Last week we decided to take a break from all the boxes and stress of moving and go CAMPING with Grandma and Grandpa to Wasatch State Park and Midway, UT . . .
How does CAMPING actually relieve the stress of moving, you ask? Well, I was wondering the same thing myself as we stuffed 10 pairs of shoes, 5 pillows, 5 sleeping bags, 5 air and foam mattresses, 5 coats (in case it got really cold), 5 overnight bags, 3 headlamps, 2 coolers, 2 lanterns, 1 can of bug spray, 1 bottle of sunscreen, 1 tablecloth, and 1 camp stove into the back of our truck. Not the mention 5 people too.
I was still wondering it when we finally found our reserved campsite (it had more sun and sagebrush than we had expected too), AND I was wondering it while we unpacked in the sun and set up the tent for 2 HOURS! The kidlets were whining about how “not fun” camping was so far. My Man and I were cranky and all of us were hungry. We are camping amateurs still.
I grew up camping with my family. My Mama has a joke that we often repeat. It was something my aunt said to us many years ago, “Camping is just doing what you normally do in more inconvenient circumstances.” True true. This kept going through my head.
The negative voice in my brain was wondering if all this trouble was worth it. Did we really need to have this kind of “family time” together?
But the positive voice in my brain, the one I try to listen to more, told me to “WAIT” and “be patient and it’ll be worth it”. So I did.
And when the dust all settled and things calmed down, the MAGIC of CAMPING and the family time it created began to appear. My kidlets noticed the stars for the first time this year. They played together in the sticks and dirt for hours. We picnicked outside in the fresh air. Baby Girl noticed the butterflies. Little Son got us to play card games. Sweet Tween taught me clapping games. We laughed with Grandma and Grandpa. Wasatch State Park was the perfect place for us to relax this time.
We even took an afternoon to visit the Heber Valley DAIRY FARM that we happened upon that was having a special family event. There was face painting, potato sack races, petting zoo, ice cream, chocolate milk, and a tire swing. It was a slice of Americana. I raced my kidlets in that potato sack and couldn’t finish for laughing so hard. We soaked it all in. Oh, and the cheese curd was DIVINE.
And yes, there was dirt in our food, bugs buzzing in our ears, sun burning our skin, and many trips walking all the way down the bathroom facilities. But we enjoyed the peace of the outdoors and the time we had together.
When we got back home to our boxes and moving stress, we knew it was worth it and we would do it again soon.
Do you camp with your family? What trips or outings do you do with your family? Comment and let me know!
