We went camping last night in Mackay. The in-laws go up there every weekend during the summer (not just June, July and August; they start in May and go clear through September and sometimes into October). They've currently got a ten-day trip going, which is how we were able to see them in the middle of the week. Most of the time in Mackay is spent four-wheeling, while some is set aside for eating and lounging in the air-conditioned camper.
We slept in a tent*, because the in-laws haven't decided on which gigantic camper they'd like to get when they upgrade, and the current camper is too small for everybody. The boys enjoyed the tent. They bounced on our air mattress**, which unfortunately didn't have much air in it because the batteries in the pump were weak. David and I lay down with the boys in an attempt to get them to sleep; it was futile. David tried rubbing Owen's back to soothe/calm him. Owen, in turn, started rubbing Drew's back, and Drew started rubbing mine. It was very cute, but no one was getting any sleep, so David and I left the boys to themselves. Drew seemed to fall asleep at once, and Owen, after screaming bloody murder for about five minutes, followed suit.
After chatting with the in-laws and their relatives for a while, David and I finally went to join the boys in the tent. The boys left just enough room on the air mattress for one person, and David was gentlemanly enough to let me have it. I wish I could say it was comfortable, but it was probably the worst night's sleep I've had. Perhaps ever. Because the air mattress was slightly deflated, I sunk through to the ground, surrounded by puffy mattress, so I couldn't really roll over. Also hindering my movements was Drew, who apparently needed to snuggle with someone. He wouldn't snuggle with Owen, though; Owen tosses and turns in his sleep, and at one point ended up with his head on Drew's stomach, thus causing Drew to wake up and scream. After that, it seemed like every time Owen even touched Drew, Drew would scream. It happened, like, five times. At least.
Finally, morning broke, bringing with it hot, hot weather. I put sunscreen on the boys and myself before we even left the tent, but felt the need to reapply less than two hours later. And I still got a little sunburned.
After a delicious breakfast (waffles, pancakes, sausage, eggs, and I didn't have to cook anything! It was so nice!) we went four-wheeling. The thing with the four wheelers was this: we could hardly get Owen away from them (every time we turned around, Owen would be attempting to climb onto one), and we could hardly get Drew near them. But we decided to take both boys for a little ride. It was a pretty flat dirt road we took them on; just bumpy enough in places so that Owen was happy, but mostly smooth so that Drew wasn't scared.
At the beginning of the ride, Drew was crying and carrying on, but he knew we were doing something most people consider fun, so between sobs he would yell, "Whee!" Sometimes the "whee" blended in with the "waah" making for a very comical exclamation. By the end of the ride, Drew was having lots of fun, pointing at things we passed along the road, and putting his hands on the handlebars like he was the one driving. Also by the end of our ride, Owen had discovered the throttle, and David let him hold it down while they cruised along in fifth gear with the engine revving at 7500 RPMs (all I know about that is it means they were going fast). Owen squealed with delight (uncharacteristic for him; he keeps a straight face most of the time, even when he's having fun). I'm glad I didn't find out about it 'til later. It still makes me nervous, thinking about it.
We had a great time. Owen was so mad when we got home. We got out of the car and he started crying. I asked him if he wanted to stay with Grandpa and ride the four wheelers. He said, "Yeah." in a sad, tiny little voice. He felt better after a nap, though, and after a wade in the pool, but I think we'll have to go up to Mackay more often. It's good for the boys to spend time doing stuff like that with their dad and grandpa.
*I was OK with this, because camping to me means a tent and no showers. Although, I won't turn down a flush toilet and a sink with running water; I'm not that nature-y.
**In the old days, I would have vetoed this (as well as cots--right, Kadee?) but I'm not as limber as I once was...
2 comments:
Cute story - I love the "wheeee" part. My condolences on trying to sleep on an air mattress. That was our guest bed for a while until we got up one morning to find my cousin Greg and his wife on a completely deflated mattress. They were kind about it and claimed it didn't really bother them to sink to the floor at 2 a.m., but we felt so bad! I haven't used one since.
There's nothing like camping with kids, eh (we only live about 30 minutes from Canada so I feel like I can throw "eh's" out occasionally and get away with it)? We have only been twice and it was when Gracie was a baby. We didn't have an air mattress and Todd was pretty grumpy about having to sleep on the bumpy ground without one, not that I was all that pleased about the situation, it was VERY bumpy.
It sounds like a fun outing, even if the night was long!
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