Family Camping Trip (otherwise known as... I'm a Fool)

We made the, supposedly, three how did it take us four hour drive to Twin Falls on Thursday. We were hoping that splitting the six hour drive up to Red Fish Lake would help the kids boredom/complaining/crying/screaming. We were wrong. Leah did fine (she's lovely isn't she?), Parker did not. That's all I have to say about that.

On Friday we drove the remainder of the way with my brother and his family. Red Fish is past Sun Valley, ID. It's a beautiful drive. Shortly after arriving Parker took it upon himself to get into every imaginable place he should not have. His favorite pastime was throwing dirt and sand on the not-quite-erected tents. Within 15 minutes of arrival Parker managed to dirt-ify and land himself in the car (a place he totally loved- eye roll), strapped to him car seat. Leah was wonderful. She played and explored and I'm sure I had to tell her to stay by the campsite a few times, but overall, she was lovely. Isn't she lovely?

Day two of camping was spent at the lake. All day. The lake was clean and had a lot of shoreline. We arrived a little after 10 am and found, what I can only assume, a prime piece of beach. We planted our gear and stayed there for the next six hours or so. The kids rarely strayed, Parker only at a little bit of sand, and we all had a fairly relaxing day at the beach. Talk about built in entertainment. And it wasn't even too hot.

Day three was pack up day. By this point I was ready to face the full six hour drive and go home. We had a really good time, but camping with a toddler is just not super easy. The company was fantastic, the location was incredible, and we made some great memories. Thanks Tyler and Katy!

Notes on camping:
*18 mo. old boys are not prime candidates for family camping trips. The next time Parker gets to go camping he'll probably be with the scouts. Not me.
*There's nothing like a campfire in the mountains.
*Trek weight vs. camping weight. When I came home from Trek, I'd gained 5 lbs. I weighed myself again 24 hours later and I'd lost 5 lbs. I attribute this to all the GALLONS of water I consumed. When I came home from camping I'd gained 5 lbs. again. I weighed myself again 24 hours later. It was still there. Something tells me that smores and marshmallows don't go to the same place that water does.
*Sleeping with Parker up in the mountains was miserable (my guess is that my brother's family will attest to this truth). The end.
*I'm so glad that the sunburn that I'd received from Trek the week before was re-burned while camping.
*The good thing about the burn is that I'd gotten some pretty bad lines from Trek because of the pioneer clothing: 3/4 length sleeve, raccoon eyes, and a bonnet brim. This all even out significantly on the beach. Well, except the raccoon eyes.
*When faced with a six hour drive I will do anything, ANYTHING to keep those kids quiet. There is no amount of treats or movies that is too much for this situation.
*When we came home the first thing I did was get the kids in the tub. It was nearly bedtime and we needed to unpack. After pulling my squeaky clean kids out of the tub, I was suddenly hyper aware of how gross I was. Yuck.

The last time Matt and I went camping was with a nearly 18 month old Leah. It wasn't a miserable experience until we tried to sleep at nights. After that we swore we'd never take a child under the age of three camping again. This idea was cemented in our minds after this weekend.

Bottom line: Red Fish Lake is beautiful, go there... not with Parker.