Mornin' Sunshine

Thursday, September 15, 2010

Last night was interesting.  Instead of trying to cover enough hard ground with thermarests, we decided to put an air mattress in our 2-man tent.  We put the boys to bed (only had to holler at them 347 times to get them to be quiet and go to sleep) and Mike and I sat around the campfire until our bedtime (which really wasn't that long after the boys...remember we didn't get any sleep on Tuesday night).  The air mattress was luxurious for camping...as long as no one moved!  Every time someone turned over in their sleep, it rocked everyone else.  It's probably a good thing that Mike and I were so sleep deprived because we actually slept really well and I think the boys slept well too.

At 6:15 this morning Barrett sat straight up and announced to the world, "I. am. awake!" (you have to think the word "awake" in a sing song voice).  It was so cute that we were all laughing.  The boys were rarin' to go and wanted to climb out of the tent "now"!  We tried to explain to them that it was cold out there and they needed to get warm clothes on first.  Mike got out to start the fire and start making breakfast while I dressed the boys (which took "forever" according to them). 

Mike cooked eggs and bacon for breakfast and served it alongside a mug of hot chocolate.  Yummmmmm!

After sitting in the cold to eat breakfast, the boys decided they were ready for the sun to shine.  Since it was still behind the mountain (and the boys were getting really cold), we decided to let them warm up in the Jeep.  They spent 1/2 hour "driving" up the mountain in the Jeep.

Finally the sun began to peak over the mountain to the east of our campsite.

The boys piled out of the Jeep and got to work playing.  For a while we staged a battle and chased each other thru the trees shooting each other with the boys toy guns.  This made Barrett thirsty!  (Doesn't his hair look angelic in the early morning sun?!?)

 

You might have noticed that Barrett didn't have his glasses on in these pictures.  I'm guessing he won't get to wear them much this trip.  Why?  Here's a prime example...

For some reason, Mike and I don't think that his glasses do him much good when they're caked (and I mean caked) with dirt/mud! 

I can't post about camping without mentioning the "unmentionable"...going to the bathroom in the woods.  With 2 boys, it's not a big deal to pee outside (they do that all the time at home!)...but they looked at me like I was crazy when I told them what they had to do when they needed to go #2.  If you are male (or have ever raised or lived with them), you know that all things potty related intrigue little boys.  Needless to say, once they figured out going #2 in the woods...it was fun...which means they were always wanting to dig a hole to try to poop in!  Ok, maybe "always" is an exaggeration (when I read that I visualize them digging lots of holes around camp...and it wasn't like that), but they went poop more times than normal (whereas I try to avoid doing that in the woods if at all possible...what can I say, I don't like the pine needles poking me in the butt!)   *after proofing this paragraph, I'm pretty sure Mike would tell me this is waaaay too much information...but it's ok.  It was a memorable part of the trip for me, so I want to write it down!*

Once the sunlight was illuminating the meadow around us, we headed down to the stream for a little more fishing.   

Yesterday was the first time that Brody had ever been fishing.  I've been surprised at how fast he's learned to cast.  He's gotten really good at it in just one day!

The water was so clear that we could see the fish swimming around.  Gorgeous!

 

As nap time drew near, we packed up camp and started the hour drive down the 4-wheel drive road back to the paved road.  We had so much fun camping as a family of 4 for the first time, however, I think next trip we'll bring at least a 4-man tent to sleep in.