Tuesday, June 24, 2008

what i learned while camping...

hey again, husband is mowing the lawn so i get a little more time to write the post that i wanted to write about our camping trip (and not just a sad rememberance of our pets)...so here goes...

1. i need to put things down more often and just do imaginary play with belly -she had a blast having our full attention and playing things like horse riding on our back around the campsite. i taught her to say "whoa" to stop your horse, click and give a little kick to go. i taught her that a kiss and a slightly bigger kick means that you want your horse to canter/gallop. i learned that running around a campsite with a 40 lb. kiddo on your back is tiring in the 75 degree sun. but i loved every minute of our pretend time with her. and it was awesome to see her imagine and create without anything made out of plastic in our vicinity.


2. belly has some pretty good photography skills - and may need her own camera in the near future because she LOVES taking pictures - but my question is...do you get her one of those child-proof ones...or get her an actual camera and expect some amount of responsibility? here is why i ask...she's got an eye for that sort of thing.


oops...he came back in and needed lunch...but - no fear, my dear - i'm back...onto number...
3. i love having small (er) feet - my dad, having bought belly a pair of keens, told me awhile back that he would contribute $50 towards a pair of keens for myself if i found some. well, lo and behold, on our way out of town we had to stop at a camping store for a necessary 2nd child's camping chair... and i was checking out the footwear selection and i found adult women's keens for $94.99 and children's keens for $49.99. and they had a size 6. ta-dah...a 6 fits a small (er) woman's foot. see here...
turns out that he was still willing to offer $50 towards my keens :)
and honestly...if you camp or hike...these are the way to go. husband was kinda sad that he doesn't fit in children's sizes...sucks to have big feet, huh?
4. my girly-girls are so lucky to have such an awesome relationship with their boppa - no explanation necessary...see below.


hmmm, interesting...no pics with coconut...oh yeah, that's because i was probably carrying her!

5. breastfeeding while camping is the way to go - it would have completely sucked having to have bottles around. it was so easy to just sit and nurse her as she needed. we nursed on a rocky shoreline, we nursed in the tent, we nursed by the campfire, we nursed at the jack johnson concert dancing in the sling...
i would not have been able to imagine having either a bottle or cooled milk during all of those times. i'm enjoying nursing her during this final period and am so glad that i kept it up...

6. not everyone can define "flat" in the same way - we were brought to our campsite camping area at the jack johnson concert. the man on the 4 wheeler told us, "don't worry, once you are down a little ways on the hill...there are flat spots." what? a hill with flat spots?? i think not. a hill is a hill buddy. we slid all night long. we had to adjust our sleeping bags several times during the night. coconut found it funny to roll during an attempted nap. seriously...i'm guessing 20 degree angle.

7. i am glad that i am no longer 18-19-20-21 and still partying - although they looked like they were having a blast (and i'm sure many of them were)...i know all-too-well how crappy they will feel the next morning. and i think waking up to 2...i mean...3...smiling faces next to me is way too much fun.

8. my baby is NOT just an accessory - one girl commented (in a sickly sweet voice), "oh, that's super cute, you brought your baby." another group of boys whispered to one another (in voices loud enough for us to hear), "man, that would suck having to bring your baby along."
honestly, i didn't say to myself on sunday morning...hmmm, what should i wear tonight...oh yeah, my green pants would look really hot with my baby in her sling. i think i'll wear that.
or...
should i, shouldn't i bring the kids? these are my children...someday...i promise that most of you will understand. you bring them because seeing all of these things through their eyes and experiencing things with them is ultimately so much better than doing it alone.

9. i LOVE rock hunting - i love looking for agates on the north shore. i have ALWAYS loved looking for agates on shores of lake superior. it's like finding a buried treasure. i love collecting the rocks and filling my pockets and i am super excited that the girls are finding as much joy in doing it as i am. an agate is definitely worth the sun-burn.

10. i'm a lucky mama - i have two beautiful girls (that are growing and growing - did i mention that coconut started walking at the jack johnson concert?), an awesome husband (that will fill his pockets with rocks if asked), wonderful friends (and beautiful children to spend time with), opportunites that other's don't have (and keens to walk me through them), a terrific man that is my daddy (and my girl's boppa) and i love my life.
p.s. anyone know how to crop that and make it into my header?

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Another rock collector - goody! My family thinks I'm insane because I look for rocks everywhere I do.

Connie said...

We love rock hunting AND Jack Johnson!