Camping

As many of you know, Matt and I attempted our first camping trip with M and S this past weekend. Here are a few pictures showing how our trip started:

We packed the Venture (van) with everything we needed to enjoy the mountains. Mason and Smith are in there somewhere. By Friday at 1pm, we were on the road headed for our favorite campsite on the Boulder River. Woohoo! They boys were champions during the 3 hour scenic drive to our mountainous destination...no fussing or whining, just snoozing, babbling, and sucking on their favorite finger(s).
Lane and Bing had already secured a wonderful camp site.The boys were very obliging while Matt and I set up camp. They very much enjoyed throwing all their toys out of the pac-n-play.

Smith left, Mason right. They played and wrestled and talked...I thought to myself, "This bodes well for us..."

Friday evening, Matt and Smiggy went on a walk looking for morrels.

Papa and Mason taking in the refreshing mountain air.

Grammie and Mason snuggling before dinner.

That's how our trip began. As Friday evening came to close, we laid the boys down in the tent in their respective pac-n-plays and said "goodnight". This next picture represents how the rest of our camping trip played out:

We don't have any pictures to document the rest of the trip because I wasn't feeling like snapping any photos at 2, 3, or 4 in the morning when my sons were screaming, crying, and refusing to sleep. Ha.

Just as soon as we'd get Mason settled down, comforted, and asleep in his bed, Smith would wake up, start to cry, and rouse his exhausted brother to another fit and vice versa. At times, they were inconsolable, kicking, screaming, thrashing, refusing to be comforted. This went on all night long. Mason eventually settled down, snuggled up with his dad in a sleeping bag, and slept a few hours. (It might sound precious and snuggly, but sleeping with a toddler in a mummy bag doesn't really allow for much sleep.) Smith, we found out the following morning, was fighting a stomach bug and "slept" fitfully with me in my sleeping bag for half-hour stints. Poor little guy had the nastiest diarrhea that morning...nasty, nasty.

Me, at 3am or so: Matt? I don't know what to do!

Matt: Hell if I know!

Me: Why don't we just get up, pack up, and go home? We're not sleeping anyway and this is just miserable.

Matt: How long till morning, do ya think?

Me: Eternity.

We ended up sticking it out through the night, packing up that morning, and were on the road by 10am. The boys slept most of the way home, took long naps when we got home, and went to bed early. Smith was in bed by 5pm that night. Matt and I are still trying to recover.

Matt and I figured a number of factors influenced the boys' caustic reaction to sleeping in the tent:

1. They had never slept in a tent before.
   
2. It was cold...I was cold. They had on 3 layers of warm clothing but just weren't able to maintain any body heat.
3. They were sick. Smith with the bug and Mason cutting teeth.
4. They became so exhausted that they past the point of no return.

We decided to view the trip as a learning experience. Next time, we will camp closer to home...like Hyalite - only 20 minutes away should we need a quick getaway. We will camp at a lower elevation or later in the season so we can enjoy warmer weather. Next time, will be the boys' second camping trip, so it won't seem quite as foreign. (Notice the positive attitude, folks!)

Even though our first attempt wasn't a huge success, we plan to try again and again...and again. We're campin' folks and we know our boys will get better at it and really start to enjoy it some day soon.