8.18.2008

I camped. With a little cheating.

We went camping this past weekend with our small group from church, as I previously mentioned. And we survived just fine.

Friday night after we were all set up (8 blocks or so from our house), we did hotdogs on the grill. Followed by s'mores of course. Our sites were right across from the playground equipment, so the kids spent most of the weekend there. Got the kids to bed around 9. I think the last they talked was 10:30. "What was that?" "MOM! What's that noise?" "Did you hear that?" "Natawie, when you're talking I can't sleep."

Saturday we slept til nearly 8. The girls headed for the playground equipment right away. After a little bit our family headed home to wash off a layer of camping. The girls were soaking wet from all the dew on the playground. I packed up our lunch, and we went back to the park. We had sandwiches for lunch, and then tried to convince the Exhausted Sisters to have nap time. No luck. Everyone else had gone to the beach swimming, so Captain America and I entered into negotiations on who would take our munchkins over. I caved quickly since he's been working non-stop for nearly a month. So I did it. I took my poor, deprived children to the beach. I went in a LAKE. Like with plant life wrapping around my legs. Stepping on sharp shells and who knows what else. Of course, the girls had a blast.

Back home to wash off the lake. Over to the park again. More playing on the playground. Then I sat down with some of the girls (and some of the ladies) to make some earrings. It was fun to have people get excited about something I love to do too. After we'd made a few pairs, it was time for dinner. Well, shoot. I hadn't really prepped for that. So while I had joked about it, I decided to really do it. I ordered pizza. Delivered. And then we ate more s'mores.

The girls went to sleep much easier after wearing them out all day. Captain America and I actually got to hang out at the campfire together. It was sort of like being at camp. The two resident teenagers got us going on Mafia. Perhaps we were slow learners, but by the end it was a lot of fun. Eventually we gave up and went to bed.

Sunday morning we slept til 8 again, and woke up to everyone getting ready for breakfast. I drove to our cooler (refrigerator), and grabbed our supplies. Egg in a bag. Surprisingly yummy. Two eggs in a quart sized freezer baggie, any omlette mixings you like, squeeze out air & seal shut, squish together, write name in sharpie on bag, toss in boiling water for 13 minutes. Out comes a fluffy little omlette. We had a little more campfire time, another walk in the woods, and then it was time to pack up. The kids were done. Natalie sat in her carseat with the van door open for a good 20 minutes or more. Just waiting.

So now it's time to do laundry, put things away, and get the smoke stench out of the fold up chairs. Frankly, I don't even have time to tell you about it.

7 comments:

Chic Shopper Chick said...

Actually sounds really fun. Nice that your house is so close and could shower at home. Thats my least favorite part about camping -- the grunge.

Jess NBP said...

I love camping but we dont' go near as often as I'd like.

thx for the idea i really apperciate it.

Libby Design said...

Cheater!!!

I take it you've never backpacked for a week up on the North Shore then, huh? Good times!

Lisa @ Crazy Adventures in Parenting said...

Where we're stationed now (Fort Polk) I hear a lot of people camp here. Heck on the LA license plates it says "Sportsmen's paradise". Haven't been in years, but so long as there aren't any spiders, I'm willing to try! *bringing a lot of bug spray* lol

Jen Highfield said...

KArma sucks! But it was fun. Made my last hour of work go by very quickly!! Maybe next time!!!

Anonymous said...

That sounds like a blast!

Andrea said...

Ohh, I loove camping!