Oak Mountain State Park Round 2 10-3-15

Short trip, short blog post, right?  Probably not.  Even though we were really only camping about 36 hours we still manage to fill our time with lots of stuff to post.  So here we go! (Donald writing with Kelly's *inputs)

We were scheduled to head out Friday evening to set up and get our latest adventure going; however, a long week for everyone and some untimely sickness for Carter caused us to stay home Friday night and instead begin the journey Saturday morning.  This trip was a little different for us than normal because we are only camping 5 minutes from our house at Oak Mountain State Park, and because this is the first time we have repeated one of our camping locations. Why would we camp so close to home when we have a great backyard that feels like a state park already?  I’m glad you asked.  The easiest way to say it is that we are obsessed with camping during the Fall so we are trying our hardest to get into the camper as much as we can while the weather is so nice.  Since we are wanting to camp we had to go somewhere close by because Carter had a soccer game and I was scheduled to teach a Sunday school class at church; therefore, we had to stay local.

Anyway, Saturday morning began with Donald loading everything up and heading to the campsite.  Kelly, Carter, and Caroline got ready and drove to the soccer field, where Donald was scheduled to meet them for the game.  Donald got everything set up in a pretty nice spot and was driving toward the game when Kelly called and said it was cancelled due to rain.  That’s right … the ugly r-word.  Yuck.  Certainly it will pass by because we are camping!  Wrong-o!  

Last time we stayed here we were right next to everyone but this time we were more in the middle of everyone and had much more space.  SO much better!!!  Right next to the bathrooms (which could definitely use updating- yuck)  But many renovations will be happening in the next couple of years- yay!!!

Happy Anniversary to us;)  Bottom left picture we let Carter try and take one of us and Caroline decided to come over and pose as well.  

We all got to the camper about 10:30 Saturday morning and started settling in.  It was already misting pretty good but we heard things were going to let up later in the day.  Things began pretty much indoors with a movie and toys, but it didn’t take long for us to get restless. When Kelly drew an invisible line for the kids to not cross or touch each other we knew it was time to venture out and do some exploring.  There is a great trail near the entrance to the campground that has some really great scenery.  We have been down the trail before and since the rain was currently gone we set up down the path.  Everyone was having a nice walk when Caroline began saying, “potty! potty!”  Up until this point it did not occur to Kelly or me that camping is not the best place when your child is only eight days into potty training.  We didn’t really know what to do at this point, but at the same time we knew exactly what to do.  So, I helped her with the process and Caroline successfully had her first experience with “the world’s largest bathroom,” which is a common camping phrase. She is officially a camper! Really though it has been so much fun to really see her enjoy camping like we do!

Caroline's "I'm officially a camper" collage.  She loved it!  She has obviously been already but this was the first time she was more aware and soaking it all in.  Loved "playing" goldfish and thank goodness she embraced going potty in the woods!  

Shortly after this excitement, Caroline began to tire so Kelly took her back to the camper in hopes that she would fall asleep (*she was totally out until I laid her down, but I won on the ride home!).  Carter and I were determined to make it to the end of the trail.  Maybe halfway down the trail Carter used his new little trick … “Daddy, my legs hurt so you should probably carry me.”  Hmmmmmm.  He is actually very convincing.  You would think his legs are about to fall off the way he describes it, so of course he ends up on my shoulders.  We continued down the trail and had some really good conversation.  We talked about trees that had fallen on the ground, the difference between a creek and a river, how beautiful God’s nature is, the difference between dirt and mud, and how much he loves camping.  He also informed me that he wants to be a pilot when he grows up.  I actually thought he said “pirate” first, but after asking him if he wanted a plane or a ship with cannons, I was clear.  We finally made it to the end of the trail (and to the beginning of pain in my shoulders) so we began the journey back to the camper.  Right toward the beginning of the trail Kelly and Caroline showed up in the jogger (Caroline is not asleep … this is key for later) and gave us a lift back to the campsite.

Best buds

Upon our return Carter and I wanted to relax a little, and the Auburn game was about to come on, but Kelly was getting camper fever and needed to get out.  She asked if I could build a fire and since the game was just coming on I declined (probably in a rude way … oops … after all, it’s not like it was our anniversary … oh wait…).  Let’s just stop right here and be very clear about something.  Every time Kelly mentions anything about a fire, I only hear her questioning my manliness.  So, when she says “is the fire almost out,” that translates in my mind to “why can’t you build a fire that will last?”  Or in this case, “do you want to build a fire,” I hear “I bet you can’t build a fire you little city boy.”  The truth is this is my problem and totally not hers, so when I realized my rudeness I came back out to build one.  

*You can see by our lack of pictures from Saturday it was a real gem of a day! I think we can both be blamed for saying "Happy Anniversary by the way" to get under the other's skin! Ohhh the memories...

Carter was very interested in how to build a fire so we collected sticks, pine cones, firewood, etc. and began preparing the stage.  Kelly had already been quite kind to drive home and get some newspaper to help us get things going, especially since everything at the park was wet from the morning rain.  I must admit that this was one of the best fire setups I have ever put together.  It was stellar.  Right as I lit the paper and it began to get going, the rain began.  Too bad rain … nothing can stop these campers from enjoying a Fall afternoon fire!!!  So, Carter and I sat by the fire and roaster marshmallows in the rain.  And yes, this bad-boy fire kept going even though it was getting raining on.  Take that!!

Eventually the rain was too much and it was time to go inside.  Kelly brought the crock-pot this trip and made some absolutely incredible chili.  I mean this stuff was awesome, and since it was 57 degrees and raining it really hit the spot!!!!  The kids hung out inside and enjoyed another movie, and Kelly and I played a few games of Old Maid and Go Fish!  Pretty soon it was time for everyone to go to sleep, so Kelly and Caroline went to one bed and Carter and I went to the other.  

I can honestly say I have never enjoyed a bowl (well like 4 by the time the weekend was over) so much.  It was so nasty cold and rainy and it hit the spot!  ALSO I have been talking about getting a Keurig since we got this thing.  I HATED our coffee pot coffee- tasted funny.  I never got a Keurig bc they were too expensive but this one I found for $15 on clearance at Target.  You can see how excited I was!!! Ugh I should have bought two now that I think of it- gotta be some reason it was so cheap right?!

Caroline did well and was on the verge of sleeping without the pack-n-play (we decided not to bring it this time, for some reason *I cannot BELIEVE I did this?!?! Totally off my game), and then she popped up and decided it was play time.  To Kelly’s credit, she hung in there for a long time (*10:00 was my cut-off) and worked tirelessly to get her down (*had her asleep at one point, still not sure what happened).  Carter fell for my little trick, “hey buddy, we need to turn our light out so Caroline will go to sleep,” and we were asleep by 9:00.  Kelly and Caroline, on the other hand, “enjoyed” some Mommy-Daughter play time until somewhere about 10:00 (*ok so she did get pretty cute).  That’s when I was awoken to Kelly saying, “That’s it.  We’re going home.”  So, Kelly and Caroline loaded up and drove home for the evening while Carter and I stayed in the camper.  It was a wise play for Kelly and Caroline as they actually got some sleep at home (*maybe camping all day and sleeping at home is the new camping?!), whereas it was absolutely not happening in the camper.  Carter and I slept great and the girls came back to the camper around 8:15 Sunday morning … and a dry day was ahead of us!

Thinking she's so cute when she should have long been asleep.  One of my favorite mom moments though when I was acting like I was asleep, she kept sliding her hand under mine so should could hold my hand while I was sleeping.  Be still my heart!  

 I left at 9:00am to go teach Sunday school while Kelly and the kids went to the old playground, played on the hill and just enjoyed camping the way it should be done!  *But we missed daddy!

Mommy-kid time

I met them at the new Oak Mountain State Park playground.  That thing is awesome!!!!  It is so much fun and has so much for kids of any age to do.  Plus, it is right next to the lake so the scenery is perfect.  After many rounds of pretending to be Spider-Man, we all headed to the trail that has birds the fine people at OMSP are rehabilitating.  

YALL best playground ever.  So excited about all the Oak Mountain is doing!!!  So much to do here!  

Spiderman got a little crazy!

They somehow network with people all across the state and bring in birds that need help recovering from injury, and we get to walk through the woods and see them in their gigantic cages.  Carter and Caroline both loved it!!  From there, we walked a little deeper into the woods and let the kids throw rocks in the water (one of their favorite things to do).

Best Buds

So thankful for these memories!  Carter is 4 and LOVING these experiences.  He was so pumped when we knew we were going and he was going to be crushed if we canceled bc of the rain- so glad we didn't.  Caroline will be 2 this week, and it's so much fun to see her start to get into the outdoors! This trip was our 7 year anniversary.  

After a great day in the woods we returned to the camper and began the pack up process.  Kelly heated up some more chili, I made one more fire, and the kids got one more round with their camper toys.  All in all, it was another good trip … even if we were rained on quite a bit!!