Weekend of Firsts, Camping Edition

How many of you slept on the cold hard ground for 2 nights this weekend? Sure, maybe some of you were camping also and could answer "yes" to that question, but wait. I'm not talking air mattress here. I mean, I really slept on the ground with only a sleeping bag and a couple of blankets under it for cushion. My hips are killing me. Turns out the phrase "cold hard ground" was coined for very accurate reasons.

This weekend was my first experience with tent camping. Here's the basics of my personal "de-evolution of camping" over the past year. A year ago in October I went camping for the very first time in my life. I slept in an RV. Not too shabby. The next Spring, my family embarked on our own and chose a screened shelter. When I first saw that empty concrete-floored box I wondered if I had lost my mind. But, we had so much fun, we stayed in a shelter again that summer. Big mistake. Not the shelter...the part about it being summer. It was hot and miserable, but at least we had company since you know misery loves it. And finally, this weekend, we tent camped at a site with no electricity. The tent made the screened shelter look like a palace in my opinion.

Our tent is rather small. In fact, I don't think we realized how small it is until we tried to shove our family of 5 inside. Only 3 sleeping bags would fit across the width of the tent. So, the kids and I all slept inside 2 opened bags and covered ourselves with another open sleeping bag. Did I mention the temperatures dropped to the 40's at night? Thankfully the sheer volume of hot-aired breathers in our tiny tent kept it reasonably warm.

It may seem like I didn't enjoy myself. Not true! I loved it. It's just that these experiences were so new to me. I have trouble wrapping my mind around the idea of sleeping in a tent, even after doing it. Did I mention it rained? We woke up to heavy mist Saturday morning. At first I thought the plops of water hitting the tent after accumulating and falling from the tree above us were Cody's bones popping. I finally realized, once the popping noises increased in frequency, that I was in for a wet awakening. Did I mention that somehow water got into our tent and got all the kids' pillows wet? It's really the small details that make a camping trip so interesting. Again, even though it was cold and wet, I had a blast.

How about these details...the kids went on a 2 hour hike with Cody that involved breathtaking views of the lake and huge rocks. They passed through a crevice between two enormous walls of rock. The boys fished, casting over and over with their dad. We roasted marshmallows, and ate s'mores until the kids' faces were a sticky mess. I stared into the dancing flames of a campfire for hours while talking with good friends. We shared a lovingly prepared breakfast (that I didn't have to cook! Thanks Michael and Chris!) with a huge group of friends on a crisp cool morning while the children played together. I got to read a great book, watch my daughter climb trees, and snuggle with Lucas at night.

I am a total camping convert. If someone had asked me a couple of years ago if I thought I would ever enjoy, or even just go camping, I would have said "no." But it turns out that camping is a lot of fun. Our entire family loves doing it. And it's really nice when we get to go with a big group of people. It's a beautiful, fun, easy-going environment. It's inexpensive. It gets everyone outside and active. I'm learning something new with every camping trip we take. (I boiled coffee one morning in a pot on a Coleman stove.) I also learned what I need to buy in order to sleep more comfortably next time. (Thanks for the tip Susan.)

I'm already looking forward to spring and our next camp-out.

Um, Thanks...

So, I got a book in the mail today. It was in Amazon packaging. There were no slips of paper inside. Just a book. I did not order it. I have no idea who sent it to me. So, if it was you...thanks. I'll even write you a thank you note if you tell me who you are.

Deal Alert

Got this tip from a friend on Facebook. Not sure when it expires, so do it quickly.

At crocs.com there are lots of crocs on sale for as low as 9.99 right now. Most of them are sports team related for kids. But many other things were on sale as well. Use the coupon code "secondchance" and you get an additional 15% off PLUS free shipping. The free shipping will not show up until the very end so don't fret if it says $2.99 shipping at first. It will get taken off as you place the order.

I bought UT crocs for the boys and a cute purple Mickey Mouse mary jane style pair for Ava for $29 total.

Haha

I was changing Lucas' diaper the other day. As I was finishing up that chore he turned to me and out of the blue said, "Wow. You are really good with your hands."

It Worked...Sort Of

I did a pyramid scheme and actually got something in return. I know, it's shocking. I usually throw those kinds of letters away. Especially when I am asked to bother 6 friends so they can bother 6 of their friends to mail a recipe to someone they don't know. Yea such fun! I always think, I don't need recipes from a stranger, this is too much effort, I don't even have 6 friends...etc, as I throw it in the trash. I never contact the person who sent it and tell them I am not participating either. It always states that somewhere in the letter: Please let me know if you can't do this within a week as it is unfair to everyone else... What's unfair is getting bombarded with requests for stupid things like this. But, this time, it was different. It involved books. And we all know I have a hard time saying no to books. I thought, why not? It says I will get 36 books in return for mailing just one book to a stranger. (Yeah right, I never expected to get 36 in return, are you kidding me?) I did have to bug 6 friends, but I took out the line that instructs people to tell me if they can't do it. Instead, I told them I don't care if they do it or not. Feel free to throw this letter away, with my blessing! And voila, after a couple of weeks the books have started pouring in! Well, not pouring, exactly. I've gotten 3. But that is still a hefty return on my investment of one book. And one of the books I got was a book I have really been wanting to read: Julie and Julia: My Year of Cooking Dangerously. (It wasn't that great, by the way, so yea for getting it for free!) It has been fun getting these surprise packages in my mailbox. I'm glad that for once I shed my natural dislike of the pyramid scheme and had a little fun. But, please don't take that as an invitation to mail me a request. I'm 95% certain to throw the next one in the trash.

Mediocre

I've been reading a lot of books lately and most of them have been mediocre. Out of the last dozen or so books I've read, with the exception of the first two books in a trilogy by Suzanne Collins and one Stephen King book, the ratings have been 5, 6, occasionally 7. These books aren't terrible. I've gotten something out of them, even enjoyed them to some degree. But I am itching for a book to just blow me away. I want to get swept up in something. I want to be deeply affected, deeply moved. I need another The Book Thief, or The Forgotten Garden, or Dune to fall into my hands. Suzanne Collins, please hurry up with that last book of The Hunger Games trilogy. Until then, anyone got a book suggestion for me?

Break Out

I love this picture my in-laws took of my boys last week. It looks like they just broke out of a high security area and are making a run for it. Those two scoundrels...risk-taking, cool under fire, future secret agents. I can almost picture them scaling that wire fence, deftly gliding over the barbed wire as they drop silently to the ground below. What a team. I know, I've seen too many James Bond movies. I can't help it.

Loving This Weather

The weather the past week or so has been perfect! Cool jacket-requiring mornings turning into sunny warm afternoons. We have not turned on our heater yet, so for about a month or more there has been no A/C or heat running up our electricity bill. The only drawback has been that our house has stayed pretty chilly, even on these nice sunny days. It's been about 68 inside even when it's 75 outside. I've found myself going to the sunroom or deck to warm up. I feel like a cat when I do that. But I can't complain. This is the perfect time of year as far as I'm concerned.

And the leaves are really starting to turn colors. I've had a few people express doubt that fall in Texas can be beautiful. The Northeast gets all the press when it comes to colorful leaves. And they probably are more stunning than other areas of the country, but that doesn't take away from the beauty here. I've seen trees that look absolutely on fire with red and gold. I love it.

Now, we just need to add the food. By that, I mean Thanksgiving. Give me the murmur of family visiting, a t.v. football game in the background, a good book in my hand, and a buffet of delicious food sitting out for intermittent grazing and I am set.

Mixed Messages

Ava got on a sign-making kick today. Not sure what prompted it, but I have found signs taped all over the house. For a while today she even walked around with a "kick me" sign taped to her back. Most of the signs are concentrated on her bedroom door, but they are slightly misleading. Upon closer inspection, the signs under the cheery pink "Welcome" sign are a bit less welcoming.




(By the way, Ava's school is selling that ready to bake cookie dough for a fund-raiser. $12 a tub, or $14 pre-portioned cookies. Both 2.7 lbs. Almost every flavor imaginable. Just email me if you want to order, and I will have her call you. She's much friendlier on the phone than these door signs imply.)

Pumpkins

Cody got into a pumpkin-carving frenzy the day before Halloween. He found this great website with tons of templates that could be printed. Bookmark it now for next year. We had three pumpkins, so he carved each of them in a different way. The longhorn was not a template from the site I mentioned. I had to draw that one.