We have been camping in Santa Barbara for a week and we just returned home. In an effort to explain our week’s adventures, I will do it in a form of a list…
Top Ten Items For Which I am Grateful While Camping with a 5 year old, 3 year old, 2 year old, and 9 month old…
10 Portable DVD Player- We had to get to the ocean and I am grateful for the entertainment it provides. On the trip over, Gager was not able to see the screen (of which he reminded us several times), and I was never so appreciative of it during the drive home (we moved his seat so he could see). I am glad that I live in the 21st century!
9 Hoodies- Coastal California gets cold at night and in the morning. The boys lived in their hoodies even in the overnight hours. We were seriously missing one too on the second to last day. Aiden had an accident over the night hours and let’s just say that we would not be able to wash it and dry it out on the clothesline because it is a superdedooper thick one from GAP. Aiden had to wear Lexi’s during our last night there. Aiden said that he would wear it in the tent because he was cold and he knew that it would provide him warmth, but he was terrified that his older cousins would see him in the girl sweatshirt. (Now mind you it is off white and does not look girly.) He made sure that Mitch zipped the tent shut while he ran from one corner of the tent where he was changing to his sleeping bag where he jumped in and zipped it all the way to his neck- too funny. What five year olds fear! Can we say that he idolizes his older cousins- crazy!
8 "Shut up" milk- Jaceroo slept the first two hours in his portacrib, but spent the rest of the evening with mom. It was too cold for him despite the onesie, sweats, feety jammies, and hoody. He and I rested only so so, but I frequently gave him what I coined "shut up" milk. The last thing that you want to do is wake the entire camp with your overly tired 9-month old who can’t get comfortable.
7 Watering Can- Mitch built an incredible sand castle with the boys on the beach. Many walkers stopped to look at his masterpiece. The boys loved helping daddy. Gage and Grey took turns watering the mound of sand with their 99-cent watering can. Gager asked for it even in the tent when we got back to camp.
6 Extra Family- who’s idea was it to go camping with four little boys on the beach? Oh ya, ours! No, we actually had a great time, but I was grateful for my bed and my shower. We could not have done it without our fabulous family and all of their help! Everytime I turned around, another family member was taking Jace out of my arms, or cuddling a Grey who had fallen asleep in the camp chair, or running a child to the sink to wash their hands for the umpteenth thousandth time. Gage and Jace love Uncle Derek soooooo much now!
5 Multiple pairs of shoes- Each boy had two pairs of flip flops/sandals and a pair of sneakers. It was a little crazy, but we ended up needing them all. It was so nice to have them so that we could find at least one pair at all times. I am glad that they only cost a dollar at the end of the summer—I should stock up for next year now.
4 Air mattresses- During our first night- well let’s say I hope to never repeat it. Trains rode in through our camp and were maybe 60 yards away. It was cool during the daytime hours, but during the night, it sounded like those huge Amtrak trains were derailing and landing outside of our tent. The boys loved the trains, but with each one that rode through camp in the middle of the night, they would awake all the sleeping boys. During our first night, because their air mattress sprung a leak, Gage and Aiden joined us. Jace was already in with Mitch and I. Five on a queen-sized mattress is not my favorite. At about 3:00 a.m. Grey cups my face in his hands and begs me to let him into our bed. I had to deny him—There was simply no room. He slumps back into his bag and saddles up next to me. I counted the minutes until morning and I sent Mitch into Santa Barbara while the boys and I went to the beach with Shari the following morning. He came back to camp victorious- another air mattress in hand. The following nights were great and the boys stayed on their mattress- yahoo!
3 Krista’s stroller- Needless to say, five nights and 6 days on vacation facilitates the need for a tremendous amount of stuff! Mitch was able to get so much into our van that it was amazing. The stroller did not make the cut, but I was not all that worried. Well we get to camp and I realize, oh I have a 9 month old who crawls to move around. Where am I going to put him for the next week? The tent?- let’s say not his favorite place! Then I get the idea that it would be great to strap him into a stroller. Krista then says, "We have a stroller and it is all terrain style!" Is it OK to kiss your sister in law all over? I didn’t but man was I ever grateful for that. Jace lived in that stroller and it ended up being the joy of the cousins to push Jace around camp in it. Deven and Gage fought over it sometimes, but by the week’s end, they were sharing it pretty well.
2 WET WIPES- Oh the uses of wet wipes…let me count to 100. We used them to wipe hands and feet before meals and definitely before bed. We used them to wipe sand from Jace who tried to eat the sand by the fistful. We used them to wipe off the tablecloths before and after meals. We used them for their intended purpose a great deal with Gager because he loves grapes and they make him extremely regular. We wiped off dirt from the tent floor and off of sleeping bags because all the cousins would have cousin parties in our tent. We loved dirt from 8 little boys. And our final use of the beloved wet wipes was to wash the bird poo that landed all over our tent and rain fly. It took me 20 minutes to wipe it all off. The wipes worked wonderfully well and I did very little scrubbing. I bet if I tell the wipes company that I used them for that, they would sign me up for their next commercial advertising that very unique ability- look out Proctor and Gamble!
1 Baby Powder- It is the last great secret that no one knows about. While in dirty places that encourages sand and dirt to adhere to small and big people alike, the baby powder acts like magic. Just sprinkle it on and sand and dirt come off easily and without the rough grit-- so no tears. I took powder to the beach and everyone thought I was so funny. By the week’s end, everyone was asking for the powder. It also works well getting the dirt that just adhered to your feet and ankles on the way back from the showers. The boys loved the magic that it created. I keep waiting for one of the boys to say, "Mom, we do not need a shower. We will use the powder to get off the dirt."
Well that is our trip in a list- we had a great time, but I think I will want my baby either walking well or if I have another one the next time we camp, I would like her (I can hope) not moving at all.
Love the Bishops
P.S. Aiden starts Kindergarten tomorrow. We met his teacher last week. He is so excited. Grey will start preschool next week too. I will teach the first two weeks. He is excited too.
P.S.S. Aiden cut a little chunk of hair this morning from the front—can I inflict bodily harm on the boy. He knows better—you’d think that he would at least wait until next week after school was in session for a week or so- ARGH! Let’s hope Dad can fix it somehow.
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