This summer we decided at the last minute to go on a camping trip to Farragut National Park . We had not been camping as a family in 5 years!! We decided to only go for 2 nights. Partly because I hate being dirty, bugs, and only getting only a few hours of sleep. I should point out that the reason we had not been camping in so long is because our kids wake up at the crack of dawn. Not to mention that we had a child that had night terrors. When we lived in California, we used to go to Sunset beach. Well, our kids were all awake BEFORE sunrise. You know when it is still pitch dark outside? And not only were they awake, but they were loud! So, we would pack everyone up in the car and drive to Monterey (about 30 minutes away) and see the sunrise there. As we would pull back into camp, my parents and sisters family would be just getting up. It was a great time during the day, but the nights and early mornings were horrible. So, fast forward 5 years to our family campout August 2007.....
Nathan "helping" set up the tent
Did I happen to mention
that I hate being
dirty?
"The Boys" playing frisbee golf
The kids just sittin' around...shocking!
This is Beaver Bay, it was
Gorgeous!! What a fun day!!
Todd and the kids at the
lake. We actually saw
a snake on the hike to
this spot...Eeeewww
Yuck!
So, why do we do it? It takes us hours to pack up everything we are going to possibly need for the next 48 hours (which is A LOT, by the way), stuff it all in the car, drive up to the camp site while the kids are fighting, unpack it all and set up camp, have to cook outside with the bugs, sleep in a tent with all of your kids, be woke up all through the night listening to them grind their teeth and talk in their sleep, and then have them wake up so early that no one else in the camp is even up yet. So, why do we do it, just so we can live outside for 2 days? When we could just stay home? All of our stuff is already here, we have TV, and electricity, and microwaves here. Why do we put ourselves through it all? I knew the answer when I looked at these pictures. Even though is is a ton of work, we are making memories and traditions with our family. And even though we were up, had breakfast, packed our entire camp, went for a hike, and were in the car driving away at 9:34 AM., I wouldn't trade those memories for all the sleep in the world.
2 comments:
What a cute little family!
(And if you want to fix that blank space at the bottom...Click on New Post--at the top of your page--then find the tab that says Edit Post, then find the post you want to Edit...click on Edit there and then delete all of the space at the bottom.)
I hate how it does that when you add pictures!
I love our camping memories as a family and I hate camping. It is such an ordeal. I have a new respect for my parents dragging us out to the campgrounds every year.
I wonder if I will be as ambitious with my own kids. . .
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