Camping

We were quite daring this weekend and took Shay on her first camping trip. She was a doll the whole time, and a real trooper. She loved sleeping outside in a tent and even cried when we took it down the next day. I think if she were to have her way we would always just camp.

 She was really good and didn't wander off or get into anything she shouldn't have. She loved watching the fire at night and I knew it was time for her to go to bed when I asked her if it was time for ni-night, and she said "Yeah". This was at 10:30 mind you!

Although she did try to convince me that she needed to sleep in a sleeping bag instead of her portacrib... That didn't go over very well and into the portacrib she went!

Shayla played with Grant (I'm pretty sure their getting married in 20 years!) and would ask for "More" Grant. He also would ask for "Shaysha" They found that it was a lot of fun to ride logs like horses and Grant would tromp through the fields with Shayla tagging along behind him.  Mimicking how he walked and what he did. The sad part of our story is that the couple who planned this trip for us, Jamie and Brandon, weren't able to stay and enjoy it. Jamie and I were super cool and set up the tents before any of the men made it to camp. But what we didn't notice was that there were leaves of three all over our camp. (What appeared to be poison oak) So they left late that night to try and avoid any side effects from that and we stayed with the Fosters. The Smiths were even nice enough to leave all their food for us to enjoy!

It wasn't until later that night that we were finally able to locate a ranger who let us know that those plants were actually California Blackberry Bushes. Too late for the Smiths to enjoy their camping trip though. So here's a little rhyme for all of you out there when you go camping.

Leaves of three let them be, But if it's hairy it's just a berry.

Hairy can also mean thorns.

The next day we went Berry picking! Isn't that a great hat! Thanks to Kate for letting me borrow it!

We picked ollallieberrys and boysenberries. The Best part was that you could eat berries as you picked. It was delicious and so fun! We picked enough to enjoy on our trip back. Shayla loved looking for the berries and even ventured to try a few. She and Grant would squeal each time they saw each other, through a fence or otherwise. We had such a blast I can't even tell you.

We live in such a beautiful area with so many fun things to do. I was a little worried about Shay around the berries because there were thorns on the bushes, but she was very careful and we left without any casualties!

 This is what a little girl who has had too much fun looks like when driving home.
I think we will make this a more regular occurrence. I'm so glad she loved Camping!!