Ok- we did it! I finally broke down and planned a camp out in a tent. We went a little over an hour away to the beautiful Palomar Mountains where Ethan's favorite fishing spot is, Doane Pond. Audrey was so excited all week and that morning, she came bouncing out of her room saying "Happy camping day!" She loves to camp. We borrowed a big dome tent that was perfect for us with plenty of room to spare.
After much, much packing and preparation, we headed out this last Friday afternoon at 4:00 and got there just after 5pm. Set up wasn't too bad and the kids had fun playing in the tent. After some easy camp chili, we went down to the pond with our fishing poles. Audrey has her own princess pole which Caden coveted most of the time. Someday we'll get him a manly boys pole. Ethan caught two little fish that evening and released them. Then it was back to the camp to make a fire and roast marshmallows and make smores!
As it got late Caden wasn't too keen on the idea of sleeping in a tent but did finally go down in his port-a-crib after a short cry. There was only one other party of campers next to us in our area and they stayed up till 1am talking making it impossible to sleep. Then Caden woke up at 2am with another drawn out protest for being in the tent. We took turns holding and rocking him trying to get him back in his crib to sleep but had to resort to putting him in bed with us. He's never done that before but did better. I didn't really get much sleep that night and neither did Ethan but it was just one night and was all still worth it in the end.
Ethan went fishing super early and his dad even drove up to meet up with him at the pond and we all later enjoyed a yummy pancake, eggs, and bacon breakfast. We fished again late morning and I got a big bite and fought with what must have been a big fish for a while on Audrey's princess pole, but when I almost had him, he got away. It was a fun fight though! Ethan caught one that morning too.
By noon, we had to clean up and head out. We realized that next time we need to stay longer than one night because of the preparation, set up and clean up being so time consuming for just one night. But we did have a great time together and I was proud of myself for bucking up and camping like a real woman!
Tonight it was Mormon night at the Padre baseball game. Caden is a ball fanatic so he was very excited to go especially since he's been working on singing the whole song of Take Me Out to the Ballgame for a while now. I even came prepared with the peanuts in the shells and crackerjacks! Those little boxes still come with a little prize, although I remember them being better in my days...
a distance and they had a big screen off to the side to see close up. The kids loved the freedom of running around and rolling down the grassy hill. It was also $1 hot dog and sodas night. Can't beat that considering the prices on a normal night! We had a really fun time and made it through to the 7th inning stretch before calling it a night.
