Above: We took our first overnight camping trip as a family in August. It was...interesting. We got somewhat of a late start and then it took us awhile to find a camping spot. When we did, it was beautiful and pretty empty, so we were pleased. The boys thought it was really cool. They didn't mind that it was a little later. They just happily started eating.
Above: We got a good camp fire going and then started to roast our hot dogs while the boys happily ate watermelon.
Above: Then Johnny leaned forward in his camp chair to throw is watermelon rind into the fire and he went right in as well. He landed with his hands right at the end of the fire (in some of the embers). I screamed and got him out of there immediately. Jeremiah was getting something out of the van when this happened. He hurried back and held our sad and crying Johnny while I poured water over his hands. Initially, it appeared that the burns weren't too bad. His hands were just a little red and he was scared and hurting. I got some band-aids and ointment out of the van and after awhile, he perked up. You can see in the picture above that his one little finger has a band-aid on it and he has wet splotches all over him from when we poured the water on his hands. Yeah, one of the scariest moments of my life!
Above: However, as you can see, he was a happy guy again in no time. The boys were so excited to get into the tent. They didn't really want to hang out around the camp fire (understandably). So, we were ready to settle down for a peaceful night's sleep. However, around 10 p.m. a huge Hispanic group showed up and decided to pitch their tents--despite the fact that it was pitch black. No problem. They just turned on all of their brights on their vehicles pointing straight into the forest (and our tent). They continued to talk and make noise until well after midnight. Putting up tents, talking loudly, chopping wood, possibly using a chainsaw, and something that sounded like they put up a trampoline and everyone started jumping on it. I have no idea what actually made that sound, but that is what it sounded like. This, of course, riled up the boys and made them wide awake again. I was seriously ready to just pack up all of our stuff, head home, and call it a day. However, Peter fell asleep, then Jeremiah, and then, amazingly enough, Jonathan did too. I was awake for quite awhile after that listening to all the sounds made by our camping "buddies." Seriously, they were so inconsiderate. I slept pretty terribly that night--being hounded by the replaying in my mind of Johnny falling into the fire and the fact that Peter kept slipping right off the air mattress and rolling up into a ball tightly wrapped up by his sleeping bag. This is probably silly, but I was so worried that he would be smothered and suffocate in the night! So, I held onto him with one arm and held the blankets/sleeping bags on Johnny with my other (he kept kicking them off). Jeremiah was blissfully snoring away on the other side of Johnny and the boys were sleeping right through it.
Above: The boys woke up bright and early at around 7 a.m. ready and raring to go. We had no desire to remain with our camping "buddies" and we were pretty worn out, so we packed up and headed home at around 7:30 a.m. We got home at about 8 a.m. and were ready to go back to bed for the night!
Above: Despite the craziness of our trip, the boys seem to have only taken away the good memories. Though, if you ask Johnny about it he will tell you about being burned. "Hands. Fire. HOT."
Above: "Eating" breakfast. They made a go of eating their bowls of cereal, but pretty much I ended up eating them and they had Pop Tarts on the drive home.
Above: I sure am a pretty camper! (sarcasm)
Above: We did have a lovely view though. The mountains really are gorgeous. We learned a lot from our first family camping trip. I think next time we will avoid a lot of the drama (and trauma).
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