Camping with a Baby

So . . . just so everyone knows . . . we will NOT be camping again until Austin is two . . . maybe three.

We went to our ward campout this last weekend. It was really fun! Ben of course was coaxed into putting his musical talents to work (which he doesn't mind doing)!

I did all of my girls' hair in fun braided up-do's. Braids are mandatory when you are camping! I wish I had gotten individual pictures of their hair . . . so cute.

Gwen made a new friend. These two were tied to the hip all night long. And the first thing Gwen talked about in the morning was about finding this new friend so they could play.

We camped at Bennion Creek. The kids all wanted to play around in the water . . . which I hear was SUPER COLD!

I didn't do any serious hiking here . . . I just got so tired of carrying a crying baby around. Into the baby backpack he went . . . and stayed for a few hours . . . and he didn't seem to mind!

Abby eventually got the guts to let go of the swing. After many attempts.

Gwen ended up in the water . . . once was enough for her!

I don't think Halle really ever got wet . . . but I think she had a good time watching everyone else come out of the water like an ice cube.

Okay, now to why I will not camp with Austin for a couple more years. To start out with, he was so grumpy. In his defense, he had been sick a day or two before, and we now realize that he has some back teeth coming in.

BUT . . . it was so hard to deal with a grumpy baby at a campsite. He refuses to walk . . . and so I felt like I couldn't really ever put him down. He didn't want to be in the stroller. He just wanted to fight being held.

He went to bed okay, and so then I was hopeful that we would have a successful camping trip. Now . . . let's just get this straight, to ME . . . a successful camping trip is my children sleeping the ENTIRE night . . . without crying or screaming or having a hard time in the tent.

Okay . . . so back to my story, Austin went to bed GREAT! We put him to bed really late for him, but seemed to really enjoy being put to bed. He slept through the girls getting ready for bed. He actually slept for several hours without making a sound. I went to bed VERY hopeful . . . I mean, he sleeps so well at home.

Around 3am however, he woke up. Let's just say he cried, and SCREAMED, on and off until around 5am. NOT FUN! I'm not sure that we will even be invited to this campout again next year, but even if we are . . . I don't think Austin can come. To me, it is just so much work to gather everything and go camping, to only have a TERRIBLE night once all the activities are over. I'm lame I know. I just really like to sleep at night. . . .

Maybe we will just start camping in backyard more often!