Camping–Part 1

We finally went camping!  T and I hadn’t been in almost three years!  We used to go at least once every summer, but since Boo was born we’ve kind of stopped camping.  The girls got to go last year with Noni and Papa, but the last time we went I was about three months pregnant with Boo! 

One of our problems has been not having a good camping spot.  The only one we really like is up by our family in the North, but having to drive over three hours to get there is a bit of a deterrent for us.  All the places around here are either too crowded or too windy.  We went to a crazy windy place in the middle of canyon when K was a baby, it was pretty with a great lake but we were in a camper and it was literally rocking back and forth all night! 

Earlier this summer a friend told us about a privately owned campground that her parents have been going to with their families since they were dating as teenagers, and we decided to give it a shot.  You have to become members of the camp to stay there which was just a small fee. 

Hands down best place I have ever camped.  It was perfect!  It is a huge campground but only has 9 campsites so it’s very spread out.  The lake is right there.  There were two bathrooms, one with hot showers, and they have one cabin that you can rent.  T is not much of a tent camper so we did that.  Apparently I didn’t read the info very well because I was under the impression that the cabin didn’t have electricity or running water.  It had both.  Plus a refrigerator and stove!  The only thing it didn’t have was a bathroom, but they were only 20ish feet from the door so that wasn’t a problem either.  We LOVED it. 

Probably part of the reason we loved it was because there were only two other families there the first night.  We caught glimpses of a few people from one family but the other ones we never even saw because they were on the far end of the campground.  We were smack in the middle, and they left the next day leaving us all alone in this beautiful place for two whole days!  It was awesome.

Here is the view from the front door of the cabin.

And the cabin itself.  Perfect, cozy little cabin.

Noni and Papa set up their tent about fifty feet away.  They have the greatest tent!  It was almost as big as the cabin!  Haha :)

Peanut probably enjoyed camping the least of anyone because all she wanted to do was get down and get into everything, but of course if we let her she would put dirt and sticks and bugs and who knows what else in her mouth!  And the poor thing got stung by a yellow jacket in the first five minutes we were there.  Couple that with a bad cold and some teething and she wasn’t the happiest camper, haha :) but she did enjoy some of it.

Mostly she enjoyed trying to get away!

“I’m gonna make it, I’m gonna make it!”

“Nope. They put me on this big blanket.”

“No problem, I’ll just crawl to the edge and get myself a snack of delicious forest floor!”

Boo and Bug of course had the time of their lives! 

They loved every minute!

The first night they slept in the tent with Noni and Papa. 

The next morning they guys got all the fishing gear and walked down to the lake.  The reason the campground was so empty is that they had already lowered the lake.  I think it has something to do with the fish or the dam or something, but whatever the reason they lower and raise the lake at different times of the year.  So where they were fishing is an island that is normally mostly under water, but was perfectly accessible on foot at this time.

Papa spent more time baiting and casting little girls hooks then he did his own.  So sweet. :)

Little fishergirl.

They looked so cute in their little camp chairs that Noni and Papa bought them last year.

So happy!

We spent a lot of time playing cards, dominos, and other games.

“Can I get off this blanket yet, Ma-ma?”

Papa was carving a new walking stick for Mama and he let Boo help him do a little shaving.

The girls loved running back and forth between the tent and the cabin.

Papa showed them how to make a shelter out of a tarp and string.

Bug’s face cracked me up in this picture. :)

This has been a really bad year for yellow jackets and bees, practically an infestation.  For some reason we haven’t had a lot at our house but they are swarming in the city and at Noni and Papa’s house.  They can barely go outside without being attacked. 

After poor Peanut got stung we waged war and started a contest for the most kills.  T was ahead of me the entire trip.  Every time I would get a bunch he would continuously get a good ten more, but then he let me win in the end.  We were about to leave and I had 68 and he had 72 and he stopped swatting and I ended up with 74. 

That’s only our swatted ones.  We also made traps out of bottles.  We were getting between 6-15 in each bottle and we probably had about 10 bottle traps altogether.  Noni swatted 20-30 and even Bug had 15 I think!   It was kind of a fun game, and there actually did seem to be less of them towards the end of our trip.  Maybe our deathly reputation was spreading around the forest. :)

We were able to enjoy all sorts of nature.   We saw tons of chipmunks, squirrels, Canadian geese, frogs, two deer, and even two Blue Herons.

The second night we went down to the water.  It wasn’t great for swimming since the water was so low, but the girls had fun.  Peanut always loves any water she can get her hands on!

Bug and Boo had a great time playing in the sand/mud.

The guys went out again for a little quieter fishing. :)

While the girls happily splashed down the beach.

Buggy is getting so big and grown up these days!  Her arms are looking kind of scrawny after she was so sick a couple of weeks ago.  I weighed her after she got better and she was a little over 43 pounds.  She was 47 at her 6 year check up in May.  Poor thing.

I walked out to the point past the guys and was rewarded with lake and mountains as far as I could see.

After their mud baths we stopped by the hot showers on the way back and washed them all up.  Then it was time to start the fire and pull out the smore stuff!  I guess there is a state-wide ban on campfires and even briquettes, but since this was a private camp ground we were able to have a fire.  We were just really careful and had the hose nearby.

About this time I got a text from my friend saying there was a big storm coming with 60 mile an hour wind gusts so we packed up everything that was outside and brought the girls into the cabin for the night.  We later heard it was a 150 mile wide storm!  I think we were on the edge of it because it really wasn’t that bad and lasted only about an hour.  The camp host came to check on us and said it was much worse just down the road where he lived.  We did lose power for about 12 hours, but I guess everyone did.  Everything in our house was blinking when we got back, and some friends of ours had a neighbors tree fall on their boat and part of their house. :/ 

We didn’t mind the storm at all and played cards around a lantern in the cabin while the girls slept. :)

That night wasn’t exactly good.  Boo kept talking in her sleep and waking Peanut up, which would wake Boo up, who would cry, which would make Peanut cry.  Back and forth, back and forth.  I finally fed Peanut again at 11:30pm just to calm her down and after that we were all able to get some sleep.  We were a bit bleary eyed the next morning though!  Except K.  She slept right through the whole thing and was happy as a clam. :)

Well, this post is getting really long so I’ll wrap up our camping trip tomorrow!