Camping

This last weekend we went camping. It was a monumental event. The last time I went camping was about 15 years ago. Long story short, it involved a torrent of water ripping through our tent (okay, I exaggerate, but only slightly) and it ended with Dalen and I sleeping on a picnic table under a pavilion in a public park. After that experience, I believe I said something very similar to "I will never, EVER, as long as I live, go camping again!" But I guess after 15 years, the awfulness of it has faded enough that I was willing to eat crow and give it another try. And what do you know, it was actually FUN! The kids thought it was great! I told Dalen that I might even be willing to consider going again sometime.

This trip was an Elder's Quorum activity for our ward, so that definitely contributed to making it fun ... and easy. The company was good, we didn't have to worry about food or stuff for a fire, there was help when we arrived with putting up the tent, and there were plenty of people to help keep an eye on the kids. How great is that?!

Sleeping in the tent was fun, although a cold front came in during the night and it got a little chilly. Seth and Aleah enjoyed it anyway. They were exhausted after running around all night with their friends and I think they were asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillows.

Josh was excited and kept yelling "My sleeping bag is swallowing me up!", among other things.

Anna ran around and around on the air mattresses. She had a hard time settling down. But she eventually fell asleep (thank heavens).

We went to Pedernales Falls State Park. It was beautiful! I had never been there before, but Dalen had been there with Seth and Aleah for Father/Son and Daddy/Daughter outings. It is not very far from where we live, so we'll definitely be going there again.

Seth is the one on the right walking across the rocks.

Here is Aleah - the one in the pink jacket.

Josh with his "best friend", Millie.

Not to be confused with his "favorite friend", Evie.

(He is quite the ladies' man, I suppose.)

Anna hiking with her dad.

Seth with one of his favorite friends ever, Wynton.

Seth and Aleah roasting marshmellows and making smores.

Anna waking up, after not much sleep, to a cold morning. She wasn't particularly happy. But she started to warm up as the temperature warmed up.

Here is at least part of the family. We couldn't even begin to keep up with Seth and Aleah, so they didn't get in the picture.

Dalen said the water was lower than he had ever seen it. But this way we were able to walk across the rocks to the other side of the river.

There were giant holes in the rocks everywhere.

(Wynton, Aleah & Seth)

Josh, Anna & Dalen.

So, here are some things I have learned from camping:

1. Dirt won't kill you! It was hard for me to believe, but I seem to have survived.

2. If you want camping to be enjoyable, you need "stuff". My family actually did a lot of camping when I was growing up and I always thought it was fun. But I think that was because my dad had invested in "stuff" from REI, not to mention trailers and motor homes. :) It might also have been because I was the kid and I didn't really do any of the work. But even when we went back packing, I don't remember feeling deprived. We were always warm and dry and well fed.

3. If you are going to go camping and you don't really know what you are doing and you don't have "stuff", it is a good idea to go with others. There is strength in numbers.

4. I need to be more grateful. I should never take for granted things like indoor plumping and vacuum cleaners and washing machines. I also need to be more grateful for the things people do for me. There was a lot of effort put into this camping trip by a lot of people and I got all the benefits of it. Also, 15 years ago on my last camping trip, I should have been more grateful for all of the arrangements that were made for that. It wasn't Mark's fault that it rained like crazy that night. And I am grateful for all those family camping trips that my parents arranged for us when we were kids. So, here is a big THANK YOU!!! And I'll try to do it in person too.

5. We live in a beautiful world. Sometimes it is nice to get away and enjoy God's creations.