Camping

Jus and I have always LOVED camping, but we haven’t been since Bryce joined our family (sad, I know). Then, last weekend we had a family reunion and we always go camping! We were so excited (and a little nervous to find out how Bryce would handle it)! We spent all week preparing to go. First we had to see how Bryce handled sleeping on an air mattress. We set one up in the living room and placed a thick blanket on top (without one, we’d have froze!). That night was HORRIBLE! In fact, Bryce woke up screaming every hour! After four hours we gave up and went back to our bed. The next night we tried again, but this time we took the memory foam pad off our bed and put it on the air mattress. That was the key! He slept so well that night!

The next problem we faced was the tent. Now, we have a pretty cool (really old) canvas tent we found at a yard sale a month before we got married (best $5 we ever spent!). Of course it is not perfect. Our tent as a special look to it, Great Granddad nicknamed it the Doctor Seuss house (a good fit). The poles bend and twist so it doesn’t stay up straight, but it is still a spacious tent and keeps the temperature inside pretty nice.   It has served us well over the past five years, but now that we have Bryce it needed some repairs. It spent the week in my living room while we sewed on some zippers and patched some holes. As much as I love that old canvas tent, it is pretty rank! It made my whole house stink! Although it was stinky, we decided to leave it inside so Bryce could get used to it. We didn’t want him to have a sensory overload our first night in it (the things we do for our children). Thank heavens it worked!

Bryce is almost as big as me!

Friday finally came so we loaded up the truck and hit the road. It was a three and a half hour drive to get to camp. We only had to stop once to feed Bryce. He ate his entire meal in 30 minutes, which NEVER happens (I guess he was just as excited as we were!). He also traveled really well! In fact, we didn’t have to stop to calm him down, which also NEVER happens. It made for a wonderful drive!

The first day at camp was very relaxing. We pretty much just hung out and chatted with everyone. It was so good to see Grandad, Maw (my parents) and Cousin Carter (my brother’s son). We also got to see Great Grandad and Grandma (my dad’s parents), and way too many aunts, uncles and cousins to name! It was wonderful to see everyone, especially since it was Bryce’s first time to meet most of them. Because it was Bryce’s first time meeting everyone, Carter took it upon himself to introduce all the little cousins to him. He’d bring them over to Bryce and say, “this is my Baby Cousin Bryce. He’s so cute!” Then he’d kiss Bryce’s cheek, and giggle! Silly boy cracks me up!

Grandad and Bryce

Maw and Bryce

The first night went really well! All the excitement of the day wore Bryce out and he fell asleep earlier than usual. He slept between Jus and I on the air mattress so he would stay nice and toasty. Around 4 am he decided it was a little too warm for his liking, so he woke up frustrated. After calming him down I tucked him back in and tried to go back to sleep, but he wasn’t too thrilled about that. For two hours he kept fidgeting, fussing, and was in and out of sleep. Finally we realized he had a burp stuck. Once we helped him get it out he immediately fell back asleep, and stayed out until 9 am.

Saturday morning was pretty laid back. We ate and cleaned breakfast up. I fed Bryce, then he immediately fell back asleep. Being out in the sun all day made him pretty tired, so he spent the majority of it napping in his hammock or in someone’s arms.

Snoozing away on Great Grandma's lap

That afternoon we went fishing. We arrived at the lake and guess who we ran into?! Nanny and Poppy (Justin’s parents)! Okay, maybe we planned to meet them there for a few hours to fish. It was so much fun! Carter was the fisherman of the day! Not only did he catch the biggest fish, he also caught the most (with a little help from Poppy)! He was so funny. With the first fish he reeled in, he was scared to touch it. “The fish is gonna eat me!” he kept saying. Grandad touched the fish with him and after that he had a BLAST reeling in fish after fish!

Fishing with Nanny 

Poppy trying to get Carter to touch the fish

That night Bryce slept even better than the first! In fact, he didn’t wake up at all through the night (something that hasn’t happened for months). It was the best night’s sleep we’ve had in a long time! Jus and I have decided to go camping every weekend, just so we can get a good night’s rest (if only, if only).

Sunday morning after breakfast, it was time to pack things back up. Bryce got to hang out in Grandad and Maw’s tent while Jus and I loaded up the truck. While we were busy loading things up, Cousin Hadlee went to play with Bryce and Carter in Maw’s tent. When we came back to hang out with everyone before we left, I couldn’t help but video the three of them playing together. They were having so much fun!

Carter teaching Bryce were his nose, eyes, mouth and belly are.

Best version of Jingle Bells I've ever heard. Just look at Bryce's smile!

I just have to say, it melts my heart when little kids play with Bryce. He absolutely LOVES it! Most of the time, I think they love playing with him too!

Before we left, we HAD to take Bryce for a ride in Great Grandad’s Razor. I was so excited to finally take him in one! We didn’t go too fast, or on too rough of a trail (like we used to do). We wanted him to have fun and not bounce around too much (when you can’t support yourself, bumpy rides are just uncomfortable). He must have enjoyed it because it put him right to sleep!

We left camp shortly after lunch. We were so sad to go! We had so much fun with everyone! As sad as we were to leave, the thought of getting cleaned up was pretty enticing (after three days without showering, who wouldn’t be excited for one?). While I got the bath ready for Bryce, he could hear the tub filling up and started kicking his legs. I put him in the water and he immediately started wiggling and making happy noises! He was SO HAPPY to be in the bath. He even let me wash his chest, belly, and armpits WITHOUT fighting and chewing me out! He was ready to be clean. After all the fun he had camping and then coming home and being the happiest little boy, it made for the perfect ending to a wonderful weekend!