Monday, August 21, 2006
I'm back from an unplugged camping trip!
Good morning Blogland!

I'm plugged back in, after a quiet, relaxing weekend camping with my little family and some of our friends!

Give me a bit of time to upload the pictures off my camera and then I'll come back and post several of them on here, along with more details on our trip. I might even include a video clip too! :)

Check back, okay?

**Edited to add**

So, I've got the pictures uploaded. The video will come later.

Our camping trip this weekend was a lot of fun. This was Snuggle Bug's second time camping. We took him last summer when he was 7 months old and decided we were long overdue to take him again.

Snuggle Bug had a fantastic time, although he woke up in the middle of the night Saturday, crying because he was scared and cold in his pack-n-play. To get him back to sleep, I had to bring a camp chair in to our tent and hold him close to me, with a couple of warm blankets over both of us. He sat on my lap facing me, tucked his arms under his chest, laid his on my shoulder, and fell back asleep. I held him there for a long time, loving the weight of him, feeling his heart beat and his light snores, and inhaling his sweet baby smell. I stayed in the chair until he was in a deep sleep, then I put him on the air mattress with us and he snuggle close, grasping my hair in his hand for assurance. He usually is too squirmy and won't sleep with us, so this was a treat!


Here's our tent. We got a great deal on it last summer, when we took Snuggle Bug on his first camping trip. It's a 3 room tent and our friends called it the "Hilton" tent. To give you an idea of it's size, Oronzo brought a queen sized air mattress to put inside and Snuggle Bug had his pack-n-play in there too and we still had plenty of room.


Here's a picture taken during a hike that the three of us took. Oronzo is carrying Snuggle Bug on his back. It's a good thing Oronzo is so strong, because I don't think I could do this!

Here's Snuggle Bug wearing my hat. As we were hiking and I realized how out of shape I felt, I couldn't help but think, "I wish someone would carry me on their back!" Snuggle Bug just sat back and enjoyed the ride.


Aren't these woods beautiful? The crisp air smelled sweetly of pine. The only sounds we heard were the clacking of flying grasshoppers, the rustling of the wind, and the crunch of pine needles under our feet. It was Heavenly!


Here's Snuggle Bug at the campsite, playing with our camping cookware. He'd never seen these before (I keep them tucked away in storage), so he was fascinated. And as for camp fire, off to the right, we told him right away that it was hot and the entire time we were there he steered clear of it and often pointed and said, "Hot!" looking to each of us for confirmation approval.


Here's Snuggle Bug hanging with the guys, listening to their tall tales. Believe me, there were some very tall tales being told!

Here's an action shot of Oronzo with some of his Ultimate teammates. Ultimate is kind of a cross between soccer and Frisbee. Most of us who camped together played in an Ultimate tournament yesterday. Snuggle Bug and I were on the sidelines cheering Oronzo on and taking lots of pictures. Snuggle Bug was quite enthusiastic in his cheering, shouting "Hooray!" a lot, even when the opposing team scored. He was just happy to be outside.

All-in-all, we had a lovely weekend with our friends. We didn't get home until 9 p.m. last night. It felt so good to take a shower and be clean again! I fell asleep the minute my head hit the pillow and woke up this morning and stretched with pleasure in my bed!

So, what'd you all do this past weekend?

8:36 AM
16 comments


16 Comments:
At 11:48 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Oh, so sweet! Obviously you guys had a great time camping, SnuggleBug looks like he's having a blast in his backpack carrier. And I LOVED the story of being able to enjoy cuddling with him, I live for those moments with mine. =) Thanks for sharing!

 
At 12:53 PM, Blogger Barbie @ Mamaology said...

Sounds like a great trip. What good memories you are making! Snuggle Bug looked so cute.

 
At 1:31 PM, Blogger Jen said...

I just want you to know the way you explained you and Snuggle Bug in the middle of the night was just precious...these past couple of nights when Miller would get up sick or having teeth problems I would do the same and think the same...I also had alot of conversations with God.
I just think its precious......our babies so very precious and a gift from God.
I enjoyed your story.
keep loving on him he will grow up.
Jen

 
At 1:45 PM, Blogger on the Rock said...

Having grown up in a big cosmopolitan city, I've gone camping outdoors once in my life and loved it! I still think how nice it would be to try again. We camped near Napa, and then went wine tasting the next day. The guys in the group were the cooks, and made full course meals like kabob, and spagetti, mmmmmm.

For my weekend antics you'll have to check my Sunday post. It was an experience I'll never soon forget.

 
At 1:54 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ooo glad the weekend went well!! I have a crush on your tent! It is nice to see other families camping, since most commenters thought I was crazy ... hmm maybe because I took our toddler on my own?! Great pictures ... thanks for sharing!

 
At 2:23 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Sounds like a fun weekend :) We haven't attempted to take Widget camping yet so I'm glad to read how well Snugglebug did!

Beautiful pictures too.

 
At 2:32 PM, Blogger Trisha said...

Thanks for all the great pictures of your weekend. Makes me wanna pack up and go camping this weekend.

 
At 4:23 PM, Blogger Eagles Wings said...

Awesome, I didn't blog over the weekend...Glad you guys had a good time....We took our first camping when he was little but now we have twins, my idea of camping is a Hampton Inn!
How did the cooking go???catch any fish??? Did you try the Eggs & Golden Rod???
Glad you guys had fun!

 
At 5:42 PM, Blogger rena said...

Wow, great spot and sounds like you all had fun. Ultimate is HARD!! Did you play too? I'd have collapsed after the first 5 seconds I'm sure.
This weekend, we celebrated my girlfriends 40th birthday almost all weekend long..it was great, though today I'm very tired and sleepy!

 
At 6:51 PM, Blogger Pamela said...

Camping was always a favorite memory of mine growing up, as well. When we camped out my Dad made the most scrumptious fried hashbrown potatoes over the fire in this huge iron skillet...good times.

So sweet the way you soothed Snuggle Bug in the middle of the night, such a good Mommy. :)

 
At 7:12 PM, Blogger DeAnna said...

I'm envious! We love camping but haven't been able to go yet this year since Amelia is so little and its been way to hot here. We are looking forward to taking a camping trip with them in the fall. Isabella loves it! And how sweet that you were able to cuddle with Snuggle Bug like that - nothing like it!! It looked like very fun and refreshing time all together.

 
At 8:40 PM, Blogger Michelle said...

Oh it looks like you guys had such a wonderful time camping! Big tent too! What a moment to treasure with him falling asleep on you like that.

We went to the county fair and Kayla loved the merry-go-round!

 
At 7:14 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow, you guys had fun! I would have worried the whole time that I was falling behind on my blog reading and that everyone was going to forget about my blog! But, that comes along with what is called "addiction." Shhh...

 
At 7:15 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great pictures, i sounds like you had a fun trip. I think that Tim and I are going camping soon, I can't wait.

 
At 9:26 AM, Blogger kpjara said...

I love how you're both so vested in developing wonderful vacation/camping memories for snuggle bug! He looks like such a happy child and is so blessed to have you both!

 
At 1:35 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

I am loving these pictures! I feel the same as Kpjara, fair play to you for being so active about spending family time and making these kinds of memories together.

Snugglebug is a very lucky little guy!

 

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