Camping

I took the kids camping by myself last weekend. It was so fun! We also brought Alex (one of Ashleigh's best friends) with us. I was VERY worried about getting everything packed. I'm known for organizing and packing very well, even with limited space... but I wasn't sure if this was something I'd be able to accomplish. Not only was I packing for one more person but one less spot in my little car that I could pack! I managed... barley. The kids were pretty crammed in the backseat. They had to sit on and lean against pillows, blankets & backpacks in order for us all to fit.

I've had my eye on a new tent since the beginning of summer. I did a lot of research and read many online reviews about it before deciding which one I wanted, only to find out it was sold out everywhere. While doing my shopping for supplies a few days before leaving, I found my tent! There was one left. I was so excited, I wasn't even looking for it and had just planned on getting it next year! We have outgrown our little dome tent and would never have room to bring someone along. Our camp site was great! There was a creek that ran though the back and it looked like a scene out of a fairy tale. Crystal clear water, moss covered rocks, tree limb bridges and rocks to hop across. Pathways leading though the trees close enough to the site that the kids could wander and explore on their own. They found a stack of rocks in the shape of a chair & a circle of trees that looked like a hut. The girls wrapped up a rock in a towel and drew a face on it to make a rock baby.

My Mom was able to come up the mountain and join us the last night. It was nice to have the bigger tent to fit everyone in. I felt much safer having us all in one tent together rather than having to worry about people in a separate tent. We went on hikes and had adventures, we made boats and raced them down the creek, the kids put together a few skits to perform, and had sing alongs and told scary stories by the fire at night, snuggled at night to keep warm & Jackson even picked me some flowers.

As we were packing up camp, Jackson noticed a chipmunk in the car! We opened the door for it to get out and it climbed up into my dashboard! It took about 20 minutes to get it out. It was defiantly eventful. As we were driving back (on the freeway) 15 minutes from home,  I felt something on my knee. I looked down to see a chipmunk on my leg!!! I shook my leg and it jumped off to go hide somewhere. Alex saw it jump off but Ashleigh didn't believe me. We took everything out of the car and searched it.. no chipmunk in sight. Finally Ashleigh saw it scurry out of the car and run away. The next morning Jackson & I heard it in our neighbors pine tree a couple houses down.