One Last Hoo-rah
I have now officially survived all the summer trips! This morning Terence pulled me close and told me he is so glad he's got me home for good. Well, at least until next summer probably. (We really hate being separated. I'm glad he doesn't travel for work like my father!)
This last trip was the annual summer campout with Grandpa. It was my second year-- with K old enough to go, my dad requested additional parental help. Terence can't take the time off right after the family vacation time, so I'm IT. This year I was herding B, K and my niece Olivia.
Fitting in this camping trip is always a juggling act. It needs to fit my dad's travel schedule (tricky, as it's rare that he's home for a full week), my brother-in-law needs to be able to make it from California with his boys, and it has to take place before my kids go back to school-- which in our neck of the woods is mid-July (nuts, right?). We also try to schedule it for sometime in July in hopes that the monsoon rains will have started and all the fire restrictions will be eased so we can have a campfire. This year we must have timed it exactly wrong. They still hadn't lifted the fire restrictions (no fires, not even charcoal), yet the monsoon rains were coming in force.
We got drenched. I mean, DRENCHED.
It wasn't incessant. I'm grateful for that much at least. We were able to set up (and take down) camp in a dry spell. But the rain meant no fishing success and a lot of shivering. My niece came up with a pair of jeans she refused to wear and no coat. Fortunately, my dad had a smallish camo coat for her to borrow. But mostly I stared in disbelief as she ran around in a tank top and shorts while I shivered in my coat and jeans. (Yes, Arizona can get cold in the summer. Our campground was approximately 8,000 feet above sea level!)
Friday night I hit my limit. The rain chased my group into bed a little early (what fun is it staying up past dark with no campfire anyway?), and we had been hanging out for about an hour when I realized that our tent was leaking. Water was coming in at the edges and even starting to drip in a couple of place from the ceiling.
Oh heck no!!!
Remember how I am not a camper? I especially loathe sleeping in tents. Now I get around that by sleeping in a huge ten person tent on a queen size pillowtop air mattress. But the kids were tucked in the edges and there was no way I was having all three of them cram on top of me for the night. So we grabbed everything that absolutely couldn't get wet, moved the rest of it more or less into the center of the dry zone, and sprinted for the van. Then I drove an hour into Show Low where we camped out in my parents' summer trailer.
It was an interesting night. My parents recently bought a tiny single-wide trailer next door to my aunt and uncle in Show Low. They were spending their nights in the trailer and only coming up to the camp site during the day (my dad's health not being the most cooperative right now). So it was a bit crowded. Luckily it has an Arizona room (kind of a closed in porch) with a twin bed and a trundle. My mom set up a camp cot too. I didn't have any pj's (and the kids had nothing but their pjs), but I had grabbed my toiletries kit so at least we all had toothbrushes. But though we were inside and dry, for the life of me I couldn't sleep. The bed I was on was too soft. I felt like I was sinking into a seriously under-inflated air mattress. So I moved onto the recliner, which was far more comfortable, except that every time I moved the seat back jerked upright. Then I tried the floor but OUCH. No. Too hard. Finally went back to the ultra-soft-help-me-I'm-sinking mattress. It was the best of the options. I felt like Goldilocks, only I never found the bed that was just right!
Yeah, I'm spoiled. I know it.
But it was glorious to sleep in my own bed last night, cuddled up with my husband. Friday night helped me appreciate it just that much more!
Now without even a breather it's time to head into back to school mode. We have kids in three different schools this year-- and those schools are in three different districts. Which means three completely different school schedules. Actually, it's four school schedules, because J will be attending seminary at a different high school from the one's he's attending. I'm hoping that I don't utterly lose my mind.
Wish us luck!!! Good luck also to those of you hitting the back to school trenches with us! To the rest of you--
Happy Summer!!
This last trip was the annual summer campout with Grandpa. It was my second year-- with K old enough to go, my dad requested additional parental help. Terence can't take the time off right after the family vacation time, so I'm IT. This year I was herding B, K and my niece Olivia.
Fitting in this camping trip is always a juggling act. It needs to fit my dad's travel schedule (tricky, as it's rare that he's home for a full week), my brother-in-law needs to be able to make it from California with his boys, and it has to take place before my kids go back to school-- which in our neck of the woods is mid-July (nuts, right?). We also try to schedule it for sometime in July in hopes that the monsoon rains will have started and all the fire restrictions will be eased so we can have a campfire. This year we must have timed it exactly wrong. They still hadn't lifted the fire restrictions (no fires, not even charcoal), yet the monsoon rains were coming in force.
We got drenched. I mean, DRENCHED.
It wasn't incessant. I'm grateful for that much at least. We were able to set up (and take down) camp in a dry spell. But the rain meant no fishing success and a lot of shivering. My niece came up with a pair of jeans she refused to wear and no coat. Fortunately, my dad had a smallish camo coat for her to borrow. But mostly I stared in disbelief as she ran around in a tank top and shorts while I shivered in my coat and jeans. (Yes, Arizona can get cold in the summer. Our campground was approximately 8,000 feet above sea level!)
Friday night I hit my limit. The rain chased my group into bed a little early (what fun is it staying up past dark with no campfire anyway?), and we had been hanging out for about an hour when I realized that our tent was leaking. Water was coming in at the edges and even starting to drip in a couple of place from the ceiling.
Oh heck no!!!
Remember how I am not a camper? I especially loathe sleeping in tents. Now I get around that by sleeping in a huge ten person tent on a queen size pillowtop air mattress. But the kids were tucked in the edges and there was no way I was having all three of them cram on top of me for the night. So we grabbed everything that absolutely couldn't get wet, moved the rest of it more or less into the center of the dry zone, and sprinted for the van. Then I drove an hour into Show Low where we camped out in my parents' summer trailer.
It was an interesting night. My parents recently bought a tiny single-wide trailer next door to my aunt and uncle in Show Low. They were spending their nights in the trailer and only coming up to the camp site during the day (my dad's health not being the most cooperative right now). So it was a bit crowded. Luckily it has an Arizona room (kind of a closed in porch) with a twin bed and a trundle. My mom set up a camp cot too. I didn't have any pj's (and the kids had nothing but their pjs), but I had grabbed my toiletries kit so at least we all had toothbrushes. But though we were inside and dry, for the life of me I couldn't sleep. The bed I was on was too soft. I felt like I was sinking into a seriously under-inflated air mattress. So I moved onto the recliner, which was far more comfortable, except that every time I moved the seat back jerked upright. Then I tried the floor but OUCH. No. Too hard. Finally went back to the ultra-soft-help-me-I'm-sinking mattress. It was the best of the options. I felt like Goldilocks, only I never found the bed that was just right!
Yeah, I'm spoiled. I know it.
But it was glorious to sleep in my own bed last night, cuddled up with my husband. Friday night helped me appreciate it just that much more!
Now without even a breather it's time to head into back to school mode. We have kids in three different schools this year-- and those schools are in three different districts. Which means three completely different school schedules. Actually, it's four school schedules, because J will be attending seminary at a different high school from the one's he's attending. I'm hoping that I don't utterly lose my mind.
Wish us luck!!! Good luck also to those of you hitting the back to school trenches with us! To the rest of you--
Happy Summer!!
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