#2

Goal #2: Go camping with the family

I really didn't want another year getting away from us without going camping. That's why we ended up camping in the mountains in March.

I knew it would be cold. We were prepared with warm clothing and bedding. I had not, however, checked the forecast the morning of our campout. As we drove into the mountains, we noticed that we were headed straight for an ominous wall of gray storm clouds. The rain continued as we arrived in Payson. We decided to forgo our picnic lunch, and dined at Arby's instead.

The rain was coming down harder than ever.

So we thought we'd kill some time at a thrift store we'd seen on the way into town. In fact, we visited every thrift store in the greater Payson area, stocking up on cheap clothes for the kids, and scoring a sweet new coat for Bree.

It was still drizzling.

But it was too late to get our money back now, so we headed over to the campground to check it out. Surprisingly, the ground was pretty dry, and we made the decision to stay. It was drizzly, cold, and a little windy.

But I kept reminding myself that I grew up in the rainy Northwest. When I was a kid, if you didn't camp in the rain...you didn't camp at all.

So our story had a happy ending...

Until we were ready to pack up and head home. We were enjoying the last of the morning campfire, and I was reading Fablehaven aloud, when Lincoln leaned over to reach for a grape that had landed on the campfire grill (we won't mention who tossed it on there, curious to see what a grilled grape looked like). The poor guy got burned pretty badly on his left hand. It was a miserable way to end the vacation. He screamed the whole time we packed up, because even though we had first aid with ointment and bandages, we didn't have anything for the pain. Luckily he fell asleep on the way home. Chad and I felt terrible.

It was a challenge trying to keep his hand bandaged for the next couple of weeks until it healed over. At first he kept trying to get the blistered skin off.

But he was a good sport about it. I think he finally realized that when we took care of it it felt better.

 

 

I still felt terrible.