Happy Campers

You may or may not remember last year's Trip to the Mountains.  We wanted to camp overnight at Big Basin, but we ended up packing up at 11pm and heading home with our screaming mad daughter and completely disappointed boys.  It was time to attempt real camping again (more than a mere trip to the mountains), so last weekend we headed to the same spot for a one night stay.

I should mention that we camped with different friends. You know, ones who didn't exactly know what they might be getting themselves into (since last year our dear friends ended up taking down our tent and mattresses for us in the morning when we ditched them in the middle of the night after waking them with our unhappy camper).

I am pleased to report that we had a wonderful time camping! As soon as we arrived, Hayden was off rolling around (yes, literally) in the dirt, Caleb was finding all the previous campers' lost toys in the creek, and Avery and our 5 year old friend, Mia, were doing puppet shows using sticks and leaves as puppets.  We hiked a short distance through the redwoods, cooked our dinner over the fire, and enjoyed s'mores. Mia (who is Japanese-Mexican-American) was excited to participate for the first time in the American s'mores tradition, although I think our sweet toothed American children were even more excited.

Before long the kids said they were ready for bed.  It wasn't very late, but they were looking forward to sleeping in their sleeping bags in the tent.  After a realllllllllllly long time with lots of giggling and silliness, and after Daddy singing "Beauty and the Beast," and after Mommy offering a quarter to the first child to fall asleep, the kids finally went to sleep.  Avery woke up a few times during the night, but I helped her to get comfortable and she went back to bed each time.  No screaming, no anger. What a difference a year makes!

Success! We came home the next day tired, happy, and with a few mosquito bites. Can't wait to do it again! Our next goal is to survive camping for two nights.