Okay, so I'm finally updating our blog from the family reunion trip! I've posted backwards so that things show up in chronological order...I hope it works.

Day 1: Saturday, August 4

We woke up at 6am to pack the cartop carrier and make the foil dinners! We decided to save some money (and have some fun) by camping along the way! So we packed the cooler and headed out. The boys were so ready to finally be leaving on "paycation" as Cameron calls it. I think it's a rather appropriate term...

About 12 minutes into the trip Cameron begins to ask if it's going to be a "long day." We assure him it is. The rest of the time is spent with him asking over and over again if he's going to sleep in a tent that night. The answer is the same every time and yet the question keeps being repeated. Aaahh, the joys of traveling with an almost 4 year-old.

By lunch time we're ready for the DVD player to come out and stop the madness. A big thank you goes out to Tori and Tony for lending it to us. It saved our sanity the entire time! We'll be borrowing it again, I'm sure. I, for one, would rather have Peter Pan pumping from the speakers than have to listen to the boys scream.

We made great time, thanks to the 75 mph speed limit in Kansas. We arrived at the campground at 6pm to find out that it was HOT and WINDY there. I expected this, so I was ready for it. We quickly got the tent up and put on our bathing suits. We took a dip in the pool while the foil dinners were cooking (i.e. burning) and then stayed in our wet suits for the remainder of the evening. I could have cared less that I was in a bathing suit in front of the entire KOA campground. I was comfortable and that's all that mattered.

After we ate dinner we decided to make s'mores (easily the best part of camping). Cameron insisted on roasting his own marshmallows. You can see the results were a little less than desirable. The boys had a great time just running all over the campground, though. I was confident that camping was, after all, the right decision.

Around 9pm the sun started to go down and we decided it was time for us to all put on our jammies and get into the tent for night-night time. I was convinced that Miles would just see us all laying down and head for his blanket for a good night's snooze. WRONG! By 10:30 it became apparent that all Miles wanted to do was run around inside of the tent using us as climbing equipment and practically breaking our noses in the process. Of course, this may have had something to do with the fact that our campsite was located DIRECTLY UNDER A STREET LIGHT THAT MADE IT APPEAR AS THOUGH IT WERE MID-DAY! We actually moved the tent about 4 times before realizing that there was no way to block out that much light. My question is this: WHO PUTS A GLARING STREET LIGHT IN THE MIDDLE OF A TENT AREA?!

So anyway, we decided that in order for any of us to get any sleep we were going to have to erect the pack 'n play right there in the tent. It was a squeeze, but we made it work. And Miles did finally go to sleep. But guess who didn't? ME! That's right. I guess it's not the best idea to go sleeping on the ground when you're 6 months pregnant. I was so incredibly uncomfortable! I just laid there and laid there and listened to everyone else snoring. I would fall asleep for a few minutes here and there only to wake up because I was in pain! ARGH! I decided right then and there that there would be NO camping on the way home. Only hotels with beds for this girl!

Oh well, at least we had fun while the sun was shining, right?