Camping: pros and cons

Hello all,

I haven't posted in a few days because I have been camping.  It was an exciting weekend in the Ramsey household.  For the first time we went tent camping as a family. As a child, my father took my brothers and I tent camping several times but I have never done it as an adult.  The closest my children and husband have gotten to tent camping is once a few years ago when we went up north with some friends to their trailer.  With all of our kids there was not enough room in the trailer so my husband and 2 sons slept in the tent outside.  I didn't count that as true tent camping because they had access to the trailer for everything except sleeping.

This past weekend we went true tent camping with the same friends and another family.  It was a great time. It was a great experience for myself and my family.  It was a well-needed get-away too.  We hadn't vacationed as a whole family at all this year so when my friends asked us to join them on this trip I jumped at the chance.  We really  needed a get away together.  The kids and I had gotten away for 10 days during the summer but Bryan didn't get to join us. Bryan got away for a workcamp this summer too, but I wasn't able to join him for that. It was nice to get away from the daily grind with my entire family plus some good friends that we love spending time with.  That is a pro to this past weekend.  I feel refreshed.  I feel like I can get back to chores and school work with new vigor.  I have a new lease on life.  Life can get so rushed and busy.  I can get so stressed.  This weekend I was able to enjoy the nature that God so beautifully created.  It was gorgeous.  We camped at Devil's Lake State Park in Wisconsin.  The colors are starting to turn on the trees.  It was one beautiful sight after another.

It was a great time to teach my children to work together too.  I am not an expert camper, Bryan has never camped but my friends have.  It was fabulous to have them there to take control of the nuts and bolts of camping.  We all assisted in setting up the tents, cooking the meals, gathering the wood, fetching the water, serving the food, taking down the camp, cleaning up, doing dishes, chasing Sammy and more.  As I write this I feel a bit guilty because I was chasing Samuel so much that I couldn't help as much as I would have liked.  As often as I could I would put one of the kids on "Sammy duty" while I helped with camp.  Actually, it was wonderful that so many of the kids often volunteered to be on "Sammy duty" because he is so loved. There were 5 adults and 12 children (Jason is 13 and he was the oldest) including my family.  The adults were well outnumbered but the kids were so helpful that it was a great time.

We went hiking up one of the sides of Devil's Lake.  It was gorgeous.  It was also a ton of exercise!  That was yet another pro.  All of the adults on this trip are watching their weight.  Four of them are WW members and the other one has lost 40 pounds this year.  We earned a ton of Activity Points, burned a ton of calories and worked our muscles.  Several times over the hike my friend and fellow WW, Julie, asked me how many Activity Points we had earned.  At one part of the hike I had decided that every step I took climbing up the rocks with Sammy on my back had to count as a point.  I have a feeling that each step counting as a point may be a slight exaggeration but I am still sore today from that hike we took on Saturday so I know I worked my muscles.  It was tiring. I wanted to give up when we were told that we took the wrong way down the hill and now we would have to climb back up the hundreds of rocks that we had just maneuvered down to get back to the rest of our group.  Looking back I don't regret one step. I really think I would take every step again and climb every rock both down and up.

Even though I can feel every step I take today in my muscles I am encouraged that I was able to get through the hike and still be breathing.  I hiked at least half of the hike with Samuel on my back.  (I have a picture posted on the bottom to prove it.) Samuel weighs 26 pounds so that was a taste of what it would be like to carry around 26 pounds of the weight I have lost.  The really encouraging part is that even with the extra 26 pounds I kept up with the group quite well.  Our 3 families were joining this Boy Scouts on this hike so we had to keep up with young boys. It made me feel a renewed vigor for exercise.

All of those pros that I just mentioned were joined by just one con.  When I am exercising so much and enjoying the company of good friends and family I............wait for it.............you guess it it, eat more!  While camping out around a campfire there are s'mores.  While going on a 5 mile hike, climbing up and down rocks and hills there are trail mixes.  When coming back to camp after a long hike there are sandwiches, fruit, chips, cheese, sausages and crackers to eat.  While camping with so many children someone is always hungry so there is always food available.  When returning home sleep deprived and desperately needing a shower the local pizza buffet is very inviting..........no clean up, no cooking, no dishes.  Need I say more?! I ate too much!

Here's to a new week.  It's Monday.  I'm home.  I have access to my kitchen and will use it wisely.  I also have access to the outdoors and should use it more often too.

Have a great day everyone,

Corinna

"O Lord, our Sovereign, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouths of babes and infants you have founded a bulwark because of your foes, to silence the enemy and the avenger. When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have established; what are human beings that you are mindful of them, mortals that you care for them?"-Psalm 8:1-4

Here is much of our crew on the hike with some of the Boy Scouts.  I'm the one towards the middle in the green with Sammy on my back.

Sammy knew that he was supposed to sit on that chair.  He plopped himself right down on that spot. Now we just need to teach him how to open it first.

The tents needed taken down and the air needed to be let out......or should I say squished out.  Unfortunately, most of the air was gathering under the 40 pound little Carlin on the end.