We've been talking about camping for a while now. We went camping when Ace was 1, but haven't been camping since. So we were determined to camp this fall, though we knew that it would be somewhere around the house because we couldn't go far with an 11 month old. We picked the weekend before Halloween, which theoretically should have been cool. Unfortunately we went through a warming trend and it was pretty warm during the day. That night however it was nice and cool, a perfect time to camp.
One things about camping….it doesn't matter if you camp 20 yards from the house or 200 miles, you still have to load up the same amount of stuff and haul it to the site. In this case we decided to camp down by the big tank.
We waited until it was closer to sunset and then loaded up all of our gear and food into the heavy chevy and headed to our spot. Dalton set up the tent while the boys gathered firewood and I snapped pictures. Dalton is a very meticulous camper and gets a little intense at the site. I always laugh a little because of his seriousness, but am thankful for it too. If I were in charge we'd have an un-level tent full of dirt and an unorganized site.
Once the tent was up, he started the fire, which was of course exciting for the boys. Tucker wanted to venture to the fire but we had to keep him back. Then everyone was hungry all at once. We roasted hot dogs over the fire. We let Ace roast his but made a little switcheroo when it was time to eat….his had a lot of dirt, burns and ash on it. Cooper on the other hand was a very serious roaster and did a great job of keeping it over the fire but not in it. We asked him about his technique and he said he roasted it until there "were lots of mountains on it" then it was done (referring to the bubbles that come on the surface as you roast…he's so funny). Tucker didn't get to roast, but he helped eat. I gave him a baby food pouch, but it wasn't enough so he sampled the hot dog too.
Next came my favorite part of campouts…smores. About this time everyone was going crazy. Tucker was crazy tired and flopping around everywhere, the boys were starting to act like coons and get into the food and try to find the marshmallows, and we were losing the light fast. I looked at Dalton and we just laughed at the moment and the fact that our campsite went from happy fun to out of control chaos in about 1 minute.
We were able to get the smores made though and they were delicious! I've taken to making mine with Reeces and it is delicious. The boys got classic Hersey's and it was pretty good too (yes I might have had a smidgen of theirs too).
After dessert we packed up the food. Dalton wanted to light a gas lantern, but after spilling the matches and realizing there wasn't enough fuel in it, he grumpily gave it up (part of his organized camping plan is using a gas lantern). I used a flashlight to put the food away…important because we knew coons lived in the trees around us. Then we took a family walk around the tank, walking by flashlight. This was fun and by the time we got back Tucker was just about asleep. Originally we'd planned on Tucker and I heading to the house at this point, but we weren't finished having fun so we just put him to sleep in the tent.
Then we told stories about coons and equipment around the campfire and the boys were ready to go to bed. Finally we were all piled into the tent staring up at the stars through the netted top. It was so beautiful! I kept thinking how different it must have been to do this in the 'olden days' as people traveled across by wagons. Then I asked Dalton where he would imagine us to be if we could be camping anywhere in the country. He said he'd open the tent to a big lake. I said the mountains, in a little valley with birch trees around.
I finally stopped staring at the stars and tried to go to sleep, but then the cats started pushing against the tent sides, wanting to join us. Dalton and I had another laugh as we pushed them away and hoped they didn't try to climb the tent.
It was a pretty good night, really good by camping standards. The boys didn't wake up much. Well, Cooper did wet his pallet so he moved to the foot of our mattress. The little boys stirred some but milk was available so we were good.
The most excitement was when coon fights broke out during the night. I think they were between the coons and Max most of the time. It sounded fierce and very close but the boys didn't even wake up! We all woke up the next morning to a dew covered campsite. Excited that we'd accomplished our mission and survived the night we exited the tent and headed to the house. Dalton had to go work some cows, so he left us. We went back to the site and gathered all of the stuff that needed washing and the food, then headed back again.
It was a successful trip and I'm so glad that we went on our camping adventure. In the spring we'll be ready to venture off our property and camp! Woo hoo.
That evening we went to a pumpkin carving party. It was so fun and our pumpkin won 3rd place. We enjoyed making new friends and celebrating the season. Fall is so great!
"Praise Him, sun and moon; praise Him all the stars of light! Praise Him, highest heavens, and the waters that are above the heavens! Let them praise the name of the Lord, for He commanded and they were created. He has also established them forever and ever; He has made a decree which will not pass away." Psalms 148:3-6
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