Camping!

This weekend Julia and I went up to Devils Lake State Park with 20 families from our local FCC chapter for tent camping. David doesn't enjoy camping -- dirt, sleeping on the ground, walking to the bathroom, and cooking over an outdoor stove or a fire -- and so he spent a very quiet weekend in Madison. Although I am not willing to go camping alone, especially with Julia, I was willing to try it with a whole group of whom I know a number of families.

And so, we went.

I bought a tent at Target and a two folding chairs. I made arrangement to share food with my friend Cathy and her four girls (and 2 collies) which freed me from buying more stuff like a stove, some coffee maker, and packing a host of supporting cooking equipment. Instead, I made a warm pasta salad, a dinner salad, and brought speghetti and David's sauce as our major contribution to weekend food. I packed fruit, drinks, yogurt and milk, sleeping bags, an old quilt, more clothes than we needed, some just in case toys and headed upstate.

Julia helped me put up the tent and was thrilled with the idea that we were going to sleep in our "little house." Other people arrived, put up tents, started cooking and eating and a comunal camp fire was made and chairs were pulled up close. Julia ran around with other kids, Cathy's girls who are so sweet to Julia and just fold her into themselves. Julia roasted marshmellows for the first time and made smores. She and a little girl, named Lilly, burned marshmellows for any grownup who would take one.

A bit after 9, Julia crawled into my lap and sat quietly with me. I asked her if she wanted to go to our tent and go to sleep and she said yes. Getting her to sleep was easy.

Getting her up Saturday morning was pretty easy as well. And I was very happy that other kids and families were up early. We had a great Saturday, doing an easy hike, and playing with kids. Julia spent a good deal of time alone gathering bugs, putting them in a cereal bowl, feeding them leaves, grass, and corn chips, and showing them to anyone who would look and listen. We added our pot of pasta and sauce to the hot dogs, brats and the array of other dishes. Julia and the other kids chowed down and left room for more burned marshmellows and s'mores. Cathy brought a few pieces of dark chocolate and tasted awful good with a burnt marshmellow.

Julia asked to go to bed again last night and went to sleep as soon as she snuggled down into her sleeping bag. We woke up this morning, and after breakfast and packing up, Julia was ready to go home and see her Daddy. We had a great time. Julia's behavior was very good most of the time and she enjoyed the outside, the grown up and kids, and living in our "little house" for the weekend.