So we went camping this past week with my parents, Alain and Donna. We left on Thursday and came home on Sunday. It was the first camping trip for any of our kids. We thought it was going to be a nightmare, but it ended up pretty good. Here is the weekend in a nutshell....
Thursday: I packed the bags for 6 people, ran my errands, went to the stor
e, and washed all of the laundry needed to go. Oh, all before 11am with all 4 kids with me. Lewis was working for the morning, so I had to handle it all alone. Lewis was supposed to be home at 11:30 and help me get the car packed, but he did not get home until almost 1pm, which was the time my parents were supposed to get to our house to leave. My parents showed up at 1:30, and their truck was so full that we had to unpack some of it to make room for the stuff that did not fit in our van. Who knew that camping with 4 kids and 4 adults ment bringing a year's supply of everthing? So we get on the way at a quarter to 2. We made it down to Virgin ( just outside of Zion's National Park) in 4 hours. We set up camp and made dinner. Hot dogs, chili, and chips. Followed by Smores. Got the kids to bed by 9pm and then the fun began, for me anyways. For any of you that know me, you know that I stay up really late. I watch TV until about 1 or 2 am every night. So at 10pm in the dark with the fire out and nothing to do, I was lost. The girls were asleep in my tent, and I forgot to bring a book. I litterally had nothing to do. Everyone went to bed, and I stayed up swirling the flashlight at the tent ceiling for hours.
e, and washed all of the laundry needed to go. Oh, all before 11am with all 4 kids with me. Lewis was working for the morning, so I had to handle it all alone. Lewis was supposed to be home at 11:30 and help me get the car packed, but he did not get home until almost 1pm, which was the time my parents were supposed to get to our house to leave. My parents showed up at 1:30, and their truck was so full that we had to unpack some of it to make room for the stuff that did not fit in our van. Who knew that camping with 4 kids and 4 adults ment bringing a year's supply of everthing? So we get on the way at a quarter to 2. We made it down to Virgin ( just outside of Zion's National Park) in 4 hours. We set up camp and made dinner. Hot dogs, chili, and chips. Followed by Smores. Got the kids to bed by 9pm and then the fun began, for me anyways. For any of you that know me, you know that I stay up really late. I watch TV until about 1 or 2 am every night. So at 10pm in the dark with the fire out and nothing to do, I was lost. The girls were asleep in my tent, and I forgot to bring a book. I litterally had nothing to do. Everyone went to bed, and I stayed up swirling the flashlight at the tent ceiling for hours. Friday: We got up, m
ade bacon and eggs, and then got dressed for the day. Lewis woke up sick. He was all stuffed up and miserable. He was alergic to the outside or he had a cold. I think it was both. It was supposed to be cool so we decided to go to St. George for the day. We stoped at a cowboy town for the kids to play. They fed the animals at the petting area and we got some cute pictures. We then drove down to Mesquite and had a buffet lunch at one of the casinos. And then went shopping at the outlets in St. George for the afternoon. Children's Place had all of their girls clearance on sale for $2.99 or less. EVERYTHING! So I got the girls some skirts and long sleeved shirts. We then drove back to camp and wanted to go swimming, but it was too cold. We had grilled sandwiches for dinner. Adam was the "offical" fire guy. He started our fires and kept them going. I was nervous at first but then he got pretty good at it. (The only problem that I had with the fire was the smoke always followed me anywhere I went. I know people say that the smoke is following them, but in my case it is true. By the end of the weekend it was a joke around camp not to sit next to me because the smoke would blow in your face.) We put the kids to bed early and Lewis, Alain, Donna, and I played Rummy. I won by a landslide.
ade bacon and eggs, and then got dressed for the day. Lewis woke up sick. He was all stuffed up and miserable. He was alergic to the outside or he had a cold. I think it was both. It was supposed to be cool so we decided to go to St. George for the day. We stoped at a cowboy town for the kids to play. They fed the animals at the petting area and we got some cute pictures. We then drove down to Mesquite and had a buffet lunch at one of the casinos. And then went shopping at the outlets in St. George for the afternoon. Children's Place had all of their girls clearance on sale for $2.99 or less. EVERYTHING! So I got the girls some skirts and long sleeved shirts. We then drove back to camp and wanted to go swimming, but it was too cold. We had grilled sandwiches for dinner. Adam was the "offical" fire guy. He started our fires and kept them going. I was nervous at first but then he got pretty good at it. (The only problem that I had with the fire was the smoke always followed me anywhere I went. I know people say that the smoke is following them, but in my case it is true. By the end of the weekend it was a joke around camp not to sit next to me because the smoke would blow in your face.) We put the kids to bed early and Lewis, Alain, Donna, and I played Rummy. I won by a landslide.Saturday: We got up had breakfast 
and drove into Zion's. We did 2 hikes, which the kids enjoyed. Everyone liked the Weeping Rock hike. It is a short half a mile hike that goes strait up. Water from 1200 years ago runs through the rock and makes the rock cry. It was really interesting. Everyone walked the whole way except for Abigail. She was carried by Lewis and Alain. Then we drove through Zion's and went to a Buffalo Farm and had a really late lunch. Most of us had buffalo burgers, but Adam had chicken strips. After lunch we drove back to the camp area and the kids played at a park down the way. We cooked chicken for a late dinner, and then put the kids to bed at 9. We played Rummy again but stopped half way through because of the wind, and cold. It was really cold the last night.
and drove into Zion's. We did 2 hikes, which the kids enjoyed. Everyone liked the Weeping Rock hike. It is a short half a mile hike that goes strait up. Water from 1200 years ago runs through the rock and makes the rock cry. It was really interesting. Everyone walked the whole way except for Abigail. She was carried by Lewis and Alain. Then we drove through Zion's and went to a Buffalo Farm and had a really late lunch. Most of us had buffalo burgers, but Adam had chicken strips. After lunch we drove back to the camp area and the kids played at a park down the way. We cooked chicken for a late dinner, and then put the kids to bed at 9. We played Rummy again but stopped half way through because of the wind, and cold. It was really cold the last night. 
Sunday: We got up and Adam started the last fire for breakfast. I made pancakes, and eggs. When it was time to put out the fire we had Adam and Jason put their "fire pushing sticks" into the fire. (The sticks were about 3 feet long, and 2 or 3 inches in diamater. They had played with and used these 2 sticks to help in the fire all weekend. They sharpened the ends into spear heads.) As soon as they put them into the fire, Jason then realised that he was not going to get it back. It was burning with fire. Jason had a meltdown. He was sitting in his seat bawling. Tears were running down his face onto the ground. He did not realise he wasn't going to be able to take it home. He was miserable and angry. He chose to ride home with my parents because he was mad at me and Lewis. On the way home we stopped for lunch, Jaso
n forgave us and made it home by 4pm. We unloaded the car and I realized that I had a garage full of dirty clothes, blankets, shoes, and coats that just stunk like smoke. I had to leave everything out there while I washed loads.
n forgave us and made it home by 4pm. We unloaded the car and I realized that I had a garage full of dirty clothes, blankets, shoes, and coats that just stunk like smoke. I had to leave everything out there while I washed loads. The pile is still there, it is smaller but there are still maybe 12 more loads to go. Everyone was very well behaved. We have decided that they are old enough to camp. Maybe we will go again in the spring. I might have my laundry done by then.
1 comment:
Geez, your kids are getting so big!!
Kendall
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