Chicks Pitch Tents

Greta and I went camping this weekend. Just us. I wish it had been my idea, but it wasn't.  Kevin will always be the fun parent.  Even when he's not along to have the fun.

We chose our campsite from a list on the online reservations page.  All I knew about this place before we showed up was that it had a fire pit and no electric hookup.  We signed up for this exact spot for obvious reasons...

...and it turned out to be magical.  Flat and dry, secluded and quiet, and surrounded by green, green, GREEN in all directions.

The last time we took the kids camping, there was a whole lotta stress about getting the campfire started. (holy cow, has it really been that long since we last camped?) This time, the forest spirits smiled on us. Roaring fires both nights, record time. No delay in s'mores or hot dogs. 

A long time ago, when Kevin and I were kids, we used to camp in a little two-person tent with purple poles, a yellow and blue rain fly, and a moon roof for the nights when the rain fly wasn't on.  G and I took that tent this weekend, and woke up to this on Saturday morning.  The rest of the campground was completely silent, except for the birds.  Big rewards for the early risers.

Unlike that last camping trip, this time the camp coffee was a success.

We made it to the beach by 9 am, and didn't have to share it with anyone until nearly noon.  By then, we had a fortress of castles, moats and rivers.  I love that baby Magda, but wow, how awesome was it to play for hours without the angst of trying to keep sand on the beach and out of her mouth?  Pretty awesome.

The weekend wasn't entirely just Greta and I.  Omnipresent Beatrice and pillow joined as well.  I said it was green, right?

We took a cave tour on Saturday afternoon.  A big disappointment for Greta.  Crystal Cave is very light on the crystals.  She was underwhelmed by the dark, the formations, and the bats.  Where are the crystals?  Phosphorescence was kind of cool.  But not cool enough to make up for the famine of crystals.

I love my state.

A hike around the campground loop.  Don't tell anyone I let her pick the wildflowers.  This weekend, my rules were to not say no.  She hears it all the time.  It gets her down.

Especially when it's no, I can't pick you up right now, I have to hold Maggie.  There aren't a lot of emotions that kids her age can make sense of.  But this one stings.  I found her curled up under my covers one day, sobbing because You always put me down.  She meant it literally.  I put her down because I have to pick the baby up.  I felt like I'd been punched in the chest.  We both cried that day.

This weekend, we held onto each other for hours and hours.

Hey, Greta, have I mentioned that you are brilliant and beautiful lately?

We punked out and came home last night, late.  There were rumors of thunderstorms, and the thought of finishing out our weekend of awesome with trying to stuff away a wet tent and fold up a muddy tarp was a big turn off.  She helped me pack everything away and told me Thank you for saying nice things to me, Mom.  Thank you for reminding me to, daughter.