Cold Camping on Purpose

CAMPING. We went camping. We have had a busy summer, with the visitors and Joel working all weird hours and this was the only weekend we could go camping, and it was COLD. But it was supposed to rain on us and DID NOT RAIN and so we are calling it a success.

(Look at me, everybody! I'm napping!)

(Actually napping.)

Anyway. We got a new tent. We threw away our busted-ass old tent last year, so we got a new tent, and it has a CLOSET.

Also, two rooms, so we can put Geneva, like, over there where she can't see us. Which is IMPORTANT because she is a BABY. Eleanor is just this giant human child now.

Ugh so old. But now I can be like, Hey here are some carrots, and she is like, Yes I will peel them.

Geneva's just like, I'M IN A BOAT. BRRRRM BRRRM BRRRM.

Geneva was a nightmare that first evening. She only napped maybe half an hour in the car (WHY ARE YOU SO TERRIBLE AT CAR-SLEEPS) and there were so many things she wanted to check out and climb on and maybe fall into (ugh the fire) and we were like, Don't, and she was mad as hell. But then I gave her some campfire corn and she was like, Yes good I eat the stem part.

Anyway. Last time, we didn't realize how cold it was going to be but Geneva slept right up against my body is how she kept from dying. THIS TIME I put her in two pairs of jammies and a sleep sack and a jacket and some mittens and a hat, and she was like, Um?

When I came back in half an hour later she was like

and I was like, Please don't die in your sleep.

After Geneva went down, we let Eleanor hang out and make a single s'more. She definitely let her marshmallow catch fire but she did not mind.

Now that Geneva is in the pack-n-play, Eleanor sleeps on the floor in her sleeping bag like a grown-up person.

You guys, it is super hard to stuff someone back into their sleeping bag like ten times a night and when everyone is only half-awake. Also, Geneva hated not having her hands available for handsing, and woke up like every hour to complain about it. Plus, mornings come so early when you're camping.

One of our problems with the fire is that we've been teaching Geneva that our coffee is HOT, and then letting her gently touch the mug to see what 'hot' is, and then blow on it for us to cool it down. So the whole weekend she just wanted to gently touch the fire, and maybe blow on it.

Who is this teenager that we have brought with us.

In previous years, we haven't brought much in the way of toys. But I dragged a bag of things along this year in case we were rain-trapped in the tent, and even though we weren't, having a few books and a doll along helped fill those moments when one of you is stoking the fire and one of you is chopping the foods.

We went to the Nature Center, as is our custom and because if you ask Eleanor what her favorite part of camping is, she will say Putting on the COSTUMES. But the costumes weren't there! But this fox pelt was, and I put it on Geneva and she wore it for a while.

Like, just around.

OH HELLO THERE YES I AM EXTREMELY FANCY THANK YOU.

(I also put a piece of black bear fur on her like a wig but she was not into it.)

Eleanor put on a puppet show, as she is wont to do

and then we were like, But where are the costumes? And the lady is like, Oh, they're over at the festival.

HA HA OF COURSE THERE IS A FESTIVAL GOING ON, SPLENDID.

We went to the festival, Eleanor got an airbrush tattoo of a bison.

We found the costumes.

Geneva did not want to be a porcupine.

It warmed up in the afternoon so we went to the Waskesieu playground for a bit. Eleanor had AN AMAZING TIME.

Eleanor got to roast her own hot dog this year, as she did not fall on her face and pass out immediately prior to us having hot dogs.

Geneva got her hot dog sliced in a bowl. What are you doing, Geneva, this is why you can't have nice things.

Look at her leetle outfit. One of my favorite things about having another girl is pulling old clothes out and being like, EEEEEEEEE! I mean:

Bitty Eleanor, eating blueberries from a mug. Tiny parka, grey shoes. Anyway.

There was some dispute over s'mores because Joel had two and Eleanor thought she should ALSO get two because her mouth is equally as big.

Joel packed up the tent the next morning while I took the girls on endless nature walks.

The clover harvest was plentiful.

We found some, I dunno. We called them 'tickle plants.' I was just glad they weren't some variant of poison ivy because I know nothing about botany.

It was FINALLY SUNNY (always on the last day) so we dragged our butts to the lake for a picnic.

I'm feeling some kinds of ways about leaving Saskatoon next summer, and knowing this would be our last trip to Waskesieu gave me VERY EMOTIONS. Even though it was cold, and we were up before 6:00 every morning, and Geneva was teething and sick and we got barely any lake time, I'm so so glad we came out.