The Great Outdoors

After two days in the woods, we have returned from our camping adventure.

Somehow all of our gear fit into the car. We have one kid - and a small one at that - and I feel like we were really cramming the stuff in. I have no idea how my brother-in-law and his family fit all of the stuff they need into the car and still have room for their three kids. To be honest, I don't care how they got it all in, I am just thankful that they did, because not only is my sister-in-law very well prepared, but my niece is amazing, taking LP off of my hands for small periods of time so that I could actually accomplish things and help.

LP loved being outside and getting dirty. Fortunately we had rented a camp site with a lean to (pretty much a covered wooden stage) which was a perfect place to let LP crawl around. She had a great time and didn't even attempt to eat too much "organic" material.

The first night we got LP to go to sleep around 10:30 in the pack-n-play. She woke up screaming screaming crying at 12:15. Did you know that noise carries very clearly when you are in the woods in the middle of the night? We were very concerned about fixing whatever was bothering LP, but probably more worried about keeping her quiet and from waking the entire campground. Eventually after much rocking, cajoling, some orajel and some Tylenol she fell back to sleep. Of course, she feel asleep in my sleeping bag with me. This meant that instead of sleeping comfortably on my sleeping pad in my sleeping bag, I slept on the three inches of cold, lumpy ground in between the pack-n-play and the nice, cushioned pad. LP slept soundly and well, I moved around a lot.

The second night was a vast improvement. LP fell asleep at 9:05 in the pack-n-play. At 9:10 it started to rain. The rain was an improvement over listening to people talk at other campsites (rain in the woods on a tent is VERY VERY loud) and it was also a relief because no one would hear LP if she cried. You guessed it, she didn't cry and I had to wake her up at 8 the next morning. Fortunately the tent was waterproof and we all stayed warm and dry and got some sleep.

The picture above is from Sunday morning. Now you know what I look like after 48 hours of not showering. Be thankful the blog technology has not been upgraded to scratch and sniff yet.

Will we go camping again? Sure. Would we do it with someone younger than LP? Probably not. Did we have a good time? Definitely. The company was good, the weather was great, and the attitude was care-free with no one talking or thinking about work the entire time. THAT is what a vacation is all about.