camping 101

last weekend we put our family to the test and went tent camping with the kids for the first time. my worst nightmare of Cameron crying all night didn't come true but it was definitely not the quintessential perfect family camping trip. taking away many of our daily comforts really put stress on all of us and we did not use this power for good. now, don't get me wrong we did have some good times but the kids were a bunch of needy, complaining, annoying little people. we decided that they must be like this all the time but we mask it with things like TV, internet & life's busyness. Chris and i both think this is something we need to be more conscious about and perhaps look into changing. i don't think it's their faults, i blame the parents... but i refuse to raise brats and i feel like maybe we're headed that way. they've never been ones to just run off and play -- our kids need to be entertained all the time and that was very obvious this weekend.

another problem is that we are a very routine based household so it's hard to throw the kids into a new situation without a lot of headache. we seemed to be resisting the change rather than embracing it. we just weren't working in harmony out there. i think we should have started with one night instead of two and perhaps we should have started with a cabin and worked our way down to a tent. but to be honest i'm not sure it would have been much different if we stayed in a hotel! on our last night we were *this* close to going home early. we let Mayden make the final decision and she decided we'd stay in the tent so we did and it turned out to be really nice and we actually seemed to be starting to click. we changed sleeping arrangements a bit and all got more sleep than the first night (which always helps!). i was happy we stuck it out and didn't give up early. in the end though i'm just not sure it was worth it.

we learned a thing or two...

Cameron calls his feet "socks"

pie irons are great to cook over the fire with... we did hot dogs, grilled cheese & pizza

we need a bigger cooler

kids + water = a good time

children can survive on mostly pretzels & goldfish for at least 48 hours

Cameron sleeps best (away from home) right next to his mama

i shouldn't bother bringing a book for myself

more pictures here

weekend happenings (july 4th)

our 4th of July weekend just wouldn't have been complete without...

Watermelon!

skinned knees

starting a new book (and actually finishing the first few chapters!)

time in the pool

backyard campfires

figuring out that chickens like to eat marshmallows

brother/sister bonding

a little tennis

sprinkler fun

dogs on the grill

a cold one

awesome (and painful) tricks

baby bellies

cool summer breezes

even more watermelon

preparation for the inevitable

fireworks

happy faces

and of course... a sink full of dishes!

Memorial Day Weekend!

our long weekend included:

eating lunch in fun places

kids constantly in & out of the pool

watching kids constantly in & out of the pool




dirty looks at the mention of coming inside for bed

starting a new book (by starting i mean reading the first two sentences)

digging in dirt for worms

planting the garden (tomato seeds in the ground, next to the already harvested spinach)

long mid-day naps

tall glasses of ice cold water

Memorial Day marching

parade watching

and of course... plenty of hotdogs & hamburgers!