Camping with Kids

On Friday night we drove an hour and a half up to Mt. Rainier National Park to Ohanapecosh campground to meet all of Brian's siblings for an overnight campout. It was Thomas's first time camping, and I admit I was a little nervous about camping with a crawler, how the kids would sleep in a tent, and getting too cold. Maybrie was bouncing off the walls with excitement during the days leading up to it, and the joy carried on while we were there. Thomas actually was really good and loved soaking in the great outdoors too.

 Brian's sister Emily brought this little kid-size picnic table, which was perfect for Thomas to walk around. Though I tried to keep him clean, he did end up crawling in the dirt, and eating some too! That's all part of the camping experience, right?!

This is one of the only pictures Maybrie actually cooperated for. She is in a "turn away and refuse to smile" phase when it comes to picture taking. I caught this picture right after we arrived while Maybrie anxiously watched daddy put up the tent and explored our campsite. Don't you love how she brought her pretty purple purse camping?!

 Maybrie loved playing with the flashlight. In this picture she was lighting her face in the dark, but you can't tell because the flash was too bright. 

Both kids loved watching the fire. While Brian was away flagging down the last family in our party to arrive, I tried to roast Maybrie a giant marshmallow with Thomas in my lap. It turned out to be a bad idea. As soon as the marshmallow was ready I pulled it off and let Maybrie take one bite. Then Thomas, with his quick hands, grabbed the whole hot and gooey mallow. Thomas cried out immediately with a marshmallow covered hand, I frantically shoved the entire marshmallow into my mouth (this wasn't a regular big one, but one of those new huge ones they make) and called for help without realizing how funny I would sound! There was gooey marshmallow all over Thomas's hand, blanket, my coat, my hair, Maybrie's hair, and even on the tip of my nose! After many baby wipes, Maybrie patiently reminded me that she still wanted a marshmallow! I had forgotten that was what I was doing in the first place. :)

Thomas went to bed later than normal, but still really well. However, he must've been wakened by the campfire party, and woke an hour later. We ended up giving him an extra bottle before laying him back down, which led to him waking at 3am completely soaked through his diaper and pajamas. It was already freezing cold, so having to strip him down in a dark tent in the middle of the night was... pleasant. And I'm sure the whole family loved hearing him scream bloody murder during the midst of their peaceful slumber as well! Maybrie slept well except for the fact that her slippery sleeping bag caused her to slip off her mattress and get wedged between it and the side of the tent twice in the night. Brian and I had the makings a comfortable bed, but it wasn't warm enough, so I was up shivering most of the night. I was cranky to say the least, and don't remember the last time my night was so bad that I just wanted to the sun to come up and end it already!

Saturday was good. Though I was dog tired, Brian and I managed to laugh and joke about our miserable night and remind each other that we had a long weekend still with time help each other catch up on lost sleep. Everyone else there cooked and make a hot breakfast of sorts, while we enjoyed Costco muffins. While I may have been nice to eat a hot meal on a cold morning, I was more than happy to sit by the fire, eat my muffin, throw the wrapper in the fire, and relax while everyone else cooked and cleaned!

After breakfast we went on a 2.7 mile hike to Silver Falls. We had planned for Brian to carry Thomas in the back pack and have Maybrie walk, but she did not like that idea, and since there was an extra pack, Brian said he would carry her while I carried Thomas. I am in pretty good shape right now, but Thomas is a whopping 24 lbs. now, so I was hurting really quick. Thankfully Uncle Jon offered to take Thomas and save my back! The rest of the hike was much better. I love the lush vegetation in the western part of WA, and there were so many beautiful water falls on this particular hike- my favorite! 

 

Thomas sacked out on the last stretch of the hike. He was so asleep that he didn't even twitch when we took him off. We didn't want to move him and wake him, so he just sat there sleeping like this for a good 15 mins. when we got back to the campsite. So funny! What a cutie! After lunch we packed up camp and headed home. We had a good time, but boy did we all sleep well Saturday night in our own beds! Brian and I were asleep before 9pm! I think I may limit our exploration of the great outdoors to day trips until we are past the baby/ toddler stage... it is a lot of work!