Camping 101

The family made our way to the Frio River last week and had a great time. We enjoyed time with Momsie and Pops, Sharon and Russell, Debbie and Mike, Tommy and Shea and Samantha, Erin and Caitlin and of course the Lehman family. Here are a few things we learned while on this trip that I thought we'd share:

Lesson 1: Do not leave a two year old ALONE in a rented camper WITH THE KEYS unattended. We learned this the hard way when Elizabeth not 30 minutes after we arrived and were getting situated locked herself in the camper...alone...with the keys inside with her. Nobody panicked and we must have all looked crazy screaming through windows trying to get Elizabeth to unlock the door, try windows, etc. We were about to try having her flush the keys down the potty (thank God it didn't come to that), when Pops said to try prying open the front window. It worked and thank God (again) that I have a very good listener and Elizabeth was able to pass us the keys through the crack. All was well, but what a way to start a trip.


Lesson 2: Rope swings really are fun! There was a rope swing right by our camp site that we were by pretty much every day. Cassie, Tenley and Michaela were jumping off of it one day and Trace decided he wanted to give it a try. I was pretty impressed with him and how brave he was. He held on tight and made his way into the water (where he insisted someone be ready to catch him) and ended up doing it over and over. Of course, then Elizabeth had to give it a go as well. She pretty much just held and fell, but it was a start. JP and I both took our turns too and had lots of fun.

Lesson 3: Tubing is way more fun when the water is flowing. It rained off and on the first day and a half, so once the sun came out, we were ready to tube. A big group went and we took both kiddos along. It was great to have water in the river and the kids really enjoyed themselves. Elizabeth just wanted to get out and swim in the "wiver". Trace was cool until he got dinged on the bottom by some rocks in a couple of low spots.

The next day, we tried a different tubing route and this time, the water was not so hot (meaning...there wasn't enough water to actually float). There was quite a bit of walking and thank goodness for Cassie and Michaela who pulled the rest of us a lot too. In the end, this trip took almost 3 hours and wasn't the best one ever, but we had a great time anyway.

Lesson 4: Apples to Apples is a winner! The late night game of choice this year was Apples to Apples. It really is amazing how funny this game can get with the choices that are made and the arguments made to support ones cards. If you've never played, I recommend it, but just know that the winner really isn't any better than you. They just got lucky!

Lesson 5: This family likes to cook and eat. This last lesson isn't a hard one to learn since JP and I love to eat, but JP always proves himself the cook when we camp. Somehow he has turned into the resident griller onsite and everynight he makes sure there is a hot fire in the grill and that he gets everyones food cooked just right. He did great again this year and we were all thankful for him.

Elizabeth also proved that she can cook...well, she can cut bananas like no other 2 year old I know. I was craving some good 'ole banana pudding. So, I made the pudding and I left her to the bananas. She did great and it was fun to see her working to hard. The pudding turned out great so thanks to her for her help as well.

Final Lesson: Elizabeth still needs a little work on softer love. So, I have posted about Elizabeth before, but maybe not about how she seems to have trouble being "gentle". When she is around babies or other kiddos smaller than her (not necessarily younger) she wants to love on them so bad, but she ends up loving a little too hard and it looks more like a tackle or bear hug. This year, Tommy and Shea came along with Samantha (Sam or Sammie for short) and she's about 15 months. Well, I warned them both as soon as I saw them of Elizabeth's ways and tried to keep a watchful eye when the two girls were close. Sure enough though, one morning, Elizabeth went in for the hug and sure enough it was exactly like I'd tried to descibe. Elizabeth is taller, so her arms went around Sam's neck. But then Elizabeth picked her up and spun her around. I know it is horrible to laugh, but I can now because no one was hurt (thank God). Shea and I both quickly moved in and broke up the love fest and Sam just looked a little shocked. It was only after this that I found out that Tommy is a little protective of his first born. So, I again apologize for the few seconds of pure terror that Tommy must have felt and truly appreciate the fact that Shea could laugh along with me (even if she too was slightly concerned for her daughter). In the end, I truly believe that Frizzie (short for Frizzie Lizzie, Elizabeth's nickname) has wonderful intentions, she just REALLY needs to work on toning down her strength (wink, wink).