We took Jackson and Abby camping this weekend, along with Matt's brother Mike and his two daughters, Anna & Ella. It was Abby's first camping trip. It was fun but, there were a few obstacles to overcome. Here is a recap of day 1.....
12:30: Arrive at campsite.
12:32: It begins to rain.
12:35: Matt works on setting up tents while I entertain the kids, which consists of running around and falling down into the wet grass/mud. They are filthy already.
12:50: It starts to pour while Matt is working on setting up Mike's tent. I put the kids under the rain shelter and run to help Matt. Abby screams. Matt and I worked as fast as we can to get the rain fly over Mike's tent. Abby screams. We are getting soaking wet. Abby screams. I run over and pick up Abby. She stops screaming.
1:00 We get in the car and drive around the park in the rain. We stop at the beach to check it out and go for a little walk.
1:12: It starts to pour. We run back to the car.
1:28: We try to put Jackson and Abby down for a nap in the tent (What else do you do in the rain when you are camping?). Just then Mike arrives with the girls. Jackson's nap is cancelled, but Abby and I lie down to snooze.
2:33: I awake to find that our tent has turned into a series of puddles, two of which are on top of my bed. Camping in the rain is so much fun. It is still pouring out, Abby is still asleep, so I lie in bed watching the rain drip drip drip drip down onto our air mattress while daddy longleg spiders seek haven underneath our rain fly. At least it is helping someone keep dry!
3:42: It is still raining, but Abby and I emerge from the tent. The kids are all hovered around a mini DVD player watching Stuart Little. Jackson is covered in mud and soaking wet, but happy as can be. I guess a little (or a lot) of rain doesn't have to spoil camping fun afterall.
4:00: Jackson very excitedly asks Mike, "Uncle Mike, do you want to fall in the mud?" Mike responds with a polite no thanks, but Jackson isn't convinced. "See Uncle Mike, Just like this!" As he falls back into a pile of mud. What fun!
5:00: We make hotdogs and steaks for dinner. We throw in some potato chips and grapes to balance out the meal. The kids eat nothing. Matt eats his steak with his hands. Isn't there a Panera nearby?
5:30: We take Jackson to the showers to clean up (see 4:00 above!)
6:00: Still raining, we decide it is time to escape the rain. Holiday Inn? No such luck. We head to Volcano Falls arcade.
7:00: The kids blow through our lot of quarters in no time, but we emerge with 141 tickets. Oh Boy...what kind of prizes (and by prizes I mean junk!) can we get?... 2 airplanes, 1 tootsie pop, 1 rubber whale and red plastic lips. What fun!
7:30: Back at the campsite, the rain has subsided. We attempt to avoid the large mudpit that is directly between our picnic table and fire pit while Matt works on building a fire.
8:00: It's s'mores time!
8:30: Abby is in her pack n play, while Jackson and I are snuggled in the air mattress. He asks me what every single noise outside is as he squeezes my hand and moves closer and closer to me, terrified of the falling acorns and chirping crickets. I stare at Abby making adorable cooing sounds through the mesh side of her "bed" while Jackson breathes his sweet marshmallow breath on my neck and squeezes my hand. Pretty soon, Jackson is out like a light, Abby is sound asleep and I am a happy camper after all!
Seriously, hilarious! I am not sure it was at the time, but come one, Jack asking Mike if he wants to fall in the mud? Adorable! Looks like the kids had fun, but I am sure you are glad to be home. Jeff shares in your pain of camping in the rain. :-)
ReplyDelete