The Great Outdoors

We went camping this weekend - the first time since we moved here and since Lauren was born. I've been hesitant to go, knowing it would be challenging with an 11 month old, but we were invited to go with our friends Hannah and Nevin and their 12 month old, Freya. At least we would be in good company! And besides, we were only going an hour away from the house, for one night. How bad could one night be? Well....

The trip started ominously, as it was pouring when we arrived, which, of course, stopped the minute Tyrone and Nevin finished setting up our tent. Lauren missed her afternoon nap, which made her pretty punchy by the end of the day, and she went on a food strike, barely eating the whole time we were there. I got her to sleep that night in the tent, but she woke up screaming an hour later because she had managed to roll off the air mattress and was very confused about where she was. Although, I had to laugh at her confused, tired expression! Then when Tyrone and I went to bed around 10, she woke up and thought it was playtime (I suppose introducing her to the concept of sleeping between mommy and daddy isn't the best thing to do on a camping trip) until about 2 am. Then she slept fitfully the rest of the night. Suffice it to say, we were all pretty tired the next day. Fortunately (unfortunately?) Hannah and Nevin also had a rough night with Freya, so the activity in our tent didn't bother them at all.

But it wasn't all bad. It was very calming to be in the great outdoors, surrounded by such beautiful scenery. The stars at night were awesome and it was just plain relaxing to sit by the fire, eating smores and chatting. We took a neat hike on Sunday morning, and it was such a joy to see Lauren experience nature and camping for the first time. We will definitely do it again, just a little differently next time!

Check out Lauren's "I'm done with this" expression from our hike on Sunday...

Lauren and Freya -