Camping photos

For some reason, it’s taken us a while to get our camping photos off the camera we took with us.  It was a Father’s Day gift to Michael and has served us well so far…except that 24 hours into our camping trip, it flashed the message Battery Exhausted, turned off, and refused to function any further.  Vacations aren’t just for people, you know!

However, we did get some pictures and I’ll share some with you so that you can feel like you really were there with us…or at least see a bit of our experience. 

Here’s us about to leave the driveway.  Michael got to sit in the Introvert’s Corner – in the back, packed in with the luggage.  He doesn’t seem too upset.  He’s got his book back there and is ready to spend 90 minutes reading and not needing to communicate with anyone. 

Hannah and Naomi, on the other hand, are ready to spend the next 90 minutes quizzing Fr. Jerome on his life and asking why we’re not at the ferry yet.

Fr. Jerome, upon being picked up only 10 or so minutes later than we projected, was ready to get on the road.  He was happy to be quizzed by the girls and to chat with me as I drove along.  And he did a great job as navigator. 

Which is how we got to the ferry.  The girls were very excited that our trip included a ferry.  They’re watching the scenery as we make our stately way through the waters of Puget Sound. 

Simeon was delighted with the ferry, too, although I’m not sure he cared so much that it was a ferry…he was just happy that we had lunch and that he could get OUT of the car seat.  And he got to know Fr. Jerome a bit better.  Sitting backwards in the car seat is no kind of way to get to know someone who’s sitting in the front seat.  He of course needed to look his best for the trip, so he brought along his brush.  Please don’t pay any attention to the bite marks on the brush handle. 

We’re relaxed already.  And Naomi is enjoying the red peppers we brought with our lunch. 

This was meant to be the “Before” picture of our campsite.  It turns out that it’s one of the only pictures of our campsite.  But you can see how close we were to the lake.  Just imagine a tent on the left, one on the right, and some chairs by that fire pit over there. 

Ah, here’s Fr. Jerome, putting up his tent – the other picture of our campsite.  Naomi “helped” him quite a bit, and even with help, he had his up sooner than the family tent.  It is quite a bit more substantial.  

 

Here we are in the restaurant where we believe Hannah got food poisoning.  We’re all watching the ferry come in – the spectacular views of the ferry dock were one big plus about this restaurant.

Swimming.  Michael has Sim, who is trying to get to the water with all his might.  It’s what Sim does when he’s near water.   This makes life very exciting.  This is the campsite of fellow campers – the cousins stayed here.  Our site is just beyond it, and I’m taking a picture from the swimming area.  Their site was, as you can see, right on the lake. 

So there you have it.  There are no pictures of the  campfires, the middle of the night…well, there probably wouldn’t have been pictures of that anyway…the airstream trailer that Sim and I stayed in, the food, Mass outdoors, etc.  But rest assured, it was lovely and picturesque and fantastic. 

Plans for the future, continued

Hannah: I think Sim is going to have to be a Dada.
Me: Why?
Hannah: Well, I'm going to be a nun, and Naomi's going to be -- what are you going to be when you grow up, Naomi?
Naomi: I'm going to be Hello Dolly.
Hannah: Okay, so Naomi could have kids. But that might not work, because what if she was pregnant when it was time for a show? So Sim has to get married, or you won't get any grandchildren. And you want grandchildren, don't you?!?

In which Hannah discovers Half Price Books

Hannah has been wanting to get some books with birthday money. She had picked out one that is part of a popular series, and she had seen it at Barnes and Noble for $6.99. She counted her money and asked about tax and made sure she had enough.

I was pretty sure that this series would be at Half Price Books, so I thought this would be a good introduction to used book stores. Today we had some of the morning free, so we headed out to the store. I had told her that if she couldn't find what she wanted at Half Price Books we could go to Barnes and Noble to get it.

Hannah loved Half Price Books. She was excited when she saw the books there and picked one out. Great! She was ready to check out. I showed her the price tag: $1.98. She got a look of sheer joy in her eyes when she realized she could get not ONE, but TWO! Then, after a bit of math, she realized she could get THREE! There were some customers shopping nearby who were very amused by her delight.

She spent some time picking out three and asking about tax, then counting out money so she'd be ready to check out. She also looked around at the other books; "Look, Mama! They have..." was heard many times.

On the way home, she said, "I think people who thought of used book stores must have known that children wouldn't want to spend all their money on one book."

The wheels were turning, too: "Mama, are there used toy stores?"

This has been a morning of discovery for Hannah. She is most pleased. And now she's immersed in the world of the Magic Tree House.

Naps

While camping, I got 2 naps a day, since I took Simeon for his naps and took the opportunity to lie down and read, which almost ALWAYS leads to sleep for me. It was great. I felt so darn rested all the time.

I'm missing my naps.

Yesterday marked day 3 of no naps for me, and I think I haven't outgrown my nap, as children seem to. Or maybe I grew back into them. In either case, 2 naps a day seemed like a good amount to me, and I'd like them back, please.

Yesterday Simeon opted to skip his second nap. This was a poor choice, since he gets really cranky (and if you know Sim, this is very unusual) when he skips a nap. So I go about nothing done, what with following him around and digging stuff out of his mouth, as well as comforting him from his crankiness. Hmmm...why are you cranky? Oh, right, you skipped your nap!

I'm cranky from skipping my naps, too.

We had lunch out

on the Thursday of our camping trip. For Michael, dining out signals "vacation," so he particularly requested we eat out at some point on the trip. I don't care so much one way or the other, so Thursday found us eating at a lovely little place in the town nearby. We had some tasty food (including some good seafood) and enjoyed ourselves:

Michael: Fried coconut shrimp. He liked it.
Fr. Jerome: A gourmet burger. He liked it.
Monica: Fish and chips. Yum.
Naomi: Burger and fries. She ate a small part of the burger and most of the fries.
Hannah: Burger and fries. She liked it. Until that evening, when she started feeling sick. The vomiting didn't start until 12:30, when she woke up and got Michael's sleeping bag, Naomi's shoes, and a couple places outside the tent. She felt better afterwards and was fine the rest of the weekend.

Michael had to hang his sleeping bag outside and sleep in a towel. He says that this is not as cool in practice as it sounds in books where people sleep on the ground in their cloaks. The next day he took it and all the other stuff that got tagged to the laundromat. I'm not sure this dining out experience made his vacation feel more vacationy.

Dirt

One afternoon while camping, Naomi and her girl cousin decided to build sand castles. Of course, it was in an area of just dirt near our campsite, not in actual sand. They got quite filthy, especially Naomi, who kept wiping hair out of her eyes with dirty hands and got her face almost completely covered in greyish dirt.

When I gave the kids a bath on Sunday after we got home, the water wasn't clear. It was pretty grey, actually. I wonder why.

Adjustment

Yesterday when Naomi got up, she asked, "Is it a work day today?" When I answered that it was, there were tears and the protest, "But yesterday was a work day!" She's gotten used to having Michael around and it seems criminal to have him work two days in a row!