This week was really just a normal week for us. Ben was feeling much better, and we were getting back to our normal schedules and routine. I watched Sadie, we went to story time at the library and BSF. On Thursday, it was just Samantha and I at home, so we had a good time having a more relaxed day. We even went on a leisurely family walk in the evening, allowing Samantha to stop and look at the trees and bushes with red berries on them. She always wants to pick the berries off like they are cherries or raspberries, like in Grandma's garden. In order for her to not pick the berries and try to eat them, we say that she needs to leave them there for the deer to eat.
This weekend, we had plans with Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy to go camping at McCormick's Creek State Park. We picked this weekend and made reservations well in advance, hoping that we would have no rain and a better experience than when we went camping in Wisconsin in June. However, as the weekend drew closer, there was a strong chance for thunderstorms most of Friday night, but then the rest of the weekend would be beautiful. So, we decided to stay home on Friday night and leave for the campground first thing Saturday morning. We didn't want to chance having our tent out in the rain again, plus, there's not much to do when you're camping and it is pouring outside. Matt and Christy also just stayed at our place on Friday night.
Saturday morning, after getting ready and dropping off Roscoe at the boarder, we arrived at the campground, made breakfast, and set up our tents. It was a nice day, just a little chilly. Our campsites were together with trees separating us from the other campers around us. Plus, there was a playground right past the trees, which made Samantha a very happy girl. She couldn't wait to go play on the playground after breakfast was over. I don't have any pictures of her playing, but Samantha is now an expert at riding the big girl swings. She will hold on with both hands and sit steadily on the swing while we push her back and forth, fairly high. She even does a good job of telling us when she wants to get enough so that we can stop the swing, instead of her just jumping or sliding off the moving swing. I have to admit that sometimes it still makes me a bit nervous when she in on the swing without a back because I am afraid of her falling off and hitting her head on the ground; however, she is fine and is even learning how to pump her feet forward and back to make the swing move by herself.
Once we had everything set up at the campsite, we decided to go walk on a trail. The trail we picked was a paved one so Samantha could just ride in her stroller, but there were these really pretty white flowers all along the path that Samantha was just fascinated with, so we had to stop and let her get out and touch them, and get her picture taken with them.
After our walk, we cooked out for lunch and then attempted to lay Samantha down for a nap. There was just too much excitement for her to sleep. Especially with the playground near by, she could hear all the kids running around and playing. We still left her in her pack and play for awhile to at least rest and have some time by herself, but after about two hours, we went in and got her up. (This was, however, her second day in a row without a nap, so we were hoping she would have no trouble going to sleep at night.)
We went over to a trail that led down to the waterfall and the creek below. Samantha loved seeing the water, seeing kids and dogs splashing around, and of course, wanted to walk in the water herself. The water was pretty cold, especially after all the rain we had the day before and throughout the night. However, Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy were willing to take Samantha into the water. So we rolled up her pant legs, took her socks and shoes off, and let her go off and explore, as long as she head the hand of an adult. She had a great time wandering around in the rocks (or I guess I should say being carried by someone who was wandering around in the rocks), watching and feeling the waterfall, and observing a crawdad climb up the rocks through the waterfall.
After having our fill of playing the water, we continued on our walk on the trail, stopping to look at a little shelter and to throw rocks into the stream. It's great to spend time outdoors with your family. I think it's so much more fun camping at a state park than at a private campground. I feel like it's more family oriented and there are usually many more activities and outdoor experiences at a state park. (Plus, it's a lot cheaper to reserve a site.)
It was then time for us to go back to our campsite and start cooking dinner before our hayride. Samantha was REALLY excited about the hayride and couldn't wait for the tractor to get started on our trip. The ride lasted almost an hour, driving us all around the state park, so it was definitely worth the few dollars that we paid for it.
Towards the end of the hayride, Samantha was getting a little antsy, plus it was getting a little chilly, so Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy kept her occupied by having a straw fight.
After our hayride, we went back to our campsite and started a campfire right away so that Samantha could have a s'more before she went to bed. (I know that doesn't sound very logical, does it? Giving your two year old a snack full of sugar and then putting her to bed, probably not the most brilliant idea. But we weren't thinking it would be too big of a problem since she didn't take a nap that day and was outside playing all day long.)
Samantha did go to bed pretty easily that night, which we were grateful for. However, it was supposed to get down into the upper 40s that night, so I was concerned about keeping her warm, especially since she doesn't keep her blanket covering her at night like adults do. I brought special footie fleece pajamas to wear that night, plus a heavier knit blanket to cover her with. When Ben and I came back into the tent after we had had our fill of s'mores and the campfire, Samantha was actually still covered up with the blanket, and I added an extra fleece blanket on top of that one for some extra warmth. Sometimes I feel like I get a lot colder than she does, so that's good. Maybe she has her daddy's genes in that regard.
She slept pretty soundly all night except for one time when she woke up and started crying. We think that she may have just woken up and not known where she was, which surprised her. We reassured her by saying, "It's okay. We're right here. Go back to sleep, sweetie." And that seemed to help her calm back down pretty quickly. However, right when she was about asleep, some people in the campground started laughing and talking really loudly on their way to the bathroom, waking Samantha back up again. Once that noise died down, we were all able to go back to sleep quickly until the morning light.
Samantha woke up at her normal time, around 7:30, which is much earlier than most people wake up who are camping. We tried to keep her in the tent for a little while before getting up and going to the bathroom to get dressed. The sun had not rose high enough to shine on our campsite yet, so it was still pretty cold that morning, even though we were dressed in layers. Samantha and I spent some time cuddled under a blanket around the fire, trying to warm ourselves up.
Later that morning, after breakfast, Ben finally told me that he wasn't feeling well, that pain in his abdomen started while he was sleeping and was continuing still, pretty strongly. We decided that I would just take him back home, since home was only twenty minutes away from the state park, so that he could call the doctor and rest. He ended up talking to the on call doctor who prescribed more antibiotics for him to take, and Ben spent the rest of the day sleeping on the couch at home. It seemed like he was having another attack of diverticulitis. I felt so bad for him. I just wish he could kick this sickness.
After I dropped Ben off at home, I went back to the campground to join the others. We took Samantha to the stables for a pony ride, went back to the campsite for lunch, and then worked on packing up all our tents and belongings. We drove back to our place so that I could put Samantha down for a good afternoon nap. It was really nice to have Matt and Christy with me because they are both so helpful, especially since I was on my own for taking everything down and putting everything away once we got back home. They helped me get things where they belonged, and greatly reduced the amount of work I had to do on my own, for which I was grateful.
While Samantha was sleeping, Matt, Christy, and I played a game of Ticket to Ride before they left to travel home to Chicago. We had a great weekend camping together, and even though it rained a lot on Friday night, it worked great going on Saturday morning. It's a lot more fun going camping with a group of people instead of with just one family, that way you can share in the work of preparing and cleaning up meals, starting and keeping the fire going, and setting up and cleaning up the campsite. I think Samantha really enjoyed her camping experience. She still talks about going to McCormick's Creek even today and often talks about all the fun things she can do with Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy.
Saturday morning, after getting ready and dropping off Roscoe at the boarder, we arrived at the campground, made breakfast, and set up our tents. It was a nice day, just a little chilly. Our campsites were together with trees separating us from the other campers around us. Plus, there was a playground right past the trees, which made Samantha a very happy girl. She couldn't wait to go play on the playground after breakfast was over. I don't have any pictures of her playing, but Samantha is now an expert at riding the big girl swings. She will hold on with both hands and sit steadily on the swing while we push her back and forth, fairly high. She even does a good job of telling us when she wants to get enough so that we can stop the swing, instead of her just jumping or sliding off the moving swing. I have to admit that sometimes it still makes me a bit nervous when she in on the swing without a back because I am afraid of her falling off and hitting her head on the ground; however, she is fine and is even learning how to pump her feet forward and back to make the swing move by herself.
Once we had everything set up at the campsite, we decided to go walk on a trail. The trail we picked was a paved one so Samantha could just ride in her stroller, but there were these really pretty white flowers all along the path that Samantha was just fascinated with, so we had to stop and let her get out and touch them, and get her picture taken with them.
We went over to a trail that led down to the waterfall and the creek below. Samantha loved seeing the water, seeing kids and dogs splashing around, and of course, wanted to walk in the water herself. The water was pretty cold, especially after all the rain we had the day before and throughout the night. However, Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy were willing to take Samantha into the water. So we rolled up her pant legs, took her socks and shoes off, and let her go off and explore, as long as she head the hand of an adult. She had a great time wandering around in the rocks (or I guess I should say being carried by someone who was wandering around in the rocks), watching and feeling the waterfall, and observing a crawdad climb up the rocks through the waterfall.
To continue on the next part of the trail, we had to go up the stairs that led down to the waterfalls. Samantha insisted on walking up the stairs all by herself, so we took a video of her.
It was then time for us to go back to our campsite and start cooking dinner before our hayride. Samantha was REALLY excited about the hayride and couldn't wait for the tractor to get started on our trip. The ride lasted almost an hour, driving us all around the state park, so it was definitely worth the few dollars that we paid for it.
Samantha did go to bed pretty easily that night, which we were grateful for. However, it was supposed to get down into the upper 40s that night, so I was concerned about keeping her warm, especially since she doesn't keep her blanket covering her at night like adults do. I brought special footie fleece pajamas to wear that night, plus a heavier knit blanket to cover her with. When Ben and I came back into the tent after we had had our fill of s'mores and the campfire, Samantha was actually still covered up with the blanket, and I added an extra fleece blanket on top of that one for some extra warmth. Sometimes I feel like I get a lot colder than she does, so that's good. Maybe she has her daddy's genes in that regard.
She slept pretty soundly all night except for one time when she woke up and started crying. We think that she may have just woken up and not known where she was, which surprised her. We reassured her by saying, "It's okay. We're right here. Go back to sleep, sweetie." And that seemed to help her calm back down pretty quickly. However, right when she was about asleep, some people in the campground started laughing and talking really loudly on their way to the bathroom, waking Samantha back up again. Once that noise died down, we were all able to go back to sleep quickly until the morning light.
Samantha woke up at her normal time, around 7:30, which is much earlier than most people wake up who are camping. We tried to keep her in the tent for a little while before getting up and going to the bathroom to get dressed. The sun had not rose high enough to shine on our campsite yet, so it was still pretty cold that morning, even though we were dressed in layers. Samantha and I spent some time cuddled under a blanket around the fire, trying to warm ourselves up.
Later that morning, after breakfast, Ben finally told me that he wasn't feeling well, that pain in his abdomen started while he was sleeping and was continuing still, pretty strongly. We decided that I would just take him back home, since home was only twenty minutes away from the state park, so that he could call the doctor and rest. He ended up talking to the on call doctor who prescribed more antibiotics for him to take, and Ben spent the rest of the day sleeping on the couch at home. It seemed like he was having another attack of diverticulitis. I felt so bad for him. I just wish he could kick this sickness.
After I dropped Ben off at home, I went back to the campground to join the others. We took Samantha to the stables for a pony ride, went back to the campsite for lunch, and then worked on packing up all our tents and belongings. We drove back to our place so that I could put Samantha down for a good afternoon nap. It was really nice to have Matt and Christy with me because they are both so helpful, especially since I was on my own for taking everything down and putting everything away once we got back home. They helped me get things where they belonged, and greatly reduced the amount of work I had to do on my own, for which I was grateful.
While Samantha was sleeping, Matt, Christy, and I played a game of Ticket to Ride before they left to travel home to Chicago. We had a great weekend camping together, and even though it rained a lot on Friday night, it worked great going on Saturday morning. It's a lot more fun going camping with a group of people instead of with just one family, that way you can share in the work of preparing and cleaning up meals, starting and keeping the fire going, and setting up and cleaning up the campsite. I think Samantha really enjoyed her camping experience. She still talks about going to McCormick's Creek even today and often talks about all the fun things she can do with Uncle Matt and Aunt Christy.
No comments:
Post a Comment