Last post about our camping trip. Promise.

It’s just that I took a ridiculous amount of pictures on our hike. In part because it was beautiful, but also because I needed to force more oxygen into my lungs.

Arthur slept the whole way up. Typical.

This is the bridge from a really weird angle… click here for a view from a greater distance.

You have to file through a crevice and up some narrow stairs to get to the top. In typical you’re-not-in-california-anymore fashion, there is no barrier of any sort when atop the bridge. There is no indemnity agreement or release to be signed. The trail pamphlet simply informed us that approximately 40 people fall off the cliff per year, and 2 die. Statistically speaking, of course.

And a few short clips:

I am the farthest thing from an expert, but here’s some logistical information for you mommy-blog types:

• Penelope slept in a pack-n-play, with a sleeping bag, and her beloved blanky.
• Arthur slept on a 3/4 length thermarest that I had for backpacking. He slept on top of one layer of his bunting bag (bundleme), swaddled in a cotton wrap, with a knit blanket over him. If it was colder, I would’ve zipped his bunting bag up, or pulled him into bed with Case and I.
• His mat was right next to our bed, so that I could comfort/feed him quickly if he started crying in the night. Didn’t want to disturb other campers or wake Penelope. It also gave me peace of mind to have him so close, since I wasn’t sure how cold we’d get.
• We stuck to the same nap/bed times and routines.. especially for Penelope. Arthur is good at napping on-the-go, but we kept bedtime the same for him. This meant we took a break in the afternoon for Penelope to nap back at the tent, and put the kids to bed early, as usual, even though we were tempted to keep them up with us. Our kids like/need their sleep.
• Now this is ironic. We brought our beloved sound machine. It plays nature-y cricket-chirpy white noise. We actually piped in crickets/nature on our camping trip. But it served us well– the kids slept great, even though we stayed up talking at the campfire right next to them. Penelope is a terribly light sleeper, so this was a must.
• I brought cheap black sheets to drape around Penelope’s side of the tent. It stayed dark, she slept till her normal waketime.
• The kids had never slept in the same room before (we still have Arthur out in the living room at night), but I put them down at the same time, and it worked out. Arthur would’ve definitely fallen asleep earlier without his big sister jabbering on about nature, but they both fell asleep more quickly than I had anticipated. That way they fell asleep to eachother’s noises, instead of being disturbed if it had been staggered. I don’t know what I’ll do in the future, or when they’re sharing a room at home… but for this trip, it worked.
• Baby wipes. For everything.
• All of the prep-work was done for meals ahead of time, so that it was only a matter of cooking/heating them. This isn’t quite as necessary if you have extra hands to help, but with just the two of us, it was important.
• Lots and lots of snacks… being outdoors, and more active than usual, everyone was extra hungry and thirsty.
• Sand toys were great for playing in the dirt/gravel. Especially since they were new toys, it was novel.
• Overall, it was certainly more difficult than camping just the two of us… but that’s just sort of reflective of life before and after kids. Things get more complicated, a lot more planning is required, but you reap the joy of sharing something you love with your kids. If you enjoy camping, and want your kids to enjoy camping, I say give it a try. Worst-case-scenario, you pack up early and try again next season–camping is cheap– and your kids might just surprise you!

We took two kids– a two-year-old, and three-month-old–camping. Scary, no? Maybe my expectations were super low… but the kids were awesome. God blessed us with a time of refreshment and fun,  allowing us  to build some excellent family-of-four memories. I think the importance of family tradition and camaraderie is often overlooked. This book is really helpful that way (don’t be fooled by the serious-looking cover and title).

But I digress.

Since it was our first attempt, we started out small– three days tent camping at Natural Bridge State Park. It’s the kind of campground with a water faucet coming out of the ground, and bathrooms (of the fancy, indoor-plumbing sort) just a short walk away. I think it’s what outdoorsy folks call “car camping.”

The weather cooperated, which is especially fortunate, because our tent stakes did not. Well… they would have.. had we found them under our tarp, instead of assuming they were forgotten. Some quick thinking and careful boulder placement took care of that. Like I said– family memories and camaraderie.

Our first night we set up camp, ate spaghetti, and sat around the campfire. Penelope took a bit longer than normal to fall asleep in the tent, as there were too many things to say goodnight to (we heard a chorus of “Bye bye rocks, bye bye trees, bye bye birds, seeyalater water,” from outside the tent). Arthur hibernated like a bear, because, well, he’s our little bear.

The next day we hiked. And then hiked some more. Then the kids napped. Afterward, we did some hiking. It’s a miracle I can still walk. Interspersed were sessions of rock skipping. Or throwing, in Penelope’s case. That girl must take after her Uncle Paul, because she LOVED throwing rocks into the river. After one especially long effort, I think she became slightly delirious. She started shouting strange things as she threw each rock. Casey assured me it had to do with the selected rock’s shape. All I heard was shrieking, “BAAA-NANA ((splash))…. PIIII-ZZA ((splash))….” We introduced the kids to s’mores, “invented” s’mananas, and did some reading.

Our meals that day were breakfast burritos, peanut butter sandwiches, and firepit fajitas. Oh the fajitas. Perhaps it was the fresh air, or maybe the (constant) hiking. But they were  t a s t y.

On the (sniff) last day, there was lots of packing to be done. We packed, hosed the kids off as best we could, threw more rocks in the water, and hit the road. Penelope cried for our first 20 minutes of driving, begging to throw just one more rock. The ride home was definitely the worst/hardest part. Or maybe the worst/hardest part was when we realized that we had forgotten the starbucks instant coffee at home? Did I mention that part? I think it might have involved Casey crying for the first 20 minutes of each morning. But that isn’t something a loving wife blogs about.

Now the reason you’re all here:

(more pictures to come)

chasing a crazy, giggly girl.

watching a sweet boy nap in the grass.

holding my guy’s hand.

cool breeze.

warm sun.

life is good.

(please excuse the cell phone pics)

because outside it’s only 19 degrees…

the snowy village manor..

we went to disneyland!

i was slightly nervous– penelope doesn’t usually nap well in her stroller. i envisioned being that family. you know, the one with a screaming, exhausted toddler… trying to force happiness at the happiest place on earth. all my fears were misguided, however, as she napped well and had a wonderful day. we spent about 10 hours at the park. no joke.

highlights included:

• penelope pointing at stuff in “it’s a small world,” and then looking down at her finger.. slightly amazed, but also confused.. wondering how she possessed the power to make things sing/move/light-up just by pointing
• tossing my cookies loud enough (in the california adventure bathroom) to get really sympathetic looks from strangers
• auntie beth and penelope communicating with their special “ahhh” language all day
• the look on penelope’s face when she realized she could steer the buzz lightyear car with a joystick.. and trying to get her to face grandma & grandpa
• penelope’s instant need to sit with daddy when the pirate battle got a little too intense

i’m sure there were more.. but i waited to long to blog about them! all-in-all it was a great day. i’m still not sure how i managed to survive a disneyland trip in the midst of first-trimester sickness.. but the lord was gracious, and we all had a blast!

(click for larger images)