Camping Part 1

Well, if you've been a loyal reader, you know we've been talking about going camping for a while now. For one reason or another (mostly weather), it didn't happen until last weekend.

The ironic thing about it is that.....well, the weather!

Don't let the blue skies fool you, it was cold that weekend. Not so bad during the day (especially in the sun), but oh my, the low was in the 30s that night. There was a freeze warning, the first freeze of the year in the valley. 

This campground was a recommendation from a neighbor friend of ours whose family goes camping practically every weekend. Excuse me, they go "glamping" every weekend. They have a RV. This is their favorite campground because of all the fun kids' activities. We were supposed to go the second weekend in September but the forecast was terrible- 100% chance of rain. So, we re-scheduled and decided to join them again for an October weekend, which was supposed to be a fun weekend because they were celebrating Halloween with trick-or-treating around the campsites. It was cool; all the campsites were decorated. I wish I had gotten some pictures.

While Daniel was juggling marshmallows outside in short sleeves, this girl was complaining she was cold already and camping out in the back of the van! 

YehYeh and Moppy on their first camping trip!

We left Gainesville after Daniel's soccer game that morning, but after stopping for lunch, we didn't end up getting to the campground until about 3:30pm. Unfortunately, I didn't know this at the time, but the trick-or-treating was from 2-3pm. When I learned this on our drive there, I was expecting the kids to be disappointed when I told them, but Daniel just very nonchalantly said, "Well, at least we still get to go camping." So thankful to have such easy going kids. They just want to go camping! ha!

Do you see why we couldn't cancel AGAIN?! Do you see why we suffered through a night of freezing cold in a tent just so the kids could go camping?

Look how excited they were just playing in the tent:

They played for the longest time in the tent while Chip and I set up camp (no pun intended) around the campfire.

We had a great site, just along the river. Thanks to a friend of ours who gave us two big truck loads of firewood for this winter, we had plenty of firewood to bring along for our first camping trip.

When the cuties finally came out of the tent, they were being so silly, I was trying to get a good picture of them....but as you can see.....

I got not one, but a bunch of cute pictures! 

I couldn't pick a favorite, so I included them all. 

For about an hour or so, Chip & I sat around the fire and watched the kids stack the firewood (when they weren't in the tent). It was nice and relaxing.

This is the picture I sent to our friend Scott in the thank you card for the firewood.  

We used all but 2 pieces of that wood, and for a good part of the night we were at our friends' site. 

Hmmm, we have one in a winter coat, gloves and a hat and one in short sleeves and gloves. 

After dinner (steak and hotdogs), our friends invited us to their campsite, so we hung out there the majority of the evening until around 9pm when we returned to our site where we roasted some marshmallows. The kids were excited about sleeping in the tent, so we tucked them into their sleeping bags (they talked and giggled briefly but were asleep in no time) and sat around the warmth of the fire for a little while longer.

It was cold once we left the heat of the campfire, let me tell you. I don't think I ever warmed up in the sleeping bag and can honestly say it was probably one of the worst nights of sleep I've ever had. Not that I was expecting to be comfortable, but between my cold nose, numb feet and waking up to a deflated air mattress, daybreak could not come quick enough.

Not to mention, I was so worried I was the worst mom ever for taking kids camping when it was freezing outside, I compulsively checked their heads all night to make sure they were warm (which they were) and still alive (we all survived). Snuggled in their sleeping bags (with fleece blankets over them), the kids really were warm all night. I know because I checked. All night. Could be why I didn't sleep. Ugh, the curse of motherhood.

I mentioned I couldn't wait for daylight. Um, seriously. I really couldn't wait. To the point that at 5:30 am, I'd had all I could handle, warmed up the van and was never happier to see the golden arches for some coffee and hotcakes.

Ahhh, what a story we have for our fist night camping! So fun! Such good (yet, slightly unusual) memories!! Can't wait to go again.....only we agreed it must be 50+ next trip.