Well, the CSET is over and I'm finally able to enjoy some R&R this summer. Air Boss had decided a couple of months back that a good way to unwind after the exam would be for our family to go camping. So two days after the grueling 5-hour exam, we packed up the Blackhawk (with a teeny tiny bit of room to spare) and headed out east to Big Bear Lake.
Air Boss had been telling friends how worried he was about me and how I would freak out about getting dirty and being outdoors all the time. I don't know what he was worried about. It's not like I've never gone camping before. All in all, it was fine and the kids (this was their first foray into living in the big outdoors) did well. Not once did I even have the kids wash their hands before eating a meal. That's so uncharacteristic of me and my neat freak ways. See . . . I can cope with being dirty.
As you can see in the photo, we went camping with another family, the H's. It was a blast - all five kids got along great with little to no fighting (with the exception of some sibling squabbles). It was amazing to see how entertained the kids were with 99 Cent Store water squirt bottles. Who says kids need fancy toys with batteries? Stick them out in the forest and they'll figure out a way to amuse themselves (or at the least investigate other campsites uninvited).
So there was one packing glitch on my behalf. We managed to get all the gear in place and even the food and meals planned out. I had pulled aside warm and cold weather clothes for both kids and adults but there was something I had forgotten to pack.
You see, I had set aside a partial stack of clothes for the kids and Air Boss, being ever-so-helpful, stuffed the stack into a duffle bag. The thought that the kids didn't have a complete set of clothes never crossed my mind (out of sight, out of mind). H Family, if you're reading this, you'll know why 'Shroom and Lolli wore what they wore . . .
. . . NOT present in that partial stack of clothes were clean short-sleeved shirts. I had packed L/S shirts and hoodies for the kids but let's just say that the only S/S shirt 'Shroom and Lolli had for the entire 4-day camping trip was the shirt on their back. Yup - they wore the same shirt everyday for four days straight. If the H Family never wants to camp with us again, we'll know why (at least part of the reason why . . . )
. . . See . . . the neat freak in me CAN rough it to the point that wearing the same clothes day in and day out doesn't bother me too much. Of course the first thing I did once we got home was to start up the washing machine . . . and the shower . . .
Ahh -- home sweet home.
P.S. I celebrated my SECOND birthday in CA up in the mountains. Can't believe it's already been over a year here in the Golden State.
4 comments:
that sounds like a great trip! i'm glad someone as neat as you can rough it out there; that means there's hope for me. i only wash the baby's hands 5 times a day. is that enough? :)
haha! I ready your blog about the explosive diaper change...maybe when baby is down to 4-5 diapers a day (from the current 15) and 2-3 hand washings per day, you'll be in a better position to go camping. Then again, you may just surprise us all and just "rough it" (and we'll overlook the gallon of Purell and the pallet of Costco diapers). =)
Well, as representatives of the H family, we want to assure you that we never even noticed the fact that Shroom and Lolli were wearing the same shirts!
And, once again, we want to thank you for a wonderful time up in the mountains! We'll go camping with you guys ANY time! :-)
We did our 1st camping this summer too!
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