We had a fabulous time camping with our friends at Hillsborough River State Park this past weekend. I didn’t lose any children. I dodged an allergy attack. I even avoided being attacked by a wild boar or rabid raccoon or pecked to death by a hungry hawk.
Unfortunately, an asthma attack was unavoidable for my poor little Emmalynn and like fine neglectful parents, we forgot her nebulizer. Luckily, the campground was only about 30 minutes away from home and since Allan had to restock his beer, he found it in his heart to swing home to grab her “cloud machine”.
With each camping trip, my family and I are becoming old camping pros. We were far more organized for this trip than past trips. I honestly don’t know how we pulled it off! We arrived at the site around 1:30 with plenty of time to pitch the tent and get settled. Even our good friends, Erika and John were amazed with our efficiency.
Maybe it was the combination of Zyrtec and beer or the fact my youngest is growing up, but I felt so relaxed. Since we added Emmalynn’s potty chair as one of the essential items for the trip, she peed on the potty and stayed dry throughout the day and night. But most importantly, my little Houdini didn’t perform any disappearing acts by wandering off into the woods and she minded the camping rules.
Even Allana seemed to understand the rules a bit better for our third family camping trip. Perhaps it was the threat of staying in the car the entire time that helped modify her behavior.
Somehow, even the weather seemed to cooperate, with warm sunny days and cool evenings. It was the perfect weather for camping.
On Saturday, after Allan returned with the much needed nebulizer and beer, we hiked on a short mile or so trail along the Hillsborough River. We spotted a turtle, an armadillo and a huge golden orb spider. I gave each of the children paper bags to collect items while on our hike and after the hike, they made gorgeous collages with the items they collected.
When we returned home on Sunday, we picked up a hitchhiker on the way. We discovered this little lady hanging out on ceiling of my car.
I really enjoy camping but I truly cherish the memories we create for our children. These are the simple times that they will look back upon with delight and want to replicate for their children.
