nhv at scenic beach

It took NHV a few minutes to warm up to the idea of the beach. She even pouted a bit. However, she still looked adorable in her new polka dot bathing suit and floppy sun hat!  And I thought the driftwood was so cool!

Eventually daddy convinced her to give the water a try ...

And then the good times began ...

cjv at scenic beach

Between the amazing backdrop and the vivid red and blue of Charlotte's bathing suit, I could not take enough pictures!  Of course, Charlotte wanted pretty much nothing to do with looking at the camera, and who can blame her considering the alternatives ... rocks, shells, and water!

Finally, she at least looked up - not at me, but up enough to see her cute face and blue eyes!

Camping Trip

Camping.  If I'm being honest is something I only really enjoy because Chad loves it so much.  If the decision were all mine, I am not sure I would actually choose to go camping.  I would probably choose a cozy bed-n-breakfast in a beautiful setting, but I can certainly do without roughing it and sleeping on the ground and worrying about possible bear attacks.  Just being honest.  But Chad loves it and envisions a lifetime of family memories created around the campfire, which I must admit is a lovely sentiment.

I also know that camping is a great option for family vacationing.  If nothing else, it's fairly inexpensive - although if you consider the amount of "gear" Chad has purchased, I am fairly certain we could've gone to an all-inclusive resort in a tropical locale ... at least once if not twice :)  But the gear is an investment and can be used over and over again.  I totally get it.

As much as I love blogging and Facebook and all the rest, I really do like the idea of unplugging and spending time without technology ... making up games with sticks and singing ridiculous songs and focusing on the simple things in life.

And so, we went camping.  For one night.  It was a lot of preparation and then unpacking, but so worth it!

The trip started with our first ever ferry ride.  I am almost embarrassed to admit, we have lived here for five years and haven't taken a ferry until now!  It was a blast, and the weather was absolutely gorgeous - what are the chances!

 Our destination was Scenic Beach, and it definitely lived up to it's name.  I took a ton of photos during our hour on the beach and will try to post more soon!  But this gives you some idea of just how beautiful it was ...

 The rock-and-shell beach and chilly water did not seem to bother Charlotte one bit.  She wanted down and modified her crawl to a hands-and-feet variation.  She picked up rocks and clumps of seaweed and splashed in the water.  Charlotte appears to be an outdoorsy kind of girl! 

Natalie was drawn to the water but didn't really like walking on the rocks and shells.  There was also a pirate birthday party going on down the beach, which distracted her and made her feel left out. She pouted for awhile and then finally decided to enjoy herself.  She tossed rocks from the shore, walked in the water up to her knees, bent over to dunk her head in the water, and splashed with the reckless abandon of an almost four year old!

At the campsite ...

While Chad grilled dinner, I attempted to keep Charlotte entertained and somewhat confined.  She even played in the back of the car for a little while.

 But, ultimately, I had to give in a let Charlotte crawl around in the dirt.  She was beyond happy and filthy!

 Natalie entertained herself with stick collecting and looking for fairies in the surrounding woods.  And, yes, she wore a skirt and accessories ... while camping.  What can I say?!

After another walk to the beach and some time at the playground, we settled in for my favorite part of camping ... the campfire!

 Natalie enjoyed roasting the marshmallows, but did not enjoy getting her hands sticky and messy in order to eat the s'more ... so guess who got to feed her?

Around 8:00, both girls were showing signs of bedtime, so we followed our usual routine ... and then put them both in the tent.  C in her pack-n-play.  Natalie in a sleeping bag.  The next 30 minutes were filled with giggles and chatter as Natalie reassured Charlotte about sleeping in a tent.  There were also many calls for mommy and daddy followed by unzips and zips to check on them.  At one point, I found Natalie in the pack-n-play with Charlotte ... squealing and wrestling!  At that point, it became clear that falling asleep together was not an option. 

Poor Charlotte didn't get a nap, and both girls were so tired.  I strapped on the carrier and walked her to sleep - I toured the entire campground, saw a family of five deer, and ended up at the beach, which was quiet and serene and just showing signs of sunset.  All the while, Charlotte snoozed in the carrier.  I could feel her warmth and hear her soft breathing and sense the relief of finally sleeping.

Back at camp, Chad read books and chatted with Natalie.  She was ready to sleep by the time I got back.  The rest of the night went even better than expected.  Chad and I hung out by the campfire for another hour or so.  And then we all got a decent night's sleep.  We woke up around 7:30 and Charlotte slept another 20 minutes or so!

 
We enjoyed a leisurely morning at the playground, did a little more exploring, took a family photo, and then packed up and headed home.  And I can honestly say that I am looking forward to our next camping adventure ... as long as things go just as smoothly as this time!

Impromptu Camping

A newly finished post from July 11th ...

Chad called at 10:00 yesterday morning (while Natalie and I were eating breakfast because my sweet girl slept until 9:30) and asked if we wanted to go camping tonight. Hold up. What exactly was my husband asking? Allow me to translate: Hi, honey, would you like to ....

• Sleep in a tent - essentially on the ground - while pregnant AND with an almost-two-year-old?
  
• Entertain an almost-two-year-old around a campfire, large rocks, and annoying bugs?
  
• Pack enough food (and variety of food) to feed two adults and an almost-two-year-old for at least three meals and snacks in between?

My response, "Sure, I'll try anything once." We packed and headed out in the late afternoon. The campground and campsite were great, and the tent set-up was flawless. For dinner we roasted hot dogs and enjoyed fruit salad. Natalie played with her Little People, ate rocks, fell off the picnic table, ... basic toddler stuff. And we went for a walk along a mostly dry river bed before roasting marshmallows and calling it a night.

After about 12 hours in the great outdoors, Chad asked another question, "It's going to be at least five years before we try this again, isn't it?"

Honestly, it wasn't anywhere near that awful. Here are a few of the more memorable moments:

It took Natalie about two hours to fall asleep in the tent. All three of us went to bed (or sleeping bag) at the same time. In hindsight, we should've done a more "normal" bedtime routine and got her settled inside the tent. And then we should've hung out by the campfire and enjoyed some alone time while she fell asleep. Instead, she wiggled around in between us and had a hard time going to sleep because of the excitement of having us there.

I had to relieve my bladder about a bazillion times. Hey, that's what pregnant ladies do; I couldn't help it! The walk to the "pit toilet" wasn't bad - in daylight or even dusk - admittedly, the name is awful and the smell not so nice either. But in the middle of the night, there was no way I was going to stumble around like bear bait! Not even with the headlamp that Chad provided. Thanks, honey, now I can look like a dork while projecting a 12-inch radius of light and signaling the bears to my exact location! And so at some crazy hour of pitch-blackness, I asked Chad to go with me - away from the tent - so I could squat and get some much-needed bladder relief. I figure two humans must be more intimidating to bears, right? Besides, I needed someone to watch my back ... quite literally ... my bare, white little backside! Following my lead in his groggy state, Chad managed to scoot to the door of the tent ... and then zipped it closed behind me! I was like, what are you doing? Leaving me out here to die? He, of course, assured me I would be fine - he was watching. Yeah, I wasn't' even slightly reassured. So I tiptoed about two feet and dropped drawers within maybe a foot of the tent. I really had to go, and brave hubby left me no option.

5 Days to 2

We took an impromptu (and one-night) camping trip last night. More details about that in another post. But I have to tell you that my sweet almost-2-year-old was fairly easy to entertain at the campsite. A container of Little People, a handful of books, and a baggie of crayons did the trick ... well, almost.

While we made dinner, Natalie decided she wanted - more than anything - to be in the back of the car. She was in there for at least 20 minutes. She sat in the cargo area and read books and then climbed into the backseat to chat with her baby doll (wish I had a photo of that). I kept checking with her to see if she wanted to get out ... you know, to play in the great outdoors.

Once she did decide to get out - just as I was about to take the first bite of my roasted hot dog. Within about 30 seconds, Chad and I were wishing she would go back in!

She did take advantage of the opportunity to play in the great outdoors ...

climbing on every unsafe surface she could find,

getting closer to the fire than the 15-foot radius we established,

falling off the picnic table bench, running around with sticks,

and putting rocks in her mouth ...

to which Chad proclaimed, "This child won't put a bite of fruit in her mouth, but rocks - sure, why not?"