Korea 2014: Week 21 - We went camping and other fun things

Sorry, this post is a little late.  We went camping last weekend and an indirect result of that trip was that my house seems to be extra messy.  I've seriously spent the last 2 days cleaning and I'm still not completely on top of it.  

I'm taking a break from cleaning and getting this post finished. This last week was much better than the one before.  I'm used to the fact that I can't talk to Brandon right now so I didn't miss that as much.  The week actually seemed to go by really fast.  Maybe because I knew we were going to go camping.  First lets look at the non-camping pictures.  

I found Lydia asleep on the bathroom floor mat the other day.  It was so funny I had to take a picture.  

Charlotte had also slipped off to take a nap at the same time.  She made herself a bed with my pillows and blankets on my floor.

When the kids take late naps we are able to stay up in the evenings.  It kind of sucks because I don't get my alone time, but it's also nice because we can enjoy the cooler evening temperatures.  One evening I was able to weed my flower garden while the kids played around.  Veronica ate dirt.

Charlotte made these beds for her animals and babies in the hallway right before bedtime.

Derrick loves playing in the dirt.

Derrick also loves climbing up onto my shoulder and jumping off.

This happens all the time.

Okay now lets talk about the camping trip. 

About a week and a half ago my neighbor Ange invited us along on a camping trip with her family.  My neighbor Linda and her family were also going.  I readily agreed.  So on Friday I packed everything up, put the kids in the car and drove out to BLORA. (Belton Lake Outdoor Recreation Area.)  Linda and Ange were already there and had picked out a shady and secluded camping site.  It only cost us $6 per tent which is an amazing deal. 

The first little bit was crazy while we set up the tent and got situated.  Veronica cried a lot until we got the tent set up and then she was really happy to play in it.  She was happy the rest of the time.  After I got dinner cooking I realized I'd forgot my camera for like the first time ever. I still had my phone so I was able to take pictures of the kids eating.  We had hot dogs, chips, and strawberries.  

After dinner I took all the kids on a walk down to the water.  I put Veronica in the baby backpack and actually wore her on my back for the first time.  It worked, but I don't think either of us enjoyed it.  For one it was really sweaty.  I don't think any of those baby wearing advocates have tried wearing a baby in the middle of a Texas summer.  It was nice to have my hands free though.

There were lots of these swings that looked out at the water.  The kids liked sitting on them and swinging.  I'd sit with them too and we'd all swing.  Veronica really like that.

The lake was really pretty.  I don't remember in being so blue when we came out here last year.  

As soon as we drove past the water Derrick had started saying, "Waw" which means water.  I knew he was dying to go throw rocks in the water.  We'd kept him happy at the camp site by letting him throw rocks at a small gully, but I knew he wouldn't be be satisfied until he could throw rocks in the water.  He was so happy when we finally made it to the shore.  We also went in the little floating fishing house that it in the back of this picture.

I had such a fun time walking with the kids.  If you told me last year that I'd be able to take all four of my kids on a long walk without a stroller I would have thought you were crazy.  But everything is so much easier this year.  I love that I'm not pregnant!  And I love that my kids are growing up and becoming easier to take places.

When we got back to the campsite our neighbors were all doing archery.  Ange talked Jason into letting the girls try.  No one thought they would do very well, but they actually hit the target several times.  Here's Lydia.  (Ignore Dade photobombing)

Pictures like this are bittersweet to me.  I wish that Brandon could be here to do things like this with our kids, but I'm glad that men like Jason step in and take his place while he is away.

Here's Charlotte.

And Lydia again.

And Charlotte again, sorry I just can't pick a favorite.

Derrick spent the whole time throwing rocks while our neighbor Bridgette kept an eye on him.  Then he discovered the (unused) outdoor potty and tried to climb on it.

I think he was trying to get up on it so he could jump off, but he ended up kind of stuck.  It was funny.

I loved camping with our neighbors.  All the extra adults and teenagers helped me keep an eye on my kids.  It was so nice.  I was able to sit and talk with Ange and Linda.  We had fun reminiscing about what we remembered from Veronica's birth 9 months ago. As you probably remember, Ange and Linda were VERY involved in that event. (And if you don't remember you should check out the story here.) We joked that this was a camping trip to celebrate Veronica's 9 month birthday.

It started getting dark so we decided it was time to roast marshmallows.  I'm so glad I brought Veronica's high chair.  I knew that everyone would want to hold her, but I also knew that she wouldn't like that for long.  She liked just sitting in the chair and eating Graham crackers.

Ange was taking pictures of everything since I didn't have my camera.  That was nice because I'm actually in pictures for once.  You can see I have no patience with slowly roasting marshmallows.

Derrick really didn't know what to think of the whole experience.  He liked just eating plain marshmallows.  

Veronica with her Graham cracker.

Me making s'mores.  I get sick if I made more than one or two so I just made two perfect ones and called it good.

Charlotte with her marshmallow.

Derrick still trying to figure it out.

Lydia with chocolate.  My kids don't really like s'mores all put together.  They'd rather just eat everything separate.

Charlotte and Lydia liked roasting marshmallows together. 

I love this picture of all four kids together.  They all had a great time.

Then it was bed time for the kids.  Bedtime was a little rough because they wouldn't settle down at first.  It also was really hot.  I'd originally left the rain fly off, but some rain clouds had rolled in and I got nervous and put it on.  I regretted that decision because even with the windows down the tent was hot, but around 3:00 am it started to rain and I was so glad I had the rainfly on.

Anyway, eventually the kids settled down.  Veronica fell asleep in her pack-n-play and Derrick fell asleep on the cushion.   The twins were still awake, but I could tell they were sleepy.  I would have just left them alone, but by that point the air mattress was filled up and I worried they would start jumping on it if I left them unsupervised.

I could hear the neighbors talking and playing games and I really wanted to be out there with them. I imagined telling them interesting stories and making them all laugh. I really wanted to do that.  I was getting a little grumpy with the girls.  In an effort to get them to lay still I started telling them stories about when they were babies.  They were fascinated by the story of their birth and the 18 days we spent in the hospital.  I realized that I was getting my wish.  I was telling interesting stories and making my audience laugh.  I'm glad we got to have that time together.

But I was still really happy when they finally fell asleep and I could go hang out with the adults.  We stayed up until 1:00 am playing games where we each took a turn listing things that started with different letters in the alphabet.

It was still hot when I went to bed.  I often say that Summer in Texas is like Winter everywhere else.  It's the time of year when you just don't go outside much.  And when you do you only go out for a little bit, and you have to be careful of the temperature.  Camping in the summer in Texas is like winter camping everywhere else.  It is possible - and you wont die - but it's not going to be the most pleasant experience.  So anyway, it was a hot night, but I did sleep and the kids stayed asleep too.  Veronica woke up once or twice to eat, but that was pretty normal.

In the morning the kids actually slept in a little longer than I thought they would. I expected them to wake up with the sun, but they didn't.  We had Trix cereal for breakfast because I can't handle cooking anything for breakfast at home so there was no way I'd try to do it camping.

I thought that we'd have to pack up right after breakfast, but the kids were still doing okay.  So we went on another walk down to the water.  Derrick had a lot of fun throwing more rocks in the water.  When we came back it was time to go.  The kids were all starting to get whiny.  Ange and Linda's families were staying for  another night so they didn't need to clean anything up.  Jason held Veronica while I started packing up.

I could have asked for help taking down the tent, but I kind of wanted to do it myself.  For years I've been stuck holding crying kids while Brandon took the tent down by himself.  And I've always wanted to be the one to take it down instead of sitting with the kids.  So I finally got my chance.  It was nice.

Then it was time to leave.  I feel bad saying this, but I think it was the best camping trip I've been on in 4 years.  That's because it was the first camping trip that I wasn't pregnant or taking care of a little baby. I wish that Brandon had been there so he could have enjoyed it too.  I can't wait until he gets home and we can go on family adventures together again.

One more story before I'm done.  Before we started driving to BLORA Lydia told me, "we need to have a prayer."  We usually say a prayer before long car rides, but I didn't consider BLORA far enough away to warrant a prayer.  But since Lydia brought it up I said one.  And I added the usual, "please bless the car will work properly."  I didn't think anything of it after that.

When we got home I pulled into the driveway.  I had to turn off the engine so I could take the keys out and open the garage door.  After I opened the door I hopped in the car to turn it back on and drive into the garage.  Well the car would start.  I couldn't even roll up the windows.  I was shocked.  I was so grateful that we were home and not stuck at BLORA.

Later I called up the brother in my ward who'd helped get the hood of the jeep open.  He came over and figured out that the problem was corrosion that had built up on the battery terminal connector things.  He got those cleaned up and the Honda started right up again.  I'm glad it was a simple solution.

Anyway, the whole week was great, but the camping trip was the very best part.  I'm so glad I have good neighbors.  Back when I was deciding whether or not to stay in Texas when Brandon went to Korea I knew that it would be a good idea to stay because I had such great neighbors.  That's definitely turned out to be true.