I have always loved camping. Camping with an 8 month old, a bit more complicated. Add some rain and a puking 3 year old, not exactly ideal. But I have to say it was really fun. We went with the Andersons this year. So there were 4 adults, 7 kids (ages 3 to 11), 2 dogs and a baby.
It is always an adventure when we head up the mountain to Saddlebag Lake. This year, I did not expect rain to be one of our obstacles but we were greeted with a steady drizzle on our first day. I stayed in the car with the baby while everyone else set up camp in the rain and the kids played in the dirt and got dirty; the kind of dirty you can only get with wet dirt.
The second day we took a water taxi accross the lake and went on a hike along some little lakes and let the dogs run free and swim and prance. We also did a tiny bit of fishing until it started raining again.
The third day it rained in the morning. Dan thought it would be a good idea to have some "family time" inside the tent and play UNO and Go Fish. He's so silly. Of course it was not what he imagined with Winter laying on the cards and the baby fussing the whole time. Mya enjoyed herself though, even when she lost.
The rain cleared up so we decided to do some fishing. That was actually really nice. Everyone got to reel in a fish and we cooked them as an appetizer for dinner.
Dan goes all out with camping food. It's quite the ordeal. He spends the entire day before we leave prepping for dinners. The first night we had ribs and homemade coleslaw. The second night, steak, semi-homemade potato salad, corn on the cob and "Grandma Betty's Baked Beans." I've never met Grandma Betty but her beans are pretty good. The third night we had chicken, asparagus and more of Grandma Betty's beans.
Breakfast was team effort...
There were lots of eggs to be cracked so everyone got to try their hand in the kitchen.
I didn't want Dan to hog the praise for the meals so I made some banana bread for breakfasts and oatmeal cookies for desserts. That was pretty much all I did on the camping front. I mostly held fussy Addie the whole time. That girl does not like being thrown off of her schedule. She likes her bed and her floor to play on. She napped in the Ergo I borrowed (THANK YOU STACY!) and slept with Dan and I on the air mattress. She wasn't a huge fan of the pack 'n' play. I don't blame her. It was in the 40's at night. Even though she was bundled, it was much warmer under the covers next to Mommy.
And Winter! Oh goodness. She puked every night and once on the ride home. Her tummy does NOT like Saddlebag Lake. This happened last year. Altitude sickness possibly... we aren't really sure.
Mya, true to form, asked if she could clean the tent after Winter was asleep. She did great up there.
The dogs were walked about 25 times around the campsite by all the kids. Everyone had to have a turn.
The Andersons had their own adventures. The nights were rough and none of them had jackets. The first time is always a learning experience. No one expects super cold weather in July.
We all arrived home in one piece. We will see what next year holds. Dan says he doesn't want to miss a single July at Saddlebag, ever.
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