Last week we had the privilege of meeting my folks, along with some close friends of our family, just south of the Canadian border for a short little camping excursion! They were returning from a motorcycle trip to Colorado and decided to head a little farther north than need be to meet up with their favorite Canucks!
Jon was in college all week, so it was just the girls and I making the trek down. The original plan was to stay one night with my parents (and their friends!) and then stay the second night by ourselves. I mean... ya`ll know that camping = LOTS of stuff, so I wanted to make the most of it!
BUT... plan A was dropped after the first night. This little lady looks happy, but don`t be fooled. She wasn`t a cheery camper, to say the least! (More on that later!)
Alia, on the other hand, was THE model camper! So good, in fact, that I`m planning a trip for just her and I (and maybe a close friend and her little gal!) for the end of summer. She just went with the flow... taking it all in with a smile!
We were only gone for a short while, but wowsa... the needed amount of stuff doesn`t change! Even with the massive amounts of blankets and sleeping bags we brought, I was still wishing I would have packed my mummy bag along. Night time gets darn right chilly when you`re in a tent with two little gals who aren`t the easiest to snuggle with! My pillow and blankets were taken on a regular basis!
Gramma and Grampa hadn`t quite arrived after we set up camp, so we went ahead and ate a hearty lunch of PB and J!
And since Cheez-its are a hot commodity in our house (ya can`t get them north of the border!) we picked up a box at the first available grocery store!
And I gotta be honest... it may or may not have been hard for me to hand over the box a time or two!
Gramma and Grampa (along with Dan and Julie) arrived right after lunch... and it sure was good to see them roar up!
Even though they were traveling by motorcycle, Gramma still managed to bring goodies along for the girls! :) And I assure you... there was barely an extra inch of space for the taking!
Larren decided it was FINALLY time to take a nap, just about the time everyone else was going to the swimming pool! So... I kicked back with a book and took advantage of a little R & R!
I know, I know... it`s summer and still I`m as white as can be. I`m facing the sad reality that I may never be tan again in my life!
Mom knew I would want to get some pics... so she came back to take over kid duty while I went to check out was happening at the pool!
The first thing I see when I get there?
Grampa giving Alia quiet instructions to torture help Miss. Julie cool off with some refreshing pool water!
Alia was more than pleased to show me her cool pool tricks!
(Riding on Shamoo the whale!)
She wanted to jump off the edge of the pool over and over again...
... but couldn`t QUITE bring herself to jump without the assistance of Grampa!!
After awhile she noticed the ``mints`` across the pool and decided to investigate. The report from one disappointed little girl was that they didn`t smell or taste like mints...
When I got back to the campsite Larren was just waking up, so she too got to cool off a bit!
At first she just relaxed for a little while... taking everything in.
But in no time she was a little fishy right along side of her sister!
Jon made the trip from Winnipeg to join us for supper, say hello, give some rides in his `47 pick up, and kiss the girls before bedtime!
Stories were read around the campfire...
... and then the official battle began!
Alia was asleep in no more than 5 minutes... but my little Larren was a different story.
Long story made short... she fought sleep, tooth and nail, until the wee hours of the morning. And by wee hours I`m talking like until 6 am. The girls were, somehow, bright eyed and bushy tailed upon awakening, but I had decided (oh... around 3 am!) that we would be packing up along side of Gramma and Grampa!
Dad and Dan (and their helper!)... made us a fine breakfast of bacon, eggs, fruit, and toast with jam.
Then the whirlwind of packing and saying good byes began. The fact that we are heading to Ohio in two weeks made the good byes a little easier to say... but it`s never fun regardless!
They set out for the East... and we set out for the North... both of us happy to get home! Though my reasoning was for a simple three little word... a nice long NAP! Larren`s nap totaled about 6 hours that day (with a regular bedtime!)... which gives you a small indicator that she was up a LOT during the night!
Even though Larren didn`t exactly fall into the happy camper category, it was still a nice mini visit. The campground was fabulous and we intend to stay there again NEXT summer... after a few tent test runs in the backyard first!
We enjoyed this 24 hour visit sooo much! It was great to play with the girls in the pool and at the playground. My can Larren climb! It was also wonderful to see OUR girl and her fantastic husband and spend time talking by the fire. We were extremely grateful for the food on the campfire and hope to do this again. Thank you so much for this great camping connection. I encourage anyone who camps to check out Walhala's park and campground.Can't wait for the Kreiser family to come to Ohio!!!!
ReplyDelete