You know, most people have kids and then they don't ever do anything. I love how you guys just keep going.
He was right. At that point, we'd moved about four times and had three children. Since then, I've remembered and pondered his words. It's not that Nate and I consciously think about remaining active with our children. Sometimes, we feel compelled to attend events (family conferences and retreats) in order to enrich our family. Other times, our sense of adventure draws us out-of-doors (family vacations and visits to museums and shows). And, there are times when we feel it's God's will for us to move. Literally. Packing and moving with small children is no picnic. But, where there are empty boxes there is adventure, too!It was with this sense of adventure that we decided to go camping one weekend in August. Nate, it seems, has camping as part of his genetic code. I go along willingly, so long as there is plumbing within a half-mile. The boys are always up for the exciting prospect of sleeping in the woods, cooking (s'mores) over a fire and conquering nature.
I envisioned roasting s'mores, peaceful fires, leisurely conversation after the kids were in bed and a nice lake to enjoy. What we ended up with was just short of a migraine.
Our trip began a bit later than planned and we traveled through some severe weather to get there. Thankfully, the skies brightened as we headed towards our destination. As we arrived at our camp site, we rushed to set up tents and beds and blankets before dusk, all while keeping kids busy with small tasks and bike riding. The unpacking and setting up took over an hour. At this point, s'more fever was at fever pitch! It was then that we heard chants of "Let's make s'mores," over and over again until Nate resigned himself to his fate.
Setting upon the fire ring, he attempted to light a fire--with wood that had been bathed prior in that severe weather. As the kids watched with anticipation at the first signs of a fire, they tromped around in the dirt that surrounded the ring. It was now mud, thanks to that lovely severe weather. A sticky gooey mud. And they were wearing sandals.
Finally, we had a few sparks that kids were able to cook over but most of the s'mores were prepared over a propane fire--thanks to our new Coleman grill.
There was nothing left to do but scurry our dirty, marshmallowed children off to bed and collapse, hoping for a better tomorrow. That tomorrow came, but the work did not let up. Here are the
- Mom realizes there is no plumbing for a half-mile
- Mom takes potty-training toddler to outhouse and wishes for plumbing
- Kids are hungry, parents cook and clean up
- We take a little side trip with muddy kids, due to no plumbing within a half-mile
- Mom gets to use some pluming here! And so does potty-training toddler!
- Kids are hungry, parents cook and clean up
- Mom takes potty-training toddler to outhouse and wonders how much more of her day will be spent in outhouse
- We take a trip to the beach, and come back with the first layer of dirt off of the children
- Nate launches the sail boat and anchors it shortly after--no wind
- Kids are hungry, parents cook and clean up
- S'mores are roasted
- Mom takes potty-training toddler to outhouse and prays for endurance
- Day is ended early, all in bed by 8:30 PM
- Drive to
- Kids are clean! And good at mass!
- Drive back to camp, rain approaches,
- Decide to skip picnic in the rain and race to pack up
- Sail boat back over to boat landing and load it up
- More packing up
- Kids are hungry
- More packing
- Still packing
- One more trip to
- The last item is packed and we all load into the car
- Hungry kids get Pizza Hut
- Vow to Never. Go. Camping. Again.
We came away from the weekend a bit discouraged. However, we remembered that the list of forbidden family adventures is rather short. So, we'll keep our chins up, and our gas tank full. There are a number of other adventures we will be taking. Camping, however, will not be one of them.
