This day will go down in history as one of the most comical camping experiences EVA!
A little check-in on my little wildflowers...
Peas...
Time to lop that thing off... so we can all fight over it!
Welcome to the Chicken Neighborhood!
Ok so it's a bush bean... is this normal?
Simple beauty!
Best goodwill purchase eva!
It was LOVE!
Popsicles make everything better...
Thank you for holding still little friend...
Yeah while Moms inside this is what's going on... "Naked" Tonka riding! haha!
Ok so my Magic moment begins here.... Since Ben and I didn't get to go camping with the rest of the family in Oregon, we decided we'd have a good ol' fashioned camp out right in our own backyard.. Complete with a magical forest full of twinkling lights and candles... of course our Birthday sign from Coltens 4th birthday was a great addition... So I don't know about you but when I get one of these "ideas" in my head, I can see it so vividly and how magical it will be... well let me tell you once you have kids you have to take those thoughts and cut them in half and hope for he best!
The boys didn't care that they had HOURS before dark they...
thought hangin in the test was totally awesome..
As soon as I had the air mattress filled I said, "Ok we need to go get our blankets" and before I could even get up to the house Ben was on his way back down from his room with his blankie in hand! Too sweet!
Papa's such a good sport... just going along with my "magical" dream!
Here he is moving our outdoor cook stove down to the "campsite"
Ben was ready for bed... well it was really just an opportunity to have his binkie in!
You're seeing the Magic right?!
Cute
Yeah this is what you have to take pictures of when you have boys!
Ants eating an Earwig... yum!
Ok so Mom ran inside made a speedy batch of pigs in a blankie, some bunny mac and chopped some watermelon and we had a little outdoor feast...
Hey what you got over there?....
It's applesauce dude...
He's totally thrilled to be on the blog... you can see it right?
He's totally squishin my magic moment right now!
This is how you eat at Camp Larsen....
Classy just like his Mama!
We're campin so why dirty a bowl right?
Wild animals in our camp site... ahhhh
Ah yes... Mama's magical moment is soooo exciting!
Goofy...
Not sure who's idea it was to keep the flame on the ground.... hubby?
Oh yeah... Hubby's a genius! Homemade citronella oil lanterns!
A total quick improvise since we lost part of our tiki torches!
The most exciting evening eva!
Ben didn't have any trouble keepin himself entertained...
Tryin to flood out the moles... some redneck entertainment at it's finest!
Chickies enjoying our company...
You can see my vision now right? Magical Forest right?
Ugh Waiting for it to get dark was becoming torturous...
Fire HOT... haha!
Gorgeous!
Not sure how to get a good shot of all three...
I tried.....
and tried....
Come on....
Really....
Then Ben started eating Jeromy's head....
Ughhhh I was sooooo excited to light everything up.... just get dark ALREADY!!
My little builder...
He's obviously been to the lumber yard a few times...
Love this one with Pete in the background...
A little Fooootball... more like pickle in the middle with a 5 year old... Sooo fun! is that mean?!
A picturesque sunset... but geeesh just get dark already!
One is totally thrilled about our evening walk the other.... well not so much!
Dessert #1... Blackberries
Yep love him... Grumpy magic moment camping party pooper and all!
He had a good excuse though... a morning migraine left him not himself for the rest of the day...
What a trooper... going on along with Mama's crazy ideas even when he's not feelin 100%
I'm soooo lucky!
Queen's anns lace.... such a simple beauty!
Dessert #2 Banana Boats!
Nana Kathy's first time... I think she approves!
Yeah.... the Magic Forest in all it's glory! It was soooo beautiful! Pictures totally don't do it justice!
Nana Kathy had to retire for the night as the Mosquitos were tryin to carry her off!
My homemade bug spray attracts bugs - Says Colten!
Glow Stick Fun
Amazing the things I scrounged up around the house...
Fancy camera or not... Night time photos seem impossible to take!
I'll work on that!
So the 2 dozen or so mason jar candles were lit... I walked around admiring my creative (pinterist inspired HAHA) yard! Then we walked around and blew them all out... because the kids NEEDED to go to bed! They were lit for about 10 minutes! haha!
We left the lights on for a while and gathered around one of the citronella candles and finally found that magical moment I'd been looking for... Colten in his little chair, Ben snuggled in his blankie on my lap and Jeromy and I taking turns telling Camping stories from our childhood!
What happened next wasn't caught on camera, although I wish it had!
We climbed into our tent meant for 2 people...found spots for each kid. (for some reason Jeromy and I never thought to separate ourselves, so the air mattress attempted to swallow our bodies in the middle... (comfy right?)
Well we all said goodnight and love yous and then....well the party started... Ben stood up and started jumping... "Bouncin!" he cheered...
(in case we all couldn't feel the mattress beneath us!)
Then in the dead of darkness Ben's finger found my eye socket.... "EYE" he yelled
(in case I was unsure as to why I would be blind in the morning)
Both Jeromy and I seemed to raise our voice at the same exact time... "Ben Lay Down!".... Ben's response? He fell over and yelled "DING DONG!" We were crackin up!
It took Ben about an hour to settle down! Colten on the other hand was sooooo incredibly happy to be in bed cuddling with Papa... he was out in minutes!
So hours went by, I tossed and turned trying to figure out how to get comfy while a 2 year old slept on my feet and my husband causing seismic activity with his periodic limb movement disorder (it's for real people...google it!)... Then if it couldn't get ANY more FUN and Magical....
A lightning storm began....
Cramped, cant get comfortable, esophagus telling me that banana boats were a bad idea, and now a strobe in the sky...
FANTASTIC!
So now I've finally fallen asleep, only to be woke out of a DEAD sleep by well... who knew I married RAMBO... yep so the mattress starts movin and I try to pull myself from slumber... Jeromy grabs his AR and launches out of the tent with amazing ninja skills. He did a perimeter check like any good Rambo... and comes back to the tent window to inform me that we might need to move inside (at this point I'm shaking with fear and anxiety that me and my babes are going to be eatin by a bear)
NO Bear... Thank goodness!
Apparently a family of raccoons had invaded our yard and instead of retreating when Rambo showed up they hissed and growled at him... So now Rambo and his family are packin two children and all their pillows, blankets and other "totally" unnecessary sleeping companions up to the house in the now passing shower at 1:30AM...
I can't say I'm surprised I ended up in my bed, and I can't say I'm all that bummed either, but who knew something as simple as camping in the yard could be sooooo much work and soooooo action filled!
Nana Kathy was the lucky one in the trailer I guess! So next time we'll rough it in there!
Like Jeromy and I have always said if something interesting doesn't happen.... is it really worth remembering? It makes for a good story, another to add to the book of life...
So thankful we can laugh about it now, and share with the boys when we're sitting around the campfire many years from now!
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