Camping in Arizona

On July 5th the family headed out for our third camping trip this year. Not bad if I do say so myself. This trip I didn't forget anything. I did over pack though. This was the first time we camped in real heat, so I over-packed clothes, food, vegetables and fruits that really should travel in the heat, etc. But overall I think we did very good. We once again borrowed my in-law's big truck, because us and our camping gear does not fit in the minivan. Alynna sat up in front with us. Look at her looking at her daddy. Too cute! We also switched Simon to a front facing car seat, which made a world of difference! Ah, it was lovely! There was no screaming until that last hour stretch. The entire rest of the drive, to and fro, went wonderfully. 

This is a trick I thought of last time we left the River. Remember me telling you all that I thought I was helping Brad by taking the kids to the River while he set up the sight? Didn't go too well. This time I brought a large tupperware and filled it with water. That way Simon would stay occupied and the kids would play with him or get cooled off. It was great! At least it was great most of the time. More on that later. Am I great writer or what?!? A cliff hanger on a family blog!
Okay. I'm just kidding.

This picture might be saved for the slide show at his wedding. Isn't it priceless? Don't worry, that's not really his hat. But he was wearing it and his britches were falling down and it was just matchless.

The family at the River at last. What a joyous sight.

Well, enjoy the view. This is just about the only picture I got of Simon actually enjoying the water. After he realized we were there for good and waves were crashing at random times there were no more smiles.

So, I mentioned the "pool" working great... most of the time.  During the day it was great. I put the box on the grass and he played and played and played. It was still super hot in the evening, so I filled the box up again. This time, however, I put it on the cement. That way he wouldn't get all muddy when he crawled out. Sigh. Mommy blunder. The kids filled the box almost to the top, Alynna got in, Simon tried getting out, and he ended up falling smack on the pavement. It would have been surprising had he been on the grass. It was devastating on the cement. His entire body weight landed on his forehead. In the above picture you can see the cone head. It was awful. It looked like we had implanted a large grape until his skin.

In the morning it didn't look as bad as we thought. Still... poor little guy.

Nathan was too cute for words in his little fishing hat. Ask him why he wears a hat and he'll tell you it's to keep the gnats away. Why? I don't ask questions. He keeps the hat on. Yeah! Take that, you evil gnats!

Simon didn't sleep too bad. He did decide he was too good for sleeping on the floor, so insisted on sleeping with us on our mattress. I wouldn't have minded, but the mattress is a bit small. I figured out if Brad slept through the night on his pillow, like any normal person might, I could leave Simon up with him after he nursed (Simon that is... not Brad) and I could sleep with my head near Brad's feet. Go ahead and insert all submissive wife jokes here. This way we all fit together like a puzzle. Now the only problem was making the sun not rise so early. I couldn't figure that one out in time. As soon as dawn hit Simon was up and ready to go. He was awake that first morning at 5:20am!!! The kids were to wake up a little after that. It kind of worked out okay in the end, because it was still cooler, the tide was low, and the beach was empty.

I couldn't believe we were awake early enough to have a picnic breakfast on the beach! Not what I had in mind, but it all worked out okay.

Simon was quite fussy that morning. Maybe it had something to do with it the fact he had already been awake for three hours when it was only 8:30 in the morning. Anyway, he was a grump. The other three kids played happily in the sand while the tide was low. At first Kaeley searched for bottle cap lids. She thought she could donate them to the army for scrap metal. After being reminded we were no longer in World War II she decided she and her siblings were archaeologists. I had a moment of gratitude when I realized that we were indeed dealing with a grumpy baby and were awake at an obscene time of the day, but our children were happily playing archaeology and digging for sea shells. One day they'll want to sleep in until lunch time and get all gussied up for the opposite sex. I at once felt very privileged for the super early wake up call.  

This is what happens when you wake up when your parents tell you it's too early. He took a good long nap.

This is what happens when you fall out of the tub your mother made for you and later try climbing into a chair while your mother chases after you.

We arrived Thursday afternoon. Friday afternoon my in-laws and two nephews arrived. It was a real treat having them there wit us.

My children are all very, very independent and will talk to complete strangers. Here Alynna makes friends with a little girl her age who is next to us on the beach. This was the perfect little friend for her, because there were more sand toys and a puppy.

Kaeley and Nathan befriended the people on the other side of us. The man's name was Dave. He was just about the friendliest man we could have met. He had a large group of families with older kids. He had all the great water toys. Nathan, our boldest, straight up asked if he could get on his "boat". Sure enough, Dave gave us all multiple trips up and down the water. I love having bold children. :) I meet so many great people that way.

It was, of course, after Simon was all dried off and in a clean diaper that he got into the sprinklers. Oh well. He was happy and that made me happy.

The kids would play for hours on end with no down time or nap. I was shocked they did as well as they did without. I got a good laugh when Nathan sat down to pet the neighbor's puppy. His head started dropping lower and lower until, for a few seconds, it was resting completely on the lounge chair. It wasn't long before he jerked his head up again in full attention.

What's camping at Buckskin without a cheap arcade visit?
And that concludes another successful camping adventure.  I'll throw in three tips now that I'm an expert-with-kids-camper. 1.) When you're traveling in extreme heat don't pack peaches. They won't make it. For that matter don't expect make vegetables to survive at all. Get your "healthy points" before you leave or you'll be throwing away lots of food. 2.) When packing for extreme heat don't listen to your husband when he tells you to pack jackets. Leave the jackets at home. If it gets chili you can then tell the children you were going to pack them, but their father said not to waste the space. 3.) When camping with babies, whether in extreme heat or extreme cold, invest in either a baby helmet or a large dog kennel.