Camping

The boys and I went camping for Labor Day weekend this year. We have a group of close friends who go a couple times a year and are pretty much "camping experts." They invite us to go every time and have for years now.

Rod's answer EVERY time was "No thank you." He said that he had done his camping days out in Texas, under the stars, and he had no desire to do it anymore. Until, a couple of years ago. He decided we would go, as he wanted the boys to have this experience. Have I mentioned we have some pretty persistent friends? So, off we went, and let's just say that about everything that could go wrong, did! His words as we were driving away from the campground…"Never again."

So, fast forward to Labor Day weekend 2014. As always, we were asked to go. With some hesitation, I agreed to go. After all, the boys wanted to do it. Well, for the most part. Carson, who is the personality clone of his father, wasn't too thrilled, but he agreed nonetheless.

The place we stayed was beautiful with gorgeous hikes and a magnificent waterfall. The friends that went with us are really like family and so enjoyable. Being in the outdoors and unplugged is just good for the soul. Campfires and s'mores do something great for my mood. Having so many expert campers take care of the details and cook all the food makes it unbelievably easy. Watching your kids run free without a care in the world and play flashlight tag for hours vs. looking at an iPod is refreshing. Still, two nights has been declared the Cook's maximum camping threshold. 

Pouring rain, lightning, and thunder all night long. Watching drops of water begin to form inside the tent and proceed to run down the sides to make everything damp. A mattress that deflated every 1.5 to 2 hours with a slow leak to lower a 41 year old woman's back to the rocky terrain beneath. Bug bites and an 11 year old with a cast on his arm. These are what drove the Cook's to load up and drive right on out of that beautiful park one day earlier than anticipated. Not to mention, all of the emotionally hard parts for me, in not having my husband there with me…but that's another story for another time.

Memories were made and it's possible we will go back again (most likely in a rented pop-up camper). Honestly, though, we were all quite happy to be in our beds with the A/C pumping once we got home.