tent camping

the saturday before father's day we went camping. tent camping to be specific.

i used to go camping all the time when i was a kid, but havent gone in years. i dont think jesse has ever been. last summer, i slept in our tent in the backyard with the kids just for kicks. the kids loved it, but my back was hurting from sleeping on the ground. so needless to say, we were somewhat prepared for what we were about to do. at least i was.

our tent, is a backpacking tent (2-3 person). i didnt see a need to buy a slightly bigger tent when i knew this would probably be the last time we would go camping. we brought our air mattress too for a little bit of comfort. lots of pillows and blankets too.

we checked in at our campsite at lake perris around 2pm and we started unloading and setting up our tent and bedding. our small little tent looked so puny among all the other monster tents and rv trailers. before we left i measured out our tent with masking tape on our carpet to double check that our air mattress would actually fit inside. it would. the only thing i didnt take into consideration was the small task of getting it in the door. our pump was electric, so we had to go someplace else to pump up the mattress and then bring it back to our tent. we couldnt blow the mattress up all the way, because we knew we would have to fold it a bit to get it in the door. i am sure that the people around us, were laughing at us. oh, i forgot to mention, that while we left our tent to go blow up the mattress and borrow a hammer for our tent stakes, our tent started to blow away. our kindly neighbors had to put a huge rock inside to avoid us being without a temporary home. we really were being laughed at.

once we finally got everything set up, the fun actually started. we ate hotdogs and carne asada. the kids rode bikes and played catch. jj brought his latest obsession, a bird guide book from the library. he was convinced he was going to see a ton of birds and then he could identify them all with his handy book. i got to read in peace and quiet for a little bit. jesse and albert rode bikes down to the lake and back. it was very relaxing, but just really dirty. the entire time i felt dusty and grimy. after dinner, we roasted marshmallows, the kids did a talent show for us, and the kids told "ghost stories" to each other.

as the kids were getting their jammies on, i was setting up their small areas to sleep in. jesse told me that as he was carrying ellie over to the tent, she said, "i cant believe we are sleeping in a tent tonight!!!!" they both were so excited to be camping. once we all got in, we zipped up the tent and within 10 minutes, the kids were out like lights and we were staring at the ceiling of the tent. we couldnt sleep AT ALL!!! it was either car alarms, other people laughing or fighting or yelling, babies crying or squirrels running around our tent. by 2am, i dont remember getting much sleep. the temperature wasnt too hot or too cold, but a couple hours later, it was freezing! i kept trying to make sure jj was warm enough. that boy could sleep through anything, except the garage door opening (inside joke). he squirmed his way off of his pillow and his cushion. he was only sleeping on the liner of the tent, but apparently he didnt mind. all night long all i wished was that the sun would hurry and come up so that we could get on with the day. i was up and dressed by 630am.

at breakfast, all the adults shared that they didnt sleep either, but the kids all did. they were all bright eyed and bushy tailed. we pretty much ate breakfast, talked a little bit and started packing up. it was a super quick trip, but the kids loved every second of it. i guess that is all that matters.

once we got home, we showered and took naps. we then went to the movies and saw toy story 3. it was awesome!!!! i had heard great things about it. towards the end, i started to get choked up and teary eyed. i looked around me to make sure i wasnt the only one, and i didnt see anyone else crying. i felt like a nerd. then i saw a mom get a tissue out and wipe her eyes. yes!! i wasnt the only one. i really tried to keep it together, but i just couldnt hold back my tears.

by the sounds of it, i think jesse had a really good father's day. i think i will ask him to blog about it on the next post. you know, from the guy's perspective.

i hope everyone else had a great father's day and had a relaxing weekend.

our teeny tent

jj and jimmy researching the birds they think they will find

this shot is WAY overexposed. the lighting was off so i had to edit it so that i could see the bird. the story here is this, we went on an animal hike. we saw rabbits, quail, squirrels and a ton of birds. after we got back, jj says, "in a little bit i am going to start to search for the birds of prey". sure honey! whatever you say. like we are going to find a bird of prey out here. no joke, an hour later he says, "mama, come look a golden eagle!" so i walk over and sure enough, the boy found a bird of prey. incredible. i cant tell if it is a hawk or a golden eagle. i think its a hawk though. there were two. the other is behind the first one. you can only see it's claws.