Camping at Valens Conservation Area!

We camped at Valens Conservation Area near Hamilton Ontario on the weekend.  It was so great to see the kids 'off-screen'.  Our friends had power at their trailer, so the kids could have used their iPods, but instead they were happy to run and bike through the trails and on the boardwalks, build castles in the sand, swim in the lake, and kayak.  We had campfires and played card games.  We saw birds, caterpillars, and other wildlife.  We brought them home dirty, sticky, covered in bug bites and happy from tons of outdoor play.  What Minecraft?

Awenda Provincial Park - Camping!

We just returned from camping at Awenda in Penetanguishene.  It's a beautiful park.  Our campsite was surrounded by forest and was very private.  There is 30K of trails in the park.  There is a very long beach, sandy and with rocks.  It is a very interesting land formation.  There is also a lake that would be great to canoe or kayak around.  It's a beautiful, peaceful lake. 

The kids especially loved the camping.  The boys had their bikes so they could be very independent.  They made friends with other kids there and then spent most of their time together, biking around and going to the park.  It was great!  I mean, I'm not trying to say that it was great that they were hardly ever at the campsite!  That would be ridiculous.  Of course not.  It's just that they were occupied, and busy playing outdoors, so when we were busy making meals and so on, it all worked out.  (You know what I mean.)

Honestly, though, it was really good family bonding time.  We taught the kids some card games and had fun hiking and biking together.

There was one problem though: our air mattress.  The only way you can possibly be comfortable on this mattress is if all the people sleeping on it are the exact same weight.  And how often does that happen?  The heaviest person would sink the lowest and then the others would roll toward them.  Trust me, this is not good for a sound sleep.  Also, my head was heavier than my feet, so my head would sink lower than my legs, even with my pillow.  I don't know about anyone else, but I did not find this comfortable at all.  On one night when two of our children snuck onto the mattress in the middle of the night, I ended up sleeping with two kids right on top of me.  I kept trying to heave them off, but they would just roll right back on. 

I wasn't being melodramatic at all when I informed my husband that I would never, ever sleep on that air mattress again.  Give me a nice foam mat anytime.  Preferably alone.  In a separate tent.  Far, far away.  Excuse me while I go burn the air mattress.

Long Point Camping

We just went camping with friends at Long Point.  The kids loved jumping over and into the waves.  And it's amazing how long playing in the sand can occupy kids.  My husband had to work so he wasn't there, and it was challenging to watch all three kids at times, but when they got to the sand play it was great.  I yelled in surprise to my friend, "Look at me!  I'm actually lying down!"  I was able to lie down in the shade of a sand umbrella and relax, while still having all three kids in my line of vision as they built sand castles and moats.  It was a beautiful thing.

There were many other good moments and one crazy moment.  The good things included:  being on the beach all by ourselves in the morning.  I had a mug of coffee and we walked along the water's edge.  The early morning sky was beautiful. 

It was also nice when we saw tons of lights flashing in the bushes and realized they were fireflies, and to hear the awe in my daughter's voice when she said, "Look at THAT, Mommy!"

Another nice moment was walking back from the camp bathroom at night after brushing our teeth.  We looked up at the stars and couldn't believe how many we could see.  We all put our arms around each other spontaneously and kept walking to our camp site.

And now to the crazy moment.  There's always got to be one, right?  And this was completely my fault.  Usually my husband packs up the tent and the trunk while I pack up all the bags and so on.  This time, of course, I had to do it all by myself.  I admit that by the end I was just stuffing things everywhere and shoving things into the trunk without being very careful.  And I hate to admit this, but as we were driving away from the camp I did notice the little red light on the trunk that said it wasn't shut all the way.  But we were about to stop for ice cream on the way home and it was only a minute away, and I told myself I would fix it when we stopped.  Unfortunately I forgot.

And then when I was on the highway, I suddenly remembered....because my trunk popped open and the cooler hit the highway with a loud crash.  And not just the cooler, but several bags also hit the road. 

I yelled, "OH MY GOD!" and swerved violently off the road.  I looked back at the kids, who were looking at me in wide-eyed shock.  "NOBODY MOVE!"  I said sternly, and then I ran out of the car to get everything off the road.  Thank goodness I wasn't on a busy road.

When I got back into the van, my daughter said, "Mommy, that was CRAZY!"

Yes.  Yes it was.  Note to self: never ignore a red light!  Most exciting trip home EVER.