whiny and unappreciative, and Miles has to be in the stroller or carried.  And that's after a car ride full of crying and complaining.  I have a real need for FUN in my life, and it has really bothered me that I feel my family is not conducive to it.

So, in an effort to FORCE everyone to have fun, I loaded up my faith and told Camden I was ready for a camping trip.  He jumped at the chance and we went at the end of August.  I spent most of the day making a list and packing.  I COULD NOT BELIEVE how much stuff we needed.  Camden came home early and we loaded up the Jeep.  Like, all the way.  It was full.  On the way out to the campgrounds we encountered the typical crying-after-8-minutes-in-the-car phenomenon.  We endured for a while.  Camden got to thinking about pacifiers and realized he hadn't put Miles's stuff (diapers, etc.) in the car; it was still sitting on the couch.  We had to turn around and go back.  As it turned out, the pacifier we recovered from home didn't help much.  It was a loooooooong ride.

We got there and had to repeatedly hike up and down a big hill to unload our stuff.  Miles tried to eat rocks and blaze trails through the woods while we unloaded and tried to get a fire going and the tent set up.  Suffice it to say I was not thrilled with my ambitious attempt at fun.

We threw a bunch of plastic balls in the pack 'n' play and called it a ball pit.  The kids were happy in there for a couple of minutes.  Camden got the fire going and cooked up some hot dogs, corn on the cob, and mac & cheese.  Despite the cuteness shown here, Camden and I were very grateful when dinner was done.

By this point the kids were filthy.  It was nice not to care a bit about that.  After getting in our jammies Miles turned in for the night in his pack'n'play without too much fuss.  While Camden put him to sleep, Jarett and I roasted marshmallows over the fire and watched it get dark.  THAT was a lot of fun.  We weren't pestered by mosquitoes, it was a beautiful night, and I very much enjoyed a bonding experience with my son that I couldn't have gotten at home.  Jarett went to bed without complaining, and I was proud of him for going to sleep without requiring one of us to sit in the tent with him.

Exhausted, Camden and I then enjoyed some childless time by the fire, making s'mores and talking about what we want for our kids and where we want to end up.  Around 10:00 we couldn't keep our eyes open anymore and turned in.

Despite feeling safe (no foraging bears in our campsite this time) in our tent and being very comfy on the AIR MATTRESS Camden had inflated for me (I am so rugged), it took me forever to fall asleep.  We're talking hours.  After a little snooze I woke up and realized it was time for my traditional, every-time-I-go-camping emergency bathroom appointment.  I HATE THIS WITH ALL MY SOUL.  After an absolutely frantic, trying-so-hard-to-be-quiet go at finding and putting on my shoes while doing a serious potty dance, I then had to get out of the tent.  I want to cry just thinking about it.  It took me about a decade to find the right zipper.  I finally got out and made it up the hill and down the road to the electricity-less bathroom facility.  I am still amazed at myself for not wetting my pants.  But in retrospect, I wish I'd just squatted in the corner of the tent and dealt with it in the morning.

I think I may have slept a little more at some point in the night.  But Jarett woke up around 5:00, raring to go, and demanded that we go camping already!  Can you say GRUMPY?????  We decided we might as well stop fighting it and get up.  The remainder of the morning was spent trying to convince Jarett that we had, and in fact, still were camping, making another fire and another meal, packing up a mountain of stuff and hauling it back up the hill, and otherwise trying to get the sam hill out of there as quickly as possible.

Maybe next time I need a family adventure away from home I'll volunteer to ride on top of the car and manage to get bumped off somewhere along the way.