The Great Outdoors

We had our first family camping trip this weekend, and things went surprisingly well! It all started because I'd had a hectic week at work and I really needed a getaway. We didn't have the time, finances or dog-sitter to do anything that required a hotel stay and/or long drive, so we opted for a camping trip close to home. We managed to throw everything in the truck and get Steve out and on his way before 7:00 pm, and A and I made a quick run to the grocery at the same time for our supplies. Steve had base camp and tent set up by the time we got out there, so all we had to do was arrange the food and we were good to go.

I was apprehensive about taking a baby on a camping trip, especially one who wants to be crawling and exploring ALL THE TIME. I was worried about making bottles and washing dirty ones, I worried about ticks and too much sun, I wondered if she'd be entertained enough all weekend. I guess I needn't have worried because, really, everything was fine! We had a dishtub, and we had fires most of the time and could heat water for washing. We kept her in the shade as much as possible and we brought plenty of toys. I discovered that her stroller works just fine as a highchair (it even has a small tray perfect for holding Cheerios) and that a pack n play is absolutely necessary. She wasn't always happy to be confined, but at least we could do whatever stuff we needed to do (make food, clean up, tend fires) and know that she was safe and not getting TOTALLY dirty. We did try some time on a blanket, but every time I looked down, I saw a tick on the blanket, so that was a short-lived experiment.

We didn't do much--mostly eating and then napping and reading books until it was time to eat again--so I had plenty of time to take pictures. I think I got some really good ones! Here are my favorites, and you can see the entire album here (the rest of the photos aren't very exciting unless you like plenty of photos of plates of bacon and babies).

In the shot below, the look on Adele's face is pretty silly, but I like the shot because of the overall look/composition.


She's not unhappy, this is just one of her faces...