We had all been talking about going camping for a year now. All our kids love it and we wanted to spend some time together. So once we got our camper we picked a weekend. And miraculously, everyone was free that weekend, including the boys. So we picked Lake Whitney, which is in Hillsboro and pretty close to halfway between Dallas and Austin. We headed down Saturday morning and got there about lunch time. We got two campsites so that we would have enough room and we could make one campsite a "quiet zone" for the babies. We all pretty much got there at the same time. My dad was there first and had scoped out the best sites for us. We pulled in and started setting up the camper and tents. Harper, Grayson, and Reese took care of Paige and Ellie for us. We brought enough toys for the littles to sit in and play with and not get bored. After lunch, they played hide and seek, drew with sidewalk chalk, and of course, we played baseball. We hung out all afternoon and it was the best. We brought our TV and Cody got the A&M game. We played Alabama and it was a brutal. The boys got there around 2pm and just sat and relaxed. It was such a fun afternoon. It ended up getting hot, so while the littles napped, the bigs went down to the lake to wade in the water. All three of them played so well together. Reese and Harper didn't fight one time and they just ran around the campsites all afternoon. Grayson roped Eric, Dane, and Pop into playing baseball with him all day. He told Kristen later that it was his best day ever!
After the game, Cody and Brian started grilling and the rest of us just hung out. The Royals were in the World Series so all the boys watched the game. Grayson was excited to try out his bow and arrow. Sadly, soon after the local park ranger came by and totally busted us on all the rules we were breaking. Alcohol in open containers. Weapons (bow and arrow). Dog off a leash (Eric's). Dumb. We managed to make it the rest of the weekend without more incidents but Grayson didn't get to play anymore and poor Duece was stuck on a leash all weekend. The littles catnapped off and on. Paige was pretty grumpy for the afternoon. She was sitting with Cody and wanting her bottle when I walked up. Just as she started crying, she whimpered out a sad and pathetic "Mama" and it was the cutest thing ever. Her first word at 8 months. She was kind of clingy that weekend. She is in a stranger danger phase. She went to Kristen pretty good, which she says is because we look so similar. I liked that all weekend we all just switched kids back and forth. When there are so many adults, it is so much easier. That night, we had a great dinner and sat around and talked all night. We made a bonfire for s'moresIt was a few days before Eric's birthday, so Kristen made him brownies and we sang Happy Birthday. Dane taught Grayson how to roast marshmallows, which he then did for everyone once he realized he didn't actually like to eat the s'mores. Harper and Reese on the other hand would have eaten enough for 10 people. These two were crazy kids all weekend but they are two peas in a pod so it was fun. We all sat around the bonfire for awhile and then headed to bed early.
Miraculously, the littles slept well that night. All the girls slept in the camper (plus Cody). Pop, Eric, and Dane slept in a tent, and Brian and Grayson slept in a tent. The camper all woke up around 5. Paige first but then she went back to sleep. Reese next at 6, but she got the iPad. Then Harper at 7, but she got in bed with us. Finally around 8, we all got up and moving. Cody started breakfast and we all hung out. It was pretty cold that morning. All the girls played around the camper and the littles got bottles. After breakfast, the McCool's started packing up. The kids went with the boys down to the lake again and we all had a hike across the beach and back to the camper. It was beautiful out. We came back and played some more bean bags and relaxed again. I love when time just seems to not matter because there is nothing to do but enjoy the day. We did have to finally pack up and we headed home just before lunch and naps. The boys all headed home too and we all agreed to do it again next year. It was the best weekend. I've missed just hanging out with my family without a holiday or an agenda to keep our time. It was the perfect Klusman Camping Trip.
No comments:
Post a Comment