happy camper?

we spent the past couple of days camping with hubby's family at a nearby campground.  they rented a cabin for hubby's sister and husband (for late last week) and for us (from sunday until tuesday).

my idea of camping is staying at a motel with no air conditioning or continental breakfast.  i'm strictly a hotel/eat out vacation kind of gal.  but camping gave hubby a couple days off from work (ha!  he still got texts and calls for help at work) and my in laws got to visit with the kids for a few days.

so last week i collected sheets and blankets (becos the cabins have neither) and paper goods (the cabin had dishes and cookware, but i thought it would be easier to have disposables;  plus my FIL was cooking our meals).  made up our first aid kit (our old one, which was a wipes container left from when the boy was in diapers, was all scrungy from sitting on the floor of our downstair's bath.  i'll save the story of that cleanup for another day).  packed clothing and swimwear.  bought a table cloth for the picnic table (since i couldn't find the ones from previous camping trips).  picked a few toys for the kiddos (the boy packed his own).  chose a few knitting projects and a book to read.  i also packed a cross stitch project becos for some insane reason, i thought i'd have time to stitch.

so sunday afternoon we dropped the kids off at my IL's camper so hubby and i could unpack.  it was pouring rain, of course.

before we crapped the place up, i took a few pictures.  the cabin was actually very nice.

this was the living room/front door:



this was the kitchen and the door to the porch:



this was the master bedroom:

 this was the bathroom; i was grateful it had a shower so we didn't have to walk down to the bathhouse. you can see the bedroom through the bathroom:

the cabin had an electric fire place.  it was really too warm to use it, but i turned it on sunday night and watched it.  it made me really sleepy (i needed that).  i wish we had a fireplace at home but they are so messy.



the ladder/stairs led to the loft where the boy slept:



the original plan was that the boy would sleep in the loft and hubby and i would each sleep with a kiddo;  me in the bedroom and hubby on the futon.  we found out the futon slept horribly (i took a nap on it and it felt like a thin cushion on top of a pile of bars), and we thought the kiddos would sleep better in a room where there was no noise (that would be the tv;  yes, the cabin had a tv).  so hubby and the kiddos got the master bedroom, and the boy was scared to sleep in the loft alone, so he slept in one bed and i slept in the other.

the first night was awful, a bit like the first night in baltimore last year and the kiddos didn't fall asleep until around 10:30.  hubby and i both woke every hour on the hour becos of the uncomfortable mattresses.  i woke up the next morning with a severe crick in my shoulder and a migraine.  thank goodness i packed the advil and benedryl!

when i walked out onto the porch i was greeted with this view.  isn't this a great way to start the morning?  i wish we lived in the woods - maybe someday:



while we were getting the cabin straightened up, the kiddos colored:


the campground started a new weekday programming schedule, with hayrides, crafts and noontime water fights.  when we walked down to the camper we met yogi bear:



hubby and his folks watched over the kiddos while the boy and i checked out the crafts.  he painted this little truck and a helicopter for the kiddos.  what a dear the boy is:



my FIL cooked the meals (we offered to make one, but brought whoopie pies - for the kids' birthdays - and pasta salad for a side).  he made smoked chicken, and petunia put a whole thigh away:

hubby and i ran back to the house (we were really 10 minutes away) to pick up mail (we were expecting the boy's bus schedule) and the paper and feed fishie.  when we returned to the campground hubby dropped me off at the cabin and went down to the camper.  i read the paper and a magazine, took a nap, then knitted and read on the porch.  there was such a lovely breeze.  it was a beautiful day.

and no, i didn't feel guilty dumping the kids on hubby and my ILs.  but i had a hell of a time calming the chatter in my head.  i literally would read 2 pages then knit 2 rows.  another good reason that i need a real vacation sans kids.

the party moved up to the cabin where we had camp fire.  my ILs brought hot dogs, brats and fixings for mountain pies.  they made apples with snickers bars in the ashes - after baking for half an hour, the apple turned to mush, with chocolate and caramel and nuts mixed in.  yummy!

did have one wrinkle.  i brought jumbo marshmallows that sat on my kitchen counter for months, awaiting a campfire like this, until the boy father flanigan the self flaggellator whined that he couldn't have marshmallows becos of his braces.  it got a bit ugly.  and i didn't get to eat my damn marshmallows.

guess who's making crispy treats, to use up the marshmallows?

the kiddos, who didn't have a nap and slept horribly the night before, fell asleep around 9.  i think we all slept better.

wakey wakey eggs and bakey!



the kiddos were still really tired.  freddie didn't eat lunch, he was so tired.  he fell asleep on the ride home, and the kiddos went up to their cribs so we could unpack the van.  they didn't protest, and when hubby went to get them a few hours later, they were still asleep.

our vacation was anything but relaxing.  chasing after the kiddos is the last thing i want to do on vacation.  hubby got texted and called from work (and even got a help request from my church for a computer problem!)  i was having another of my hormonal episodes and really just wanted to crawl into a ball and sit in a corner ignored.  the boy's at that age where he doesn't want to hang out with his mom and dad, and he did find some kids to play with, but mama helicopter that i am, was worried about this (what if he wanders into the woods what if he wades in the creek and drowns what if there's a perp camping here and he disappears into something OMB the boy should be on a leash!!)  and the kiddos.  chasing the kiddos.  kiddo-proofing the cabin with gates (on the porch so they don't fall through the screen; a gate at the bottom of the loft steps), pulling the knobs off the gas stove, locking the bathroom and bedroom doors becos freddie discovered that he could run around in a circle through the bedroom/bathroom/kitchen/living room and slam doors.  and cupboards.  any wonder i came home from vacation more stressed than going!

we really had only a day and a half camping.  we arrived late sunday afternoon and left after lunch on tuesday.  we didn't get to swim.  i didn't get to walk around the pond or on any of the hiking trails.  this vacation rated up there with the one 3 years ago, during which i had my miscarriage.  at least i got yarn and the lamp from restoration hardware out of that one.

oh well, we had a family vacation trip.  maybe we'll try it again when the kiddos are much bigger!