Ca-ca-ca-camping!

My friend and I were working out together way back in the Spring when she asked me if we would like to join their family on a camping trip over Labor Day.  I hadn’t eaten breakfast and was dying on the elliptical machine.  I think I was blacking out from overexertion because I suddenly heard the words, “Sure!  That sounds like fun!” rolling out of my mouth before I could stop them.

Sure, that sounds like fun?!  What?!  I don’t even like camping.  I mean, not at all. And besides that, the only camping gear we own is a cruddy sleeping bag from Walmart and a checkered camping pillow that smells like it’s been passed around a homeless encampment.  It was a severe momentary lapse of judgment  that I couldn’t renege on.  Dang.

And then Labor Day just up and showed its face on the calendar.  Thankfully, we looted my parents garage of all their expensive camping gear during our 4th of July visit so at least we wouldn’t be sharing the stinky pillow.  But still I felt anxiety about camping.  In the woods.  Preparing dinner with dirty hands.  With bugs all up in your business.  Bleh.

But away we went anyway.  We camped at South Beach State Park near the coast and what a delightful campground it was.  Flushing toilets, showers, water, and all within walking distance to the beach.  Turns out camping isn’t so bad when you can shower and wash your hands before making dinner.  We had a pleasant time and will probably go camping again next year.  Gasp! 

It took a while to load our car – probably because of the copious amounts of Oreo cookies.  And the fact that we didn’t test out our new bike rack beforehand and found our bikes wouldn’t fit on there as intended.  So we white-trashed it and strapped them down all cattywampus like.  Don’t judge.  You weren’t there. 

It only took us an hour to set this bad boy up.  We would have been done sooner but one of the poles was strangely too long so we had to perform minor surgery.  We were successful.  Who says you need formal training to perform surgery?  Hogwash.

Eva and her buddy made great use of the outdoors.  My favorite activity they conjured up was their “exercise bikes.”  They sandwiched their bikes into the bark chips so their back wheels could spin freely and then they would sit and “exercise” whenever we were in camp.  They also spent a lot of time climbing around in my car and leaving dirty footprints everywhere.

We had fun at the beach and exploring tide pools.  We ran down the rock hill at Cobble beach and listened to the cool sounds, we roasted lots of marshmallows and drank hot chocolate.  We spent quality time together as a family and enjoyed the freedom from distractions.  It was a good trip.

And then we hit up Dairy Queen on the drive home.  Seems fair after sleeping on the ground for 2 nights.  Which is my limit. 2 nights and not a minute more.

I guess we’ll try it again next year.  I sure hope my parents don’t expect their equipment back anytime soon…

Funny Eva

Just because she continues to make me laugh, here are some more recent conversations with Eva.

Driving in the car:

A cat ran across the street in front of us and he had a dead mouse in his mouth.

Me: Eva, look!  That cat caught a mouse.  Pretty cool, huh?

Eva: But how did he catch it?

Me: I don’t know.  He probably cornered it and pounced.  That’s what cats do.

Eva: But not all cats.  Tom never catches Jerry.  The truth is that Tom always chases Jerry but never catches him.

At the supermarket:

Eva: Can I have a treat?

Me: No, you don’t need a treat.

Eva: (pointing to herself) But Mom! This cat eats people food.

At home:

Eva: Can I play on your phone?

Me: No.  You’re in trouble for not obeying.

Eva: But Mom!  You guys wouldn’t stop bothering me.  That’s why I didn’t listen.

Getting in trouble:

Eva was upset about something and swatted at my leg.

Me: Eva, don’t hit.

Eva: I didn’t.

Me: Then what do you call that?

Eva: I call it my freaking out.

At Ace Hardware:

There was a bucket of rabbit’s feet on the counter and Eva and I were playing with them.

Me:  Ew, gross.  I think it’s a real rabbit’s foot.  It feels like a real foot.

Eva: Here, let me see.  Mama! It’s just wood with cotton on top.

Listening to music:

Eva: I like that song.

Me: You do?

Eva: Yeah, see my tear of joy?

In the car:

Myke has a retractable back scratcher in his car and Eva was using it.

Eva: Ahhhh.  That feels good.

Myke: Yeah, I like it too.

Eva: You know my favorite thing about the back scratcher?  It gets all my fleas.

And that’s exactly why her dad likes it too.

Snowshoeing

Have you met my kitty?

Well, she informed me tonight that she’s all ready to play in the snow.

I’m glad she’s prepared.  We certainly don’t want frostbite on those tender paws.

Summer Vacation

Eva is a lucky, lucky, lucky little girl and was able to spend 5 whole days at my sissy’s house all by herself.  I haven’t spent that much time away from my baby since she was born and I felt the anxiety of her departure pinning me down like there was a boulder on my chest. 

Eva had no such feelings.

Eva was so excited to go that I couldn’t get her suitcase packed fast enough.  With a cheery, “Bye-bye, Mama!” she was off.

The house was still and quiet and I felt out of place.  I thought about being productive with my new-found stillness and quietness but that was a fleeting moment.  Instead, I did something I never do, something I normally despise doing, something rather unthinkable on a mid-morning Wednesday – I took a nap.

It was odd.  It was refreshing.  It was just what my poor’ol bones needed.

I thought over the next 5 days that I would ache with emptiness.  I thought Eva would miss me terribly and cry herself to sleep at night.  There was no aching or crying-ourselves-to-sleep.  There was only happiness.

Turns out my sissy’s house is much more awesome than mine.

I don’t know what all the fuss is about.  It’s not like going to the lake everyday and having your sandwiches cut into shapes is that cool.  I mean, come on.  Getting to eat your aunt’s famously delicious cinnamon toast for breakfast, going to the car wash, watching movies, reading every book in the toy closet, and slicing bananas with your own mini-slicer is a bore.  Who really wants to drink out of a tiny A&W mug and use a tiny spoon that used to belong to a squirrel named Ralph?  And what fun is there in calling your uncle “Captain Graybeard” and he calling you “Sailor” all week?  Sounds kind of dull.

Yup.  I  don’t understand why she keeps talking about her trip to Idaho.  Some people must really like lame trips.

Impeccably dressed

I asked Dexter to hurry and put her dress on so we weren’t late for church. 

She quickly replied, “It’s not a dress, Mama.”

“Oh?” I said. “What is it then?”

“It’s my church fur.”

Well, of course it is.  How could I possibly expect my kitty to go to church in her mangy ‘ol everyday-fur? 

Independence Day

If you want to have a really delightful 4th of July, go visit my parents in small-town Idaho.  It will take you a long time to drive there and you’ll be exhausted.

But once you arrive, it will be a spectacular trip.

You'll get to be in the parade.  If you’re Michael, you’ll use your position as candy-thrower to bean a defenseless woman in the face while she holds her baby.  If you’re a normal person, you’ll be a responsible candy-thrower. 

You'll see cousins at the fireworks and have a million glow sticks to play with.

My dad will take you to watch a Chukars baseball game where he will buy you cotton candy AND a snow cone.  You’ll also get an autographed baseball while you’re at it.

Of course they’ll be lots of time to pet Dexter and to ride on your horse, Strawberry.  That horse will take you all the way through the desert, to Oregon, and Outer Space.  What an equine!  My sister Chris will even bring her cotton candy machine over and make you any flavor you want.

You’ll get to eat ice cream every night, have bon fires in the backyard, and you can watch my siblings do a triathlon together.

The only negative is that the trip will be over far too quickly and you’ll have to cram back into the car for a long drive home.  But, Eva is a great navigator and you won’t get lost along the way.

And you can take my niece home with you.  That may be the best part of all.

Well, that and the new baby doll my dad will give you.

Oh!  You simply must go!

Father’s Day

Eva and I adore the father in our house.  So we made him crab legs for dinner.

I think he liked them.

Eva answered questions in primary about why she loves her dad.  They are all excellent reasons.  She also sang to him in Sacrament meeting.  She stood up front and told the kids around her in a loud voice, “My dad is so excited!”  He was excited indeed.  Her singing made his eyes well with tears.

We adore the father in our house so much we went hiking with him in the hot sun without any water.  Thankfully the father forgave us once we arrived at the beautiful waterfall.

Happy Father’s Day to our wonderful father!