Camping and Bailing Out

There is a long tradition of illness accompanying family vacations, in my family.  My brother would sprout and ear infection almost as soon as we pulled out of the driveway, it seemed, while my dad tended to manifest more exciting, emergency-room type illnesses.  I didn't realize it till I moved out, but family vacation almost always meant family illness when I was a kid, I just sort of expected the one to accompany the other.

So it was no big surprise to me when Daddy got a migraine and I felt overly cold and sick to my stomach the second our heads hit the pillow this weekend.  After a few hours of trying to brave it out, I decided to bail, and so we drove home for over an hour in the middle of the night, sick as dogs and twice as miserable.

However, everything that led up to that awful night was a total blast.  Maeve and K got to be rambunctious all over the campsite, digging in the dirt, turning the water on and off, chasing chipmunks, wandering in a lightly wooded area above our campsite, and chugging juice boxes.  They both did a super job using the camp toilets, and even did a pretty good job going to bed.  Although Maeve did decide to take off her pajamas, get dressed, and re-emerge from the tent ready to play again, and had to be re-prepped for bed and put down again. 

We roasted weenies (which the kids refused to eat because I bought nice, organic hot dogs) and made a ton of s'mores (which the kids obviously LOVED), and we even tried roasting Starbursts, which turned out pretty yummy.  The grownups got to have a nice, chill campfire time after the kiddos went to bed, and we looked at stars through Daddy's new telescope.  All in all, a totally fun experience, with a few minor hiccups.  I just wish we could have stayed all weekend and not gotten sick, but that's life.

"Say cheese!"  "Cheese... and marshmallows!"