July 2, 2006

Survivor!

I did not get voted out of the tent for our entire camping trip - okay, it was only one night, but at least I didn't get relegated to the van!

The park was so full b/c of the 4th of July weekend that we ended up in the overflow section which is normally reserved for youth groups. We found a somewhat secluded spot and set up all our gear. A neighbor chopped down a tree last weekend and put the wood out for free, so Jason had loaded up our van a couple times and put the wood in the garage. This provided us with plenty of free wood for our campfire!

After eating dinner, watching the fire, and enjoying some sparklers, we decided to put the kids to bed. We were hoping to enjoy some marshmallows and a little time alone to watch the fire and the stars. Not long after, some cars pulled in right by our site. We were down a little hill, on a flat spot. They decided to make camp right at the top of the hill - three tents. This was at 10:00 (supposedly the beginning of quiet hours)! Their headlights were shining right at us and the tent where the boys were trying to go to sleep. Of course they were talking and laughing; they kept it up even after we decided to go to sleep. Jason moved the van to separate our sites so that we wouldn't have to look at each other. At least then we had some privacy again. Two park rangers came along to check their tags, check their coolers for alcohol, and probably to tell them to turn their lights off and settle it down. They never came down to our site, so obviously they could spot who needed checking.

The boys took some time to fall asleep. I think Peyton found it hard to settle down since he is used to sleeping in a crib with four walls! Once he was asleep he would cry when he tried to move because I had him covered with two baby blankets and one of Jason's fleece jackets. I think it was restricting him from rolling around. At some point he ended up snuggled up next to me.

After it started getting light, I heard, "Woof, woof!" I decided to unzip the cover on the window to discover another nearby camper's dog barking at our tent. Of course that woke both of the boys up! Thankfully Gavin went right back to sleep, but Peyton started crawling all over the tent (at 6:00!). After getting to bed so late, and having a hard time getting a good block of sleep, I couldn't imagine getting up at that time! I decided to let him explore the tent and closed my eyes. He must have realized we were all asleep, because later I discovered him between Jason and I, eyes closed, mouth open.

After we got up, we ate some cereal and bananas, built another small fire to enjoy, then packed up. We then took a little walk in the woods with the boys before heading home. We also drove around a little bit to check out other camp sites for future reference.

If it hadn't been for our rude and noisy late-night neighbors, the time would have been very nice. As it was, we did the best we could under the circumstances and still came away having enjoyed a nice time. I'm actually willing to do it again and we talked about having an all-church camping night there in August!