I actually LIKE camping???

OK, so here's the deal. Ever since camping in the middle of nowhere thousands of times during my childhood, my nightmares have been plagued with memories of digging latrines, lots of dirt, spiders and bugs, and being really really stinky. Not that I hated it, but thinking about dragging my entire family full of girls camping was not really my cup of tea. Especially since we've had a baby or toddler in our family for the last 8 years. So, when Gracie's girl scout troop decided to go camping, families and all, I thought maybe I'd just go up for the day with Gracie. I never thought I'd stay for the whole 3 days and two nights, pitch the tent myself and bring our three oldest (all by myself!) But her heart was set on it. A few days before the big trip, we practiced putting up the tent and even had a campfire in the backyard to make s'mores. As I was sitting there watching the girls get marshmallows in their hair and practically flinging flaming marshmallows at each other, I thought, "What have I done???" I almost let Jim just take them. We didn't bring everyone because camping with Annie, girl of constant motion, AKA AlQueda would be torture. So Jim stayed home with her and had some nice daddy-daughter bonding time. And off we went.

There were about 10 other (full) families there and 20 kids between the ages of 3 and 9. The girls ran, played, crafted, ran some more, painted rocks, tie dyed t-shirts, put on shows, learned about knots and stars and ate lots of yummy food. And what did I do? I relaxed in a way I never have before. I only had a few responsibilities, I had fun hanging out with the other parents, but I also read magazines and learned all about my new IPhone. It was the BEST!!!
Here are all the cute girls before our big hike. We had such a blast, nobody wanted to come home. But of course, daddy, Annie, responsibilities, laundry and dishes were all waiting for us at home.