Still is the night... not when you are camping

We had a terrific first day of camping. Well, we did have a few time outs and "tactile reminders" here and there but all in all things went well. When we got back from our nature walk I realized that I had not gotten everything in order. I did not have a "bath bag" together with everything we would need at the bath house. So when I started putting it all together I noticed that the bottle of baby shampoo went critical and had a meltdown in my bag. Luckily I put it in a ziplock that contained the hazardous mess.

The CFO and I quickly devised a game plan. We took the triplets over to the bath house and I took Addison in while she entertained the boys. The bath houses only had one shower on each side (men's and women's). Halfway through the shower I realized I forgot to bring diapers! Good Golly! So the CFO took Addison back and I took the boys in the shower. The CFO had the nuke-doc watch Addison so she could bring diapers back and pick up one of the boys.

When I brought Jackson out to her I noticed a guy waiting on the shower. I apologized while telling him I only had one of three left to bathe:) I realized one great thing about a shower is the risk of drowning is greatly reduced! William and I washed up and headed back to camp. On a side note, I bathed in my swim suit. After heading back I realized that bath shoes are not good to wear while carrying a toddler up a dirt hill while wet.

Once back we got everyone in bed and the CFO got them down for the night. We then stayed up too late (midnight) roasting smores and talking with our friends. It only rained once during the night and we luckily had the rain fly on the tent. Unfortunately the nuke-doc has a one year old that decided it was time to play around 3am. He took him home and his wife stayed with their three year old.

Between the barking dogs (not ours) and three restless toddlers in a tent that was too small (I am now shopping for a new one) we did not sleep a lot. But we LOVE the mornings when you camp. We cooked 2lbs of bacon, drank strong coffee and the kids ate whatever they wanted. I told them that "normal" dining rules did not apply on campouts. For example Goldfish are not breakfast food at home and Pop-Tarts are "treats." Everything is game when you camp. I just wanted calories and liquids going in:)

It was while the first pot of coffee was brewing that I realized I forgot the bread to make monkey bread.... a seemingly "key" ingredient. So we stuck with coffee and bacon. Luckily no one has an ulcer yet:)

Seems that five minutes into the day baths were a memory long forgotten. Now I remember why I usually bathe at night on campouts. They are useless during the day.

Here are some key things I will remember for the next trip:

• Our excel (thanks to the CFO) checklist of what to bring
• A good tree for timeout (seems the first one had an ant problem)
• Put up the clothesline before you need it (Much easier to put it up in the light of day without four wet towels and wet clothes on your shoulders)
• Put on bug repellent before you think you need it. (My legs look terrible)

Here are pics of our friend's kids inspecting a bug/stick he found, an example of how much kids like dirt and a good timeout tree.

This country has come to feel the same when Congress is in session as when the baby gets hold of a hammer.
Will Rogers (1879 - 1935)

Al