Camping, Part one

Well, I'm finally going to get around to telling you about our camping trip. It was great and for my first time, pretty much as I thought it would be. So, let's start at the beginning shall we. First, we will start with loading up the car. Now, I was of the mind to bring all things that would ensure a good "first camping" trip. So, having my grandmother's genes running through my body, I pulled on the Northcutt side and decided I needed to be prepared. Now, those of you who didn't know my wonderful grandmother (we all called her Mee Maw), she was a PREPARED WOMAN! The back of her grand marquis looked like a mini-walmart. (And you think I exaggerate!) It did really. Her plan was to be able to live out of her trunk for anywhere from 10 - 14 days. I'm not just talking first-aid, but hand-crochet sweaters and blankets, fruit, toliet paper, her personal medicine case (more like a small suitcase), various nuts to snack on, knives to peel the fruit, toliet paper, paper towels, flash lights, tape, I mean I could go on and on. Her purse was the same. It was just a magnificent sight to see her clean out her purse. Everything you could need and PERFECTLY ORGANIZED. Martha Stewart had nothing on my Mee Maw. Well, I am like to pattern my life off of her preparedness philosophy and do on a daily basis. Now, my husband. Well, Luke has camped all his life but especially once he headed off to college. His philosophy: if you can't carry it on your back in your backpack then don't take it. In college he would pack his backpack, and then hike in to any spot he chose that was in complete wilderness. Now, he's kind of a "rough it" kind of guy! (I mean he slept on the floor in college on his sleeping bag for over a year until I could convince him that he needed a mattress). I, on the other hand, was raised at the feet of my grandmother so to speak. Thence, different worlds. Now, he went along with my packing until I started putting all the pillows in. He then told me I could only take one and I thought "Ahhh, ONLY ONE!" But I went with it and it was o.k. Don't want to go with only one pillow everyday but for a night - no problem. The more I started thinking about it, the more I realized that he patronizes my craziness a lot. What a great husband. So anyways, we are then packed and head out. We get there, set up, luke get's the tent up (AWESOME tent), Jarrod decides to hang some christmas lights where we will set up our chairs (that got a laugh out of me), and then we start thinking about eating. I had made fruit salad, made tea, made mississippi mud brownies, etc... I thought this was camping fare. They thought we were just going to eat hot dogs. If I'm going on vacation, my plan is to eat well. (I think I won them over to my way of thinking.). After we eat, I take the kids to go play on the swingsets and then we hike out to the lookout. Really, REally beautiful. We come back, make our hikes to the bathroom and get the marshmallow roasting going. The kids either drop or burn up most of the marshmallows but hey, we were having fun. We then get the kids in their p.j.'s and Jack has to go to the bathroom. So, Luke, Jack and I hike back to the bathroom and Luke is toting Jackson's Sesame Street Toliet ring. He got a few stares for that one, as I tried really hard not to laugh histerically. By this time it is getting pretty chilly and we tuck Jackson into bed for the night and I lay down with him for few minutes until I am sure he is plenty warm enough. Luke, Ellen and Jarrod set up a card game while I am in the tent with Jackson. Well, Luke comes into the tent and say's (or this is what I thought he said), "Mandy, you've got my jacket right and your warm enough?" I say, "Yep, we've got it and we are warm enough." He then says it again, and I repeat my answer again. He then starts moving stuff around and I thought he was just making sure we were tucked in tight. I repeat again not to worry, we are warm enough. I kept thinking he sure is concerned that we are warm enough. Well, about 10-15 minutes later I come out to play cards. I sit down next to Jarrod, Luke's right across from me and Ellen's beside him. I start talking and then notice that everyone is staring straight at me. Well, I look up and Luke has on Jackson's miniture sleeping bag with the arms cut out. It is then when everyone busts out laughing because I've finally noticed and asked Luke what in the world he is doing. They are laughing so hard that it takes me a while to get it out of them. Jarrods got his head completely buried in the table and Ellen's wiping her tears with the roll of paper towels. I just knew they'd wake up all 4 boys but he then explained that he had come into the tent wanting his jacket. He was trying to get me to tell him where his jacket was and all I told him was how warm we were. So, he had this miniture sleeping bag on his body with his head in the hood and his arms out the slits. Try to fit a 6'6 guy into a 36 inch sleeping bag. It was one of the funniest things I had seen in a long time (but maybe you had to be there). It was a classic "Luke" moment for sure. Camping was anything but dull.

Hey, we're thinking about getting a group together to go back this fall and maybe go to Desoto. Anybody out there crazy enough to want to go with us? If so let me know. Don't worry, I can bring my Sesame Street Toddler Toliet ring. No need for those little hind-ends to fall in. And Luke would just love to carry it for you.