Camp-o-Rama!

We spent the holiday camping and Noah loved every minute of it....well, most of it anyway. He wasn't a fan of packing and loading or no TV but he soon adjusted. The first night he even commented that he could live like this for awhile!


He is just so fun and so much of my enjoyment came from watching him. Noah was a big help setting up camp once we got there and taking care of Patch. He started a daily walking routine with him that he carried through down to the last 10 minutes of our trip. He loved putting up the tent and finding wood for the fire. He was also a big help in the "kitchen" each night.


I try to create memories in everything we do - and share memories of certain things with him. The first night we had Grandpa Stew and I guess I'd never told him why we called it that. He said, "So did your grandpa just like this soup?" I chuckled and shared the story of how and why Grandpa created it and the memories I had of eating it as a child. As we cooked together, and he was opening cans of veggies with a manual can opener, he commented, "I'm not sure I like these old days things!" He had a bit of difficulty mastering the machinery!


He got a kick out of making biscuits over an open fire, though wasn't a fan of the flavor. We used his recipe one night to make fajitas, from an outdoor cooking class he learned at camp. They were the best meal of our trip!


I brought glow sticks and he had fun putting them around anything that stood still...well, and actually some things that moved, as we put one around Patch so we could see him in the dark. He enjoyed exploring the woods and caught a glimpse at a raccoon one day while on the boat. Tim and Noah spent lots of time fishing - I love to watch that boy's face when he's reeling one in. Lots of laughs and fun moments around the campfire. And as with all boys, he loved that he could pee wherever the mood struck him (so lucky to be a guy!).


He was excited as well to sleep in a tent. The first night got chilly and because he didn't listen and wear his PJ bottoms to bed, he woke up in the middle of the night cold. Tim and I then got to share a full size bed with our growing 10 year old. ...A few hours later and several cricks in our backs and necks, we decided to get up and make coffee and let him sleep!


The next night we rearranged things so we had one long bed. It was kind of like a giant bouncy house. Still didn't really work - Tim and shared 1/4 of the tent and Noah sprawled all over the rest. At one point he woke up, sat straight up in bed, looked at us, raised his arm and said, "Looks like we made it!" then fell over and right back to sleep. We have no idea what that means but it gave us a lot of laughs.

Our last morning was bittersweet. Always hard to go home from a vacation but we knew an early start would make for a better transition into the week. We sat out all the leftovers from the cooler and made omelets in a bag. Noah thought the whole process was too cool - and the best part was, they tasted great!

As Tim and I finished packing, Noah and Patch went for their last walk. The trip was such a nice break to get away and reconnect. Camping has a way of doing that - it takes away all the distractions from life (tv, cell phones, and such) and just leaves you with each other...the most important!

Group Date

I really wasn't prepared to write a post about my 5th grader going on Group Date! He's still my baby....he isn't old enough for that yet, or is he?


I've noticed such a change in him this school year. We're less than a month in but the phone seems to be ever-stuck to his ear, he's more mature, thinks for himself, and I'm just quickly losing the little guy I've known for 10 years!


The "Mom" in me doesn't quite know how to handle this. He is in the stage where he doesn't want me to help him (unless HE initiates it) or remind him of things. I'm so used to saying, "It's bedtime, brush your face and teeth." They go together. But now I've been reminded that he's big enough to know that he should do that upon bedtime. He feeds his fish without reminding, picks out his own outfits (ignoring the ones I've taken the time to set out), has his own ideas about his day and life. Noah is growing up, right before my eyes, and it's hard!


Of course, I have no details from the group date and even if I did, I'd be sworn to secracy. All I know is that I picked up a smiling boy and his happiness was all the detail I needed.