camping.

not the best way to be welcomed to your camping spot... rain for the first hour and a stage two fire ban that just went in to affect 2days ago- meaning no campfires, not even in a contained spot. huge bummer since we brought hot dogs & smores for dinner... and campfires are the best part of camping! but we decided to stay because we got the last creek side spot at the crags campground, where i have been wanting to go for a few years, and we had already packed up & made the drive. and we like making memories of course!

during breaks in the rain, g was able to get the tent set-up... and during the last good rainfall before it stopped for the night, g blew up our air mattress that we borrowed from his parents. it only has a plug-in, no batteries. camping fail. and it ended up being terrible to sleep on. we need to just stick to our sleeping pads.

it was super chilly after the rain, but millie didn't mind one bit. she was so wilderness girl in her keens... loving the freedom to explore and play with her toys. and of course her little people camping set made the trip.

she LOVED this bridge. it was great to see her be so brave about a new environment... unafraid of uneven surfaces. and then we walked along the creek which ended with her stepping in the freezing cold water... which ended up meaning an outfit change, complete with throwing up from being so upset from being cold. goodbye warm fleece jacket, two pairs of pants, and her keens... which left one pair of pants (pajamas), one pair of shoes, and a few different tanks, l/s shirts, & s/s shirts. her outfit was a bit crazy and not nearly as warm, but it worked. lesson learned. my child will most likely throw up in any situation, and i need to be overly prepared with lots of options. at least her hat survived.

after the outfit change, we took a quick hike up the crags trail. within a few steps, i remembered how much i hate hiking, but we walked for about 20minutes before turning around for dinner.

millie's favorite part of outside activity is getting to drink from g's water backpack. if i was her, my favorite part would be that she rarely uses any energy in our outside activities. i want a carrier. and on the way down she took her nap for the day.

no campfire equals dinner at the closest restaurant to the campground... this one ended up having really good pizza. and we caught a photo at the sign on our drive back to camp!

more exploring after dinner, and then millie and i were in the tent by around 9 to stay warm... its hard without a fire! and kinda boring... g decided to hang out in the car & read a book. millie fell asleep around 10 after playing a few games on my phone. because of her clothes situation, i was worried to have her sleep on her own without a super warm sleeping bag, so her & i shared a sleeping bag on the air mattress. it ended up being horrible because the air mattress wasn't firm and she keeping rolling over to me... she was sleeping soundly and i was beyond frustrated. we then tried moving her to the sleep pads with one of the big sleeping bags, and g & i tried the air mattress together. horrible! i was now the light one rolling to g. so i ended up on the sleeping pads with millie in one sleeping bag, and g stayed on the air mattress- he ended up basically sleeping on the ground by morning. stupid air mattress. g & i slept poorly, but millie slept 11hours- we all woke up at 9!

morning. the sun was great, but it was still pretty chilly in the trees.

much prettier than when we arrived the day before!

i'm happy we stuck it out... millie loved it, and we now have a few more things on our "don't forget for camping" list and a mental note to not mess with air mattresses. not worth it.