Outdoor Living

One of our favorite family past times is camping. Before kids, camping was minimal...with kids, it's the exact opposite. Now, we bring just about everything but the kitchen sink, and that's because we've got a makeshift outside dishwashing station. But, that's okay. In fact, it's great. We've gotta make the girl and the boy comfortable with sleeping outside and help them feel at home in the woods. I remember when we got the new tent; it was so big compared to our previous, much smaller outdoor sleeping spaces. Of course, then, Summit was a baby, and the new tent seemed huge. As the children grow, I'm realizing the need for more tent space will also increase. But, I'll do whatever it takes. I love living with my family in the outdoor wilderness. It's so much easier than the indoor wilderness.

 

We usually take the fam camping around Brevard at the end of every summer, but since my friend, Darlene, and her husband, Tom aka Gunny, own a campground near Bryson City, NC, we decided to try a different place on for size. And, it didn't disappoint. Outfitted with a pool, horseshoe pit, badminton, and a community bonfire pit, their place is adorable. The kids had a blast playing in the creek beside our site, fishing in the trout pond (though, Summit refused to touch the fish he caught...I think the idea of having ended something's life freaked him out...thank goodness; Matt's cleaning of the fish didn't help either), stuffing their faces at the ice cream social, feeding Darlene's horse, and cooking smores by the fire.

When I told my friends, Tracey and Sharon and Carolyn, about our plans for Labor Day weekend, they hopped on board the camping train... well, everyone except Carolyn, who said she had "something to do" that weekend, which I think means she had to sleep inside, on her bed, with air conditioning. (Just messing around, C.) Tracey and Sharon, bless their hearts, decided to join us for some outdoor fun. And, man, was it FUN! They brought all of their girls (Tracey's 3, Sharon's 2...poor Summit), and all of the food in the state of South Carolina. Seriously, I'm pretty sure they did bring their kitchen sinks. Needless to say, we didn't want for anything. Well, maybe Tracey wanted for extra clothes for her youngest, who she dubbed 'Muddy Claire' instead of Mary Claire. Love it! For real, though, that child constantly found ways to get covered in dirt. Of course, mine did, too, but I just didn't pay it any attention. I mean, I told them to not slide down dirt hills on their bottoms. It's not my fault they ran out of clean shorts. One day, I'm sure I'll get called out on it from Ella for not 'caring' if she was dirty while her friend's mom made sure Mary Claire was clean at all costs. Whatever. At least she didn't have to endure the chafing that the little man did for the last day and a half of the trip. See, there's a sunny side.

 

Before our camping friends retired for home, we wanted to do something touristy and neat so we rented tubes and took a bumpy ride down Deep Creek in the Nantahala National Forest. The water was frigid, but the chill was quickly forgotten when you had to consider how to get down the river, which was not deep. I think it was Sharon's husband who said that whoever named the river must also have named Greenland. Regardless, it was hilarious. There were bodies flipping (I was the first, but Tracey's dump may have been one of the worst), kids singing (Abby's rendition of Adele's 'Rolling in the Deep' helped create a great parody for our river adventure), tubes bumping, eddies spinning, and memories being made. Even the torrential rain storm at the end of the ride didn't dampen (ha ha) our spirits. Well, not mine anyways. Maybe Summit lost his cool, but he's 4, what can you do?

We ended our trip a day after our pals departed, and enjoyed a nice campfire/stove meal with Tom and Darlene. They really made us feel right at home at their campground, and they certainly gave us the special treatment. The kids had a blast and we lived to see another camping trip success!