For Memorial Day Weekend Amy dragged me out camping. When I say drag I mean that literally! I was fighting and kicking all the way. (She only had a few bruises.) She made the reservations at a campsite in Pinevalley - near St. George- 6 months ago and told me I would be going. I seriously fought her on this one. I am not a camper. And definitely not a Happy Camper. But because I love her so much and I know my kids love camping I put aside my selfishness and went. It was as bad as I imagined! However, there were times when it was more fun than I imagined. My camera batteries died so I did not get many pictures. Which is a shame. (I brought 2 fully charged sets and they lasted maybe 6 pictures- I need new batteries.)David was not able to come, he had to work! We missed him a ton. So the first day it rained hard. I had a little bit of a melt down when I imagined my tent getting muddy. (I know camping and mud go hand in hand but I have issues!!) But soon got over it because my tent flooded and all our stuff got wet. However, thank goodness for a car heater. I was able to put all our sleeping stuff in the car with the heat full blast for about 2 hours and it dried right up. Lucky Us! I did not even have a meltdown. I even stayed the rest of the time. I was tempted to go home. After that I was greatful for dirt in the tent as long as our stuff was dry. On Sunday it was beautiful. It was so fun to see my kids enjoying nature. It was really peaceful. And when my kids did fight it was far enough away that I did not have to hear it too much.
Some of our highlights:
1. SMORES!!
2. Braydin found Matthew a lizard that Matthew carried around on the back of his shirt. He begged to bring it home. I think animals should stay in nature.
3. Maxx lost Micahs shoes is the river. "But Mom, I just wanted to kick them!"
4. Micah lost Maxx's frisbee in the river. I told them that they were now even. I am sure this was Micah's plan. He is only 4 but he knows all about paybacks.
5. Maxx broke the velcro off his pair of shoes. We will be making a Payless run.
6. Maxx found a fish head and thought it was funny to make it talk. Nasty, what is with my boys. They learn a lot from their cousin Braydin.
7. Collecting wood for the fire. The boys loved this. Especially Micah who turned every piece of wood into a gun. It is a good thing us moms have about a million lives. Or I'd be dead.
8. Uncle Alex telling the longest campfire stories ever- Madi loved this.
9. Of coarse the FLOOD!~
10. Spending time with family, laughing, and sharing memories
11. Did I mention SMORES!! I think we ate 5 bags of Marshmallows in 2 1/2 days. (There were 11 of us- but I am sure I ate a whole bag myself.)
12. I chopped and split wood. With an axe. It was tough work but very theraputic.
13. The many scraps, burns, and bumps that we all got. Tin foil dinners are extremely hot when coming out of the fire. So are marshmellows, Starbursts, the latern, etc. You'd think we would have learned.
14. Thinking that I'd caught fire. I ran around screaming and beating the arm of my coat. Come to find out that when you are wet and you stand around the fire you create steam. I am a complete NERD!
15. Eating dutch oven. For some reason everything tastes really good while camping.
16. Playing card games!
17. Having no idea what time it was. I loved not having to hurry or rush. We just went with the flow.
18. Flashlights. Kids just love them.
19. Our kids running away. Mostly just Maxx. That boy is so curious.
20. Watching Matthew chop wood. He is growing up.
21. A beautiful night sky. I love the stars.
22. Did I mention the crusty dirt bergers all over their faces! What is up with that!
These were just some of the highlights. There were many others. On our way home we toured an old church in Pinevalley that is built like an upside down boat. Pretty cool. And also visited the sight of the Mormon Meadow Massacre. It is a sad story but they have built a beautiful memorial for those who lost their lives. It was interesting to see. I was glad to be on our way home. But I am so grateful for these memories that I will share with my children.
On our way home there was an accident in the gorge in St. George as you are traveling to Las Vegas. So we were stuck in traffic. At a stand still. But that was okay. We make light of it. I can now say that I have done a cartwheel on the freeway!!! Good times. I think that maybe in 5 years or so when I forget all about this camping trip that I might think about going again. Kind of like child birth!! However, that usually only took me about 8 months to forget. So we will see. HAPPY CAMPING EVERYONE!
5 comments:
I was crying, laughing so hard, because I could SOOOO picture you thinking you were on fire!!! I'm glad you were able to enjoy it!
Thanks Al, for going with us! It was a BLAST and you know you had more fun then you let on. You also left out some of the highlights, lets see... You having to sleep with ALL 8 of the children so no monsters attacked you. Re-Organizing the totes, twice, so that they were straight, but the biggest highlight was getting to spend 2 days with your AMAZING sister!!! Thanks for being a good sport!
Well, I guess now we know what it takes to get you camping. I am happy to hear that your sister got you out in the fresh air, and rain! Sounds like she brings out the best in you, or maybe she is trying to make you even crazier than you all ready are. I will stick wiht the first one. The other thing that crossed my mind is that you are very lucky you were NOT on fire. Don't you remember STOP DROP and ROLL. NOT runn around screaming and patting at your arm. I am very happy to hear that is was just steam. I have to add the my very favorite part of camping is the smores! Sounds like you had fun, and I am happy you made it home safe.
You are awesome for sticking it out for the kids. I am glad it all worked out.
How fun!!! Way to go for taking all the kids without David. I would never!! And I love to camp so you did awesome!!! I would love to go camping with you just for the entertainment!!! Our boys would have a blast together...
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