Camping!

Dev and I hadn't been camping since before we got married (not counting camping in the backyard) but Beatrice had been begging to go for the past two years so I figured it was finally time.

This week we went camping at Serrano Campground in Big Bear.

My favorite part of camping is labeling things.

 

The weather was gorgeous - a high of 73 degrees, sunny and clear with a slight breeze, and a low of 43 degrees at night.

Beatrice's specific wish list for this trip was to "wear pajamas, sleep in a tent, fly a kite, and make s'mores," so we made sure to do all those things.

The first thing we did when we arrived in Big Bear was check out the new Big Bear Discovery Center, the very impressive visitor center for the San Bernardino National Forest.  They have an interior museum space with a café and activities like crafts and story time, and a large outdoor play area and hiking trail.  And dogs are welcome, too, even inside.

 

 

 

Ribbon dancing with the dogs in the "dramatic play center"

Mina, this reminded me so much of something Louis would love  - a big pile of sticks, logs, and rocks of various sizes you can use to build structures:

Then we ate a picnic lunch by the lake and Dev helped the kids fly kites.  They weren't very good at it, of course, but they still had a lot of fun.

After that we went to our camp site.  Dev showed Beatrice how to set up a tent and then the kids played bocce and colored postcards for their cousins while we made dinner.  (Beatrice insists on working coloring into every other activity she does.)

For dinner I made some great sloppy joes (using this recipe).  I hadn't had sloppy joes since I was a kid and I'd forgotten how good they are.
 

Sloppy joes

 

Then, of course, we had hot chocolate and s'mores for dessert (I accidentally packed mini marshmallows instead of regular ones, but we made do).

As a special treat before bed, the kids got glow sticks and glow-in-the-dark bracelets and necklaces to wear.  Then everyone got a chance to tell one bedtime story.  As you might imagine, Beatrice's was incredibly long and convoluted.  Arthur's story was, "One time I saw an alligator and it tried to eat me! The end."

The entire day the kids were perfectly behaved and we had a relaxing, idyllic time. Until, of course, bedtime, when things took a sharp turn for the worse.  We had set up two tents: one for me, Dev, and the dogs; and one for Beatrice and Arthur.  Beatrice went to bed eagerly and stayed in her sleeping bag all night.  Arthur, meanwhile, freaked out completely.  He was very cold, which was a big part of the problem, and also overexcited, and nervous, and basically he cried from midnight until dawn.  I wound up sleeping in the kids' tent and even let Arthur sleep with me in my sleeping bag, but he spent the entire night saying, "I want to go home," "I hate camping," and "I quit!" all the while keeping Beatrice awake, too.  (Beatrice was a real trooper, though, and even tried to help cheer Arthur up, including letting him use her beloved camping lantern.)

It did not go this smoothly at night.

Finally at 5:30am I took him and Beatrice for an early morning drive to McDonalds so we could run the car heater and warm him up.  Which meant I didn't sleep the entire night, though Dev did let me nap from 7-8:30am while he and the kids made a big breakfast of sausage and eggs.

Up early for breakfast with Dad

Despite the very difficult, exhausting night, the children were both in high spirits the following day.  After breakfast, we took a short hike and went on a nature scavenger hunt, and Dev and Beatrice took another hike to explore an old, abandoned cabin we had seen from the side of the road. 

Arthur's favorite activity was picking up the heaviest rock he could lift and then hurling it to the ground.

Then we headed back home for baths and dinner and put both kids to bed at 5pm.  It was a long, eventful two days, but Beatrice is already saying it was the most fun she's ever had.