We took our first family camping trip during the AEA weekend (first weekend in Nov--schools are out Thurs-Sun b/c of a state teacher convention). I took the girls up to Maumelle Park on Thursday afternoon. Brian met us out there. Two other families from church were already there. We set up our tent--AKA the CONDO--(the one I bought with birthday money.) And we loved it!
The first night we had chicken and potatoes for dinner. I had brought my projector and we showed Cars 2 on a big sheet. Brian left to go home (he had work the next day) and I stayed with the girls in our tent. It was a pretty eventful night. First, Bella had to get up to go to the bathroom--so I took her b/c she refused to pee in the woods). Then, Olivia had to go...but she was brave enough to go in the woods--ALONE! I couldn't believe it! Well, then we got cold in our tent so I bumped up the heater and blew a fuse. Luckily, Meredith was awake and came to reset the breaker--but then was chased by a skunk on her way back to her camper! What a night!
We got up and ate pancakes and oatmeal and sat around the fire. Brian came to the campsite early and we all went on a walk to explore. We came back and the kids were riding bikes and scooters all over! They took another walk (everyone but me--I was cleaning and organizing in the tent. SO MUCH FUN! Seriously...) and came back to make sandwiches for lunch. That afternoon, I took a shower and came back to find a few other families had joined us for dinner. We had hamburgers and hotdogs for dinner. YUM! Then we showed the Squeaquel with the projector for the kids while all of the adults hung out around the campfire. So much fun!
That night, Olivia got sick (ate too much Halloween candy) and puked in the tent. Nice... But we all slept well and got up the next morning for eggs, bacon and pancakes. I discovered the delicious taste of Peppermint Mocha creamer. I AM IN LOVE!
We then all went on a big long walk around the campsite. We saw the dock, and watched a boat get loaded in. We returned to the campsite to start working on dinner (spaghetti). I went to take another shower (I loved that shower...) and came back to help while kids rode their bikes. Kayla had been trying to teach Bella how to ride without training wheels, but Bella wasn't ready.
It was another night of movies (Daddy Daycare), smores, and fun. The kids went to bed and I stayed up talking to Brandi and Becky. We finally went to bed and left Brian and Nic up talking around the fire.
The next morning, Oliver made french toast with left over french bread. SO GOOD! (especially with my THREE cups of coffee and the peppermint mocha creamer!). We started packing up to go home.
I checked on the wolf spider I had grown to get attached to (it was in the bathroom corner for days), but he was gone... How can that be that I was a little sad not to see him?????
One other thing I forgot to mention, we all kept our food in the "van-try". Isn't that hilarious?
Certainly a trip we will never forget...and want to do it more often!
