Goodbye summertime...

We decided to take a last minute camping trip this weekend to celebrate the end of summer for the girls as school begins this week.  Saturday morning was spent loading the car down with the gear, packing the cooler with drinks & food and then off we went.  Upon arrival we found Uncle J and little J & E waiting at the campsite next to ours.  This weekend it was just Me & The Boys + 5 kiddos.  Of course, this detail of D being out of town was left out of the planning information until we were in the car and on our way...but I wasn't worried.  I knew it only meant that much more adventure would await us. 

First order of business was setting up the tents while the kids began exploring.  After "home" was settled, then we took the kids for a trip to the playground made of recycled tires.  Jamison could've used some judo tips from Daddy on how to tuck 'n' roll when he went flying off the tire swing, but he came away unharmed and back to the site we went.  The boys went for wood, the girls gathered sticks...dinner was roasted hotdogs & cheetos for the kids and crabs & beer for the grown ups.  Enter the knife set--OH MY!  You see, Joel & I have lived in Maryland for 8 years...and only ONCE actually had crabs where you have to crack them open and pick them.  We don't have actual crab eating tools, so Joel brought along this knife set he'd received as a gift from my dad some years back.  I don't remember him getting it, but I say it again--OH MY!  These knives could be used for defense...they were frightening.  We each picked our tool of wonder and dug in--trial & error.  Between the 3 of us, we were able to create our own crab eating technique to ensure we got enough meat to fill our bellies.  Meanwhile, our children found ants and threw them in the fire...

After dinner, roasting marshmallows and eating smores was our evening activity...followed by reading books (thank you Uncle J for remembering bedtime stories) and bedtime.  The boys and I stayed up for several hours just sharing stories.  Mind you, we've been friends for nearly 10 years but it always seems you learn something new when you actually have a moment w/out the interruption of small ones.  What a great evening!

About 11pm we started feeling random raindrops and thanks to modern technology we were able to do a quick search of the weather and find the rain that was previously scheduled to arrive at 4pm the next day had actually been moved up to 4am.  Before we turned in for the night, we prepared the site for possible rain and hoped that would give us the luck to keep it away.  Unfortunately we woke up to showers...and instead of pancakes by campfire & a hike to the river for fishing, we loaded the cars in the early morning light and went to the local McDonalds for breakfast.  

I admit that camping is not my FAVORITE activity, tho I do enjoy it with my family occassionally--provided there are bathrooms within walking distance that provide a flushing toilet.  But last night, as I lay in the tent with my adorable munchkins entertwined like a bunch of spaghetti noodles, I was in complete heaven.  This evening, as we shared our favorite moments of camping over dinner, the kids lit up remembering, just hours before, the adventure we had taken.  It was $20 for the site, we took food we already had and only drove an hour & 1/2 to the park.  They rode bikes, ran races, explored trails, told stories, played ball, found a frog, threw ants in the fire...that's what childhood is all about.  I was THRILLED to be home and in the air conditioning with a shower and a sink to wash my hands with soap, BUT wouldn't trade the memories we made this weekend for anything in the world.  Goodbye summertime fun, hello school year...