I had been debating with myself as to whether or not I REALLY wanted to take my kids camping without the help of daddy. Ronan has been asking for a year straight to go camping so I decided it was time to take the plunge! It took quite a while to get all my stuff organized, menus planned, food bought and packed, clothes packed, toiletries, first aid, dishes...ugh!! You get the picture!! So once I finally had it all crammed into my van, we headed off to Hicks Lake. I met up with my mom and younger sister, as well as Irene and her kids, who had gone out earlier in the morning to snag a site. We ended up in a spot that functions much like a group campsite. This was perfect because we could still be near the kids and have campfire together after the kids were in bed. The space behind the site was also very large and so the kids had a lot of room to explore and spread out without being out of our sight and in the hair of other campers. The previous campers took FOREVER to vacate and it ended up being about 3 hours past checkout time before anyone could set up. A bit annoying, but manageable. Most of our first day was spent setting up and trying to beat the rain which had been hanging ominously over head for a while. Sunday was pretty uneventful, wet, cold and full of work. 
But it was exciting to be there and getting back into the groove of camping. I haven't been in 3 years!! We turned in for bed fairly early that night as it started to sprinkle out. Mason woke up at about 12:30am to go potty. After tucking him back into bed I heard thunder rolling off in the distance!! Of all the things to have happen on our first night! I tried to go back to sleep but the storm persisted for about an hour and a half all the while getting closer and closer. With each lightning strike and thunder roll, I would wake up and peek at my kids, just waiting for one of them to wake up and end up in a screaming fit!! BUT, thank goodness, none of them woke up. Once the storm began to fade I was finally able to relax and fall back asleep. Our tent leaked in two spots, one on me, the other on Ronan. We weren't too wet, but he wasn't too pleased about it. All in all, our first day and night could definitely have been worse, the rain sucked, but what's camping with out a bit of mud and grime???
But it was exciting to be there and getting back into the groove of camping. I haven't been in 3 years!! We turned in for bed fairly early that night as it started to sprinkle out. Mason woke up at about 12:30am to go potty. After tucking him back into bed I heard thunder rolling off in the distance!! Of all the things to have happen on our first night! I tried to go back to sleep but the storm persisted for about an hour and a half all the while getting closer and closer. With each lightning strike and thunder roll, I would wake up and peek at my kids, just waiting for one of them to wake up and end up in a screaming fit!! BUT, thank goodness, none of them woke up. Once the storm began to fade I was finally able to relax and fall back asleep. Our tent leaked in two spots, one on me, the other on Ronan. We weren't too wet, but he wasn't too pleased about it. All in all, our first day and night could definitely have been worse, the rain sucked, but what's camping with out a bit of mud and grime???
