I've been preparing myself for about five years now, that eventually I would have to go camping with my boys. As a mother, I know little guys (and big guys, too) desperately want and need this experience. Their sense of adventure naturally includes sleeping under the stars and cooking over a campfire. My sense of adventure however is better described as going to a movie spontaneously late at night. I'm wild and daring, I know.
I postponed this experience as long as possible, but recently my in-laws purchased an airstream trailer and the begging from all three of my guys, ensued. I finally gave in and prepared myself as best I could to make the most of this experience to make a memory with my kids.
We left Friday afternoon, a little too late. We arrived at Roman Nose in time to set up our campsite and start dinner. My first trial began when I discovered that the only pot in the trailer wasn't even big enough to hold the can of beans for my homemade chili. I had asked Jon to make sure the camper had a pot to cook our chili...he didn't. Luckily, Jon had packed his cast iron skillet and we cooked our chili in this. It worked just fine. We did not however pack bowls to eat our chili in, so we used red Solo cups. Again...it was fine, just annoying to me.
We sat by the campfire, ate our hot dogs and chili and then roasted marshmallows and made smores. That was really enjoyable. I had a lot of laughs with my kids and Jon. I must say that I love these guys, but what is better is that I truly "like" them. I enjoy their company. These guys are my best friends. There's no one I'd rather spend my time with.
We put the fire out and went in for a good night's sleep, right? Uh...no. An airstream fold out bed may be better than sleeping in a sleeping bag on the ground, but not much. Cole woke at 5:30 saying his tummy hurt and he proceeded to to have diarrhea in the camper bathroom. Let's just say that sound as well as odor travels quickly through all 50 square feet. Thankfully he went back to sleep after his business. We all woke up and made a good country breakfast, again making due with what kitchen supplies I had. Pretty quickly after breakfast Jon and I made eye contact with a look that seemed to say, "I'm ready to go if you are." Sadly, looking back, I feel like all we did was eat, but everyone seemed happy enough, so who cares, right? As Jon was loading the trailer up, the boys and I did a little exploring and found an awesome treasure there by the water. We found an empty tortoise shell. Now I have a little souvenir to remember the trip by.
The best part of the trip was as we were leaving, Cole says to me, "Mommy, can we go to Starbucks now?" I guess I'm not the only one who loves the conveniences of modern technology. Thank God for a stationary roof over our heads, indoor plumbing, a comfortable bed, and Starbucks.
