We left for a 3-day camping trip just this past Sunday! We had waited a bit longer than expected to make reservations, so our first choice campsites (Big Sur and Butano) were already fully booked up! So, we had to be adventurous and go a little further than we’d originally planned (it was about a 2-hour drive). The gamble paid-off! We camped just north of SF in absolutely beautiful Marin. I think if I didn’t live in Santa Cruz, I might choose to live in Marin. And the kids loved it, too. Dylan left camp saying he wanted to live in the redwoods (and I had to remind him we lived very close to Redwoods and those redwoods are one of The Main Reasons why we chose to live in Santa Cruz!!!) and he didn’t want to leave. On our last day, he was urging me to make another reservation so we could come back!
We lucked out with campsites, too…well sort of. HAKT and Heather’s parents shared a campsite (#46) which just happened to have a lovely natural slide, a downed tree trunk that looked to have been a goosepen (smooth and blackened on the inside) lying just at the right angle! The kids loved it, Chloe included!! That baby is quite the intrepid explorer. If I wasn’t ready to follow her up the hill to the slide, she went up on her own!
Chloe also LOVED hiking. She actually hiked more than Cameron did (luckily, Cameron still fits in the backpack carrier). And, Dylan, wow. He impressed us. We were able to do the 3.7 mile hike from campsite to Pioneer Tree (all up hill for more than a mile!) with him doing the whole thing on.his.own! This is huge, folks!! The previous day, he did the entire hike from campsite to the old Paper Mill Site and swimming hole (about 2-ish miles round trip, again with some decent hills).
As we walked (me with Cameron on my back and Chloe napping in the Ergo on Tom), I realized we were in a “sweet spot.” Dylan is now at an age where he can go fairly far, and since the girls can both still fit in carriers, we can push to Dylan’s new farther limits! Next year, we may well find ourselves on the shorter hikes once more–Cameron will be too big for the carrier, but probably not so able to do 4 miles on her own quite yet!!
But, still, next year will have a sweet spot, too. Chloe will be bigger and even more independent–already, she is so capable of understanding and following our words–and Cameron will probably be more resilient! This year, we let Dylan and the girls run around the campground on their own as it was small enough that we could hear/see them just about most of the time–and I expect this trend will only continue. This means us grown-ups have a bit more room to just sit (and relax)!
I’m not hurrying to get to that point, though. With every new thing that Chloe does (today, she started saying “tall” and “small” and “bobo” all from the Jez Alborough book, Tall!), I’m acutely aware of how quickly she’s growing up. She is very, very expressive and alert and has such a great sense of humor already. She laughs along with the big kids already. She “gets” their jokes and silly expressions and suggestions and she copies the giggle-inducing antics (I hope I never forget their lolly,lolly,lolly,lolly,lolly,lolly,lolly…BOP/with clap!).
She is also so sweet. If Cameron cries, she’ll often give her a hug and a pat to make her feel better (sometimes at my suggestion, but sometimes just of her own initiative)! And she likes to share (at least sometimes! Sometimes, if it’s a treat thing, she’ll flat out say, “no” very firmly — and sometimes with vigorous head shaking–if you ask her for a bite!).
So, Dylan is also finally getting his first seriously wiggly tooth (bottom left front tooth). I tear up just thinking of his face changing with giant permanent teeth coming in!!
But, ah…these are the thoughts and experiences one has the time to dwell on while away from the crush of everyday work life!! I loved camping and not having the internet (due to work or interest in news or researching hobbies) intrude on my time with the kids! I loved watching them LOVE being outdoors, getting dirty and being so active (poor Dylan didn’t have his bike with him, so he RAN after the girls on their bikes for hours!)! [But, yes, we also loved coming home and getting clean!!!]. I loved hearing Dylan talk to Heather’s mom about Hungary–he is such an interested and inquisitive guy–and watching Chloe wave bye bye to chipmunks and birds! I actually loved hiking with Cameron on my back and talking to her while we walked!
Anyway, pictures soon–still have the busted laptop (I suspect the motherboard finally overheated), so I’ve yet to fix up the pictures!
