This has been the longest day in history...
...but I get ahead of myself. I am not actually going to write about today at all (well, just a tad). Instead, rewind to last night when we went to our ward camp out. Last year I was very pregnant (only two weeks away from delivering) but I honestly think I slept better last year. Sad huh?
But let's be honest about the whole thing and try not to let my negative non-camping side dominate this post.
Low: Daisy was up really late (three hours past her bedtime).
High: That makes for a tired baby who slept the entire night through (yep, not a peep out of her...wish I could say the same for all children in the campsite).
Low: Yes, some children were very loud and I think the child in the tent next to us shed some light on the phrase 'Not a happy camper'. Poor guy.
High: None of my children woke up to any of the outside noise, and I wake up to anything (i.e. my baby sighing in her sleep), so no harm done.
Low: The children shared a sleeping bag spread on top of them like a blanket and tossy-turny (June) pulled the covers off of her sisters all night. I had to play blanket police and recover Ivory every hour or so. Sorry Robyn, you were next to Dad and he sleeps better so I'm afraid your night was a bit colder.
High: Despite the rock I was sleeping on (the kids got the foam pads this year) I did manage to snag a stretch of sleep where I actually dreamed, but it was about Satan and Cell Phones. Who am I kidding...there weren't many highs about last night.
Now that didn't sound very biased, did it?
High: Bro. Johnson (a.k.a. the most self sacrificing man I know) once again made a tremendous breakfast for everyone in the morning and he brought along his snowcone machine which is a HUGE hit with the kids. He does this every year and I am so amazed.
High: "Camping" still included bathrooms, and all that other non-campy stuff that I love when I am "roughing it," but they also added this beauty that wasn't there last year.
I am not complaining a bit when my children spend their time here instead of in the creek or perusing the woods looking for ticks. Robyn learned a new trick that she insisted be documented.
And Daisy enjoyed the wood chips (a little too much—that girl is the fastest hand in the west when it comes to putting things in her mouth that don't belong there).
High: We brought Moxy and she was a hit. Every child spent some time chasing her and wanting to love/choke/squeeze/pet/play with her. I think this might have been a low for Moxy but she handled it very well.
High: I didn't burn dinner this year!! Granted, I only threw together frozen chicken nuggets and tater tots, but they reheated nicely in my foil/newspaper/foil wrapped packets. The key— layers.
High: Tyler was there.
I never tire of spending time with my husband but sometimes I feel like we are just tag-teaming the kids and passing each other in the night. He took the baby often so I could help the other kids. He set up and took down the tent by hiself this year. He wanted to play guitar by the fire; I wanted him to help get kids settled in bed. However, we still have our moments. The last thing we did before we left was play frisbee. Tyler and I fought for the disc like two school kids. He let me ride on his shoulders at one point. I laughed a lot and when we got in the car I exclaimed, "I love camping" to which Tyler gave me an incredulous look, having heard my rant about sleeping earlier that morning. You are right Tyler, that wasn't the correct statement...it should have sounded like this..."I love you, and I can deal with camping if you are there."
There you have it...yesterday. But that was only the beginning my friends. Wait until tomorrow when I have time to write about today. I sense a pattern.
7 comments:
Oh the joys of family life! I really like camping as a family also, although it is a lot of work. I also know the feeling of "tag-teaming" it and we only have 2 kids so far! Good job for looking on the bright side and finding highs to record!
Ward campout - sounds like a lot of fun :)) We miss that kind of stuff (here they don't do anything like it). I think that it's cool that they added a playground there - at least you don't need to run around the forest to look for kids.
Im not a huge fan of camping either. I uasally only get about hmm 2 or 3 minutes of sleep tops. It doesnt help when your friends are snoring loudly right next to you. I hope your campouts are more enjoyable then mine. Cause if they are not then it must have been the worst day ever.
Oh, the joys of camping with children. I actually don't have any experience with this yet, but Mark does! He decided he wanted to take the boys to the Father/Son Campout a couple weeks ago...I'll have to blog about it! What a great playground they have there!
I don't want to say I am excited to hear about your horrible day, but I guess I am interested.
Camping- oh so not my thing. Way to be a good sport.
You left out the SWING OF DEATH! (We call it S.O.D. for short so the kids won't be too interested.) Some buffoon looks to have broken the best swing this planet has ever known. Macbean and I climbed up there in the mud to find it...We took off our hats and had a moment of silence when we discovered the gruesome site (splintered bark everywhere). We also surveyed the location for a better swing by the time we surface again for the Father / Son's camp out.
Moxy did double duty as camp vacuum. I originally felt kind of bad that we were forcing a fast on Moxy, but after seeing what delightful treats the kids were leaving on the ground for her (most of them unintentionally), I didn't feel so bad.
Maleen also left out the part where she left to go home because her idiot husband forgot the blankets.
Tyler did NOT get that much sleep. He too spent the night re-covering a child, Robyn. I also spent entirely too much time researching the geology of the dirt beneath my hinder. And why don't they actually add some warmth retention to blankets! Sheesh! There was no warmth in the rag I wrapped myself in. And I didn't think cold would matter too much until I was wrapped up in it. Next year, new sleeping bags for the kids--no more blanket police. No more rosy cheeks on my toushie! Finally, we, the parents, are getting cots! No more geology-interrupted R.E.M.
I'm sure I have more to rant about, but I'm tired, and my butt's cold...
Obligatorily; it was a good camp out.
Fun times! And you made it through!
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