The Longest Short Camping Trip

Its our first morning home since our little camping trip, and can I just say, I LOVE MY KEURIG! Best invention EVER! I'm a liiiiiiittle(understatement) sleepy today so that instant cup of caffeine is very appreciated and will most likely be followed up with another.  But, anyway! The trip. AMAZING! It really was. We just did a simple and short little trip of 2 nights not knowing if that would be too much, or just enough time for our 3.5 year old, our 1 year old and our 10 month puppy on their first ever camping trip. Turns out it was plenty of time(ahem). Two nights made for the longest short camping trip I've ever been on. It was also one of the best I've ever been on.

We enjoyed our stay at Stampede Reservoir and will definitely be going back. My sister in law and her family have camped there for the last 13 years and I can see why! Its beautiful. It feels like you're up in the woods but without the worry of a cute little family of black bears ransacking your stuff. It's also very dog friendly which was a plus. We obviously want to take Lola with us whenever we go, but finding a place that allows dogs in your campsite AND on a trail, in a picnic area, on a beach, or near water is pretty challenging. I mean, I totally can see why there are those rules (as the campers across from us at the water kept their pit off leash and allowed it to start fights with other dogs) but it still makes it a little tricky. So now we know (while we continue finding new places) that we can always just head to Truckee with the dog and not have to sweat it. Now as I type this I'm wondering how I went from never wanting a dog to only camping at places that allow our dog to camp with us. Then I blogged about it? Oh my. 

The drive was a breeze and we got there right after lunch so both boys had already eaten and Owen had slept in the car. I was afraid that setting everything up would be difficult with both boys getting in the way and needing/wanting our attention. HA. Thank you nature for babysitting our boys!

2 Minutes after getting out of the car:

"We're here! lets take a picture of how excited Owen is with all this dirt around.."

 

5 minutes after getting out of the car:

"wook, ma! I can jut pee on dis huge twee!"

Yay! It didn't take all afternoon for Daddy and Mommy to set up camp! And daddy didn't throw the tent up a tree, and mommy didn't say one bad word. SO FAR SO GOOD. 

Happy Campers!

30 minutes into our weekend:

"wook ma! I jut standing by my tent." So cute right? Especially our little garden that we brought with us? Our little garden that Owen ate for his afternoon snack. 

This is about the time that my inner mush unleashed and I felt like I'd explode. I mean look at this picture. My family. Camping, on vacation, just us. I was having flashbacks of dating Kyle when we talked about having a family together that we'd take camping some day. I have around 15 other pictures JUST LIKE THIS ONE because I went into mushy must. record. every. second. mode. But really, this was one of those moments that made me stop and really soak in the moment. We are overwhelmingly blessed.

So we survived our first day and it was really easy. The boys devoured their dinner, and Kyle got a fire going early so we could make s'mores and get the kids bathed (where there's a will, or should I say collapsible water jug and rubber made shoe box, there's a way.) before it got dark and they freaked out. 

Daddy read Peter Rabbit to the boys. So precious! Just melted my heart. For 30 seconds that is, until both boys turned in opposite directions and found something better to do. Does Myth Busters make a picture book? That might work better for next time..

One of my mom's favorite memories as a kid was having Jiffy popcorn while camping. She sent us off with some and Joey was BLOWN AWAY. He could not believe this little flat "tennis wacket thing" blew up and was filled with buttery popcorn. 

I, of course, was freaking out inside. "if a kernel gets stuck in his throat we are screwed. Why would you send popcorn with kids to the middle of nowhere. ITS A PERFECT CHOKING FOOD!" hahaha Thank you, Nonni! It was one of Joey's favorite parts of the trip. Like Nonni, like grandson.

Joey: "Hey dad, can we make s'mores now?"

Kyle: "s'more what?"

Joey: "ya killin' me smalls!!!"

That's my boy.

Both boys slept soundly all night. I know, I watched them. While I didn't sleep. Okay, I slept a little bit here and there in between visits from deer (one of THE coolest parts about Stampede R) and Lola's bathroom breaks. Then at 5:30am the awesome bird that lived in the tree above our tent started to chirp. It woke Owen up who then started to mimic the bird AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS. Then he saw his daddy's head peeking out of the sleeping bags and started saying "daa daaaaa" AT THE TOP OF HIS LUNGS. It was Sunday morning and the campsite was packed. Greeeaaat. My kids are going to wake everyone up at 5:30 and we will be hated! Oh but wait, Ya'll were up until 1am with your drinking shenanigans.. Sing away Owen!!! Not really. We did our best to keep the boys contained and quiet in the tent until 7am before letting them free, and they both did fantastic. Kyle and I took turns whining into our pillows about it but WE SURVIVED! 

ahh. Nothing like bacon for breakfast... 

The boys loved it!

..and Mommy still got to wash dishes. Just like at home. How special.

...there were even time outs, just like at home. How special.

 And then there were morning walks, cheesy kisses and obligatory morning photos...

We even let out our gangsta side and broke some rules. We didn't just take things out of the Tahoe National Forest, we painted them first, and THEN we brought them home. 

It warmed up quickly and we hiked down to the water.

Kyle: "see babe, you do have a daughter! She's just a little hairy." Sorry, my dog is not my child. But they don't call 'em mans best friend for no reason! I'll be honest, I LOVED swimming with Lola. What a blast...

So of course, here comes the other obligatory picture. The beach shot. 

me: Joey, put your arm around Owen and say "cheese" so mommy can take your picture!

1st try.

2nd try.

3rd times a charm?? Not quite. 

me: Ok, no happy beach picture. It's cool. Mommy is gonna take Owen back to camp for a nap.

He was asleep before we got off of the 10 minute trail back..

I. Did. Not. Mind.  

Kyle and I even managed to have some quiet time while the boys played together. We weren't expecting to use the comfy camping chairs we had packed. We planned on just starring at them while chasing the kids. What a pleasant surprise!

This is my hot husband.^^

This messy face led to one crazy, worn out fit that must have been contagious because Joey came down with the same thing. So we "bathed" them and tossed them into the tent with a beach ball (thanks Auntie Kerri) and zipped them up. They LOVED it! So did daddy as we got to spend even more time relaxing together.

We ended the day with s'mores again then went for a long walk before bed. They loved looking in bushes and under rocks with their flash lights

The boys literally fell asleep within minutes that night. Kyle and I enjoyed a long quiet camp fire together. Awesome little date.

His and Hers S'mores

The next morning we woke up to light rain on the tent and were aware that there was a storm quickly moving in so we packed up, enjoyed one last walk, then headed home. It was a fabulous trip! We are already planning our next camping adventure and it makes us so excited that the boys enjoyed it so much. They were very happy to be home though. Joey couldn't wait to play Skate3 on the PS3 and Owen pulled out just about every toy we own. Kyle even walked through the door with dinner and sunflowers. He thanked me for getting us there and making it a great trip. What a guy!! 

Now for that second cup of coffee....

In Between Facebook Posts

Someone said it again,

"Your kids make me want to have kids of my own."

Aw, how sweet. Thank you! I'm glad they have restored your faith in the idea of raising a family. Honestly, its a compliment and I appreciate it. Its a lot of work to have kids and I always feel a bit relieved when someone tells me they enjoy my boys. It feels better than if someone were to say they didn't like my boys.. right? duh. BUT. behind the appreciation of that compliment, I always wonder in the back of my mind if my boys make people want to have kids because they really think the idea of parenting is amazing? Or if its because they want a small human that speaks like Yoda, who is anti gluten, in love with the Foo Fighters, or roars and growls at you instead of simply answering with a "no." Most people know my children best through my Facebook account since I'm on there daily. Its almost completely become nothing more than quotes by and pictures of my cute boys. But that is where my concern comes from... or conviction I guess.

Watch out, things are about to get real up in hea!

Ok so facebook. Take it or leave it, everyone has opinions on it. I've chosen to keep it. I like being able to stay updated on my friends and family's lives. I have also been told by a number of people, including a dear friend who had passed away just days after telling me, "please keep posting the funny things Joey says. He just makes my day." No pressure or anything. I start to stress when he hasn't said a single funny thing in days. ha. But really, they light up my world and I can't help but share it with people. You know like the scene in Elf when Buddy runs into his dads office after an amazing first date shouting, "I'm in love, I'M IN LOVE and I DON'T care who knows it!!" Exactly, Buddy. I feel you on that one. Hence the endless amount of pictures of the same two kids. Over. and over.  The unfortunate part about facebook however, is that you have the ability to put whatever you'd like on it. You pick the picture of yourself that everyone sees, and you choose what to say in your status. What I mean is, its easy to not be 100% honest. So is that why people love my kids so much? Cause I'm hearing how great they are but I'm feeling desperate for a quiet day with out one single fit, tantrum or wasted half of sandwich. We are becoming a world where you know people best by what you see on their facebook page or instagram. We are becoming less social because of social media. Why get together over coffee to catch up when you can snoop through status comments, and tagged photos. Besides, whats to catch up on? I already know that you had mexican for dinner friday, went to the DMV Tuesday and are hating the weather. The same applies to MY facebook and my boys. I'm afraid of slipping into that world of facebook users that appear peachy and pleasant when in reality, their life is crashing around them.

Now don't get me wrong. I could see how this looks like I can't stand my kids. Or I can't stand my life. WRONG. That's not it whatsoever. My boys are MY LIFE. They are proof that God exists, that love is real, that you can be blessed when you least deserve it. There is a reason that my every facebook update, instagram picture and conversation outside of my phone apps revolve around my boys. I'm obsessed with them and couldn't be happier as their mamma. But I want to make sure I'm TRANSPARENT in how I live my life. No secrets, no fake anything. I do believe I have THE most amazing kids in the world, duh! but in between the hilarious things Joey says or adorable way Owen eats are the craziest fits in the world. Ok maybe not the world but by 7pm it feels that way. I sometimes dread telling Joey that its nap time because I don't want to hear the whining that immediately is forced when he hears the "na" in nap. Just the other day I was in tears bathing the boys. Sitting in a puddle that they had happily splashed onto the floor after I had just cleaned the bathroom. When Kyle asked why I was crying, I admitted that I wasn't sure if I was crying because they are growing up and I won't have another baby ever again, or if its because the two babies I already had were making me lose my mind. That is a real tension, just ask the closest mom to you. Now, after all that you might see a cute butt picture on Facebook of Owen toddling around post bath and tears. How cute and bubbly without the extra update on the previous 15 minutes. Or our adorable camping adventure in the backyard this last week. HELLO I seriously LOVED it! I'm still giddy over it and how cute and fun it was with our boys. But I never mentioned the fact that at 11:15pm, 4 hours and 15 minutes past their bedtime, I was unfolding and setting up a portable crib in a tiny tent in the dark trying to get Owen to stop climbing on Joey so they'd go to sleep. If I post a cute picture of me and Kyle together, chances are we didn't get into an argument that day. If I didn't post one, chances are we didn't get into an argument that day either, but how would you know? (marriage isn't easy? what?) The point is, there is A LOT of life being lived in between social media updates and I do NOT want to make anyone think our life is anything other than what it is: normal, crazy, awesome, hectic, hard, scary, frustrating, amazing, funny etc. I like to keep things real. My mother cringes at my honesty from time to time, and I am trying to learn how to be honest with grace but it doesn't come naturally to me. All the more reason why I want to be more careful with my online posts and apologize if I've ever made someone feel like I wasn't being honest especially if it comes down to a decision like having kids.
"but Kelly Wieder's kids just pose and smile in pictures and they do cute stuff like sleep with their thumb in their mouth.. why isn't my baby sleeping so well?" Uh, because ITS A HUMAN CHILD and THEY DON'T SLEEP WELL. Right? I hope this is making sense. Like I said earlier, my kids are THE coolest kids IN. THE. WORLD. (all my facebook friends know it. ha ha) and they make me happier than anything else.. but they are still very real, normal kids who poop and not always in a diaper or toilet. They puke on you, they scream and cry, they throw stuff and not just fits. They are the biggest challenge I've ever faced but they are the greatest joy I could ever imagine. I will do my best to make sure I'm working toward being transparent. I want to make sure people know that although the things Joey says, or the outrageously cute picture of Owen ALWAYS melts my heart, the before and after isn't always picture worthy.

If you're still thinking, "having kids would be off the hook" just know that you're right, it is. But you will find yourself eating apple sauce and fishy crackers for lunch one day while your son is screaming and crying because his older brother threw his toy out of frustration from not being able to unbutton his pants to pee.

Ciao!