Camping with kids is not for the weak (or week!)....

Todd had a few days off a couple of weeks ago so we decided to take the kids on a short camping trip. The last time we went camping I think Garrett was 2, so we were about due for a trip. So....we packed up the car and headed toward the Icicle River. We made a few stops on the way and when I walked out of Costco there was lightning and it was trying to rain. We had a couple more stops to make and by the time I came out of Hooked on Toys it was POURING! The entire time I kept asking Todd if he thought we should continue on, and he just kept saying to wait and see what happened. The rest of the drive to Leavenworth we had rain off and on, and lightning pretty much the whole way, but you could tell it was starting to pass. By the time we made it up to the campground, all we could see were a few dark clouds so we decided to get camp set up and see what happened. The weather was great, it did get pretty cold at night but at least it didn't rain on us.

Garrett wanted to spend the ENTIRE time at the river fishing with his dad. The river is beautiful, and oh so cold. There is definitely a reason it is called Icicle River. We had eaten dinner on the way so once it got dark we started a fire and made s'mores. The kids got nice and sticky so we cleaned them up and headed for bed. That was when I realized our mistake of waiting until after dark to go to bed. The kids were scared, and they wanted to go home. Now. That wasn't going to happen so after about 1 1/2-2 hours of stories, singing, and watching cartoons on my iPod, I finally got them to sleep.

We spent the next day playing at the river, got invaded by chipmunks, took a quick trip into Leavenworth for groceries and a picnic at the park, played with bubbles, more river time, sang some songs around the campfire (Garrett told us we were embarrassing him :), and played with bubbles. This time we were smart and got them in bed before dusk. It was a HUGE help. They were out by 9:00 that night. We were through trying to keep our kids entertained at the campground so Todd packed everything but the tent and it's contents into the car that night so we could head out first thing in the morning. We stopped at McDonald's for breakfast and headed home.

We really did have a good time, but decided two nights is our max. I also learned a few other things....

1. Never try to dress your toddler when camping in dirt....it's just not worth it. Much less stress and laundry if you just leave them in their diaper. Literally two seconds after I had Ella dressed she was COVERED in DIRT. Oh and older kids can just live in their swimsuits too.

2. Expect this to be about as much as you see your husband. Unless food is involved or a hissy fit is thrown :)

3. Camp somewhere with flush-able toilets....or at least somewhere you don't feel like dry-heaving everytime you have to go to the bathroom! (Sorry, TMI?!) Poor Todd had to take over on Lauren Bathroom Duty, because I just couldn't take it anymore!