A Little Camping Chaos

A week ago, we returned home after spending a whole week at the lake. "The lake" used to be Candle Lake for us because we had a trailer on a permanent site that we leased but since we sold it at the end of last summer, we were like free agents; able to try another lake. We stayed in my in-laws trailer on Christopher Lake at a campground where my sister and her family have permanent sites. We had a great week, but it wasn't without a few hiccups and attitude adjustments. ;)

While I was growing up, my family went camping every summer; usually multiple times each summer. Camping for us meant loading our large family vehicle and pulling a tent trailer to set up at whatever campground. We could fit all six of us in the tent trailer, but usually put up a tent, too. We cooked over the fire or the small old coleman stove that my dad loved. We would heat up a kettle and wash our dishes outside, hang a line for towels/clothes and had NO power or other "frills," and made the hike to the nearest washroom or outhouse when we had to "go." That's the only kind of camping we knew and we loved it.

In my adult life, I've become accustomed to a few more conveniences when we go camping, which is maybe not as "hard core," but makes life easier; especially when camping with toddlers/babies.

My in-laws went up ahead of us to the lake and set up the trailer, which was super helpful for us. I sent along much of our bedding, towels, some clothes and even non-perishable food with them so that we would have less to haul up with our crew. Somehow, though, we still managed to need TWO vehicles to transport our three kiddos and all of our STUFF! Fortunately, we had planned on taking two vehicles because Mitch had to come home to work on the farm during the week, so packing everything and the kitchen sink wasn't such a big deal.

As you all know, most trailers are not equipped with separate sound proof bedrooms for each child, so it took a little shuffling to fit our three kiddos in a way we could make work for us. Zavi, as you can see in the pic below, slept in a basket right beside our bed. It actually worked fairly well except for the fact that I instantly rose and fed him every time he made any kind of noise in the night as a way of pacifying him so he wouldn't awaken his siblings. Any other parents out there know that this is a recipe for disastrous sleeping habits. We're still dealing with the consequences; and by dealing, I mean drinking double the coffee.

My other two hooligans actually slept really well in the trailer. Each evening we put the sofa down into a bed and converted the table/benches into a bed as well. Bed time was later than at home, but they took good naps in the afternoon to make up for it.

The kiddos on J's bed.

Mitch and I had the "master suite," of course, although we did share it with Zav. You have to be careful not to sit up too quickly or you may take your head off, but it is a major upgrade from sleeping on the ground in a tent. ;)

In typical Saskatchewan style, we were greeted with throngs of mosquitos. Thankfully, my kids don't seem overly fazed by them but they are plentiful. Despite our best efforts, we could never seem to squash all the ones that had snuck into the trailer before going to sleep. Poor Zavi was an easy target and he sported several red round spots on his noggin.

The other pestilence that just may beat out the mosquitoes for the "greatest camping foe" award, were the tent caterpillars or "worms," as the kids called them. One of the first things you notice when nearing the lake is that there are no leaves on the trees. There was seriously an infestation of tent caterpillars that were EVERYWHERE. You can read a news article about it HERE. They are disgusting little critters, but thankfully they are relatively harmless. I found a little site that gives good info if you want to be educated on the tent caterpillar (as if your skin isn't crawling enough already). If you wore long pants, the little buggers had the audacity to crawl all the way up your back. We flicked several off of Mitch's shoulders. ***gag***

Anything on the ground, or even touching the ground, looked like this.

Apparently, the last time there were worms around the lake like this was 1981. They appear in an area for a cycle of three years; the worst of which is the 2nd year. (This year-- winner winner chicken dinner ;) They don't kill the trees, just eat all the leaves. When we left the lake, many of them were already getting into the cocoon phase (also completely gross because you find cocoons everywhere). The trees may even grow new leaves for this summer but they will likely be smaller. As gross as they are, you kinda actually get used to the worms and don't notice them as much after a few days. (I sure don't miss them, though!!)

Luckily, on the beach there are NO worms and almost NO mosquitos. It is our favourite place to spend a day and we do "beach" well.

A good umbrella and some chairs are a must. Don't forget the jolly jumper, kiddy pool, towels, toys, dump truck and excavator, hats, life jackets and snacks. (the kitchen sink, remember?)

 

Having cousin Lucy on the beach definitely makes it even better!

My children have little to no fear of water, which is fun but also makes it extremely important to make sure they wear life jackets at all times. I can actually remember being like this as a kid, too. Jett can go out and "swim" (I'm not entirely convinced he knows that it's the lifejacket keeping him afloat) by himself for fairly long amounts of time.

Sometimes we can even do naps right there on the beach ;)

Meeting up with good friends on the beach makes it even sweeter. My friend Dana and I have been friends for almost 18 years. It's so fun to visit and see our kids interact. We loved playing with her sweet Elliot.

Riding the Zebra (I like Elliot's technique the best)

Closer to where our trailer was set up, there is a smaller beach where my sister's in-laws have some big water toys. Both Jett and Lena LOVED riding on the Seadoo. Jett especially loved driving into the waves ;) Thanks to Lionel & Myrna (and Braden & Carrie) for sharing with us!

Sitting on the dock (and snacking) was pretty fun, too.

We play hard and (thankfully) we nap hard, too. Daddy sets a good example.

No true camping trip is complete without a rainy day or two, but did it RAIN! We camped from Thursday to Thursday and Sunday and Monday it poured. We were camping with my family (minus Greg & Karmen :(  for the weekend and we alternated making some meals for everyone to share. It was my turn on Sunday supper and I wish I had a picture of my supper prep process. The rain was heavy and relentless and I was soaked to the bone. The BBQ I was cooking steak skewers on was standing in a big mud puddle and at one point during the prep, the awning almost came down on my head. We all ate, though, and lived to tell the tale ;)

The rain continued into the night on Sunday and after the kids were in bed, I threw a load of wet towels/clothes into the dryer that was accessible in the campground. I had just changed into dry/clean clothes, and when I stepped out of the camper (trying to be quiet so as not to wake my sleeping children) my foot slipped and I went down in the mud. I hit my arm on the steps and got a nasty bruise on my arm.

That night, shortly after midnight as Mitch and I lay in bed, the roof started leaking right onto our mattress. To our knowledge, the trailer has never had any leak issues before but there was a LOT of rain and we were the fortuitous recipients of such a treat. We put a bucket under the leak, which was mostly on Mitch's side of the bed. I stayed up on the bed to sleep, trying to avoid the wet spot, while Mitch opted for the floor of the trailer beside Jett. Not likely his best night of sleep, but we survived.

We brought the muddy buddies out, which always makes for cute pics in the rain. 

I come from a family of troopers when it comes to camping in the rain. My dad was quick to improvise and hang a large tarp where we spent most of Monday.

We enjoyed time with everyone, but I apparently didn't get pics of everyone! I guess that means I have to take more pictures ;) Dad, Tim, Sherry, Bella, Nora and Braden I'll get you next time!!!

The rain cleared off by Monday evening. While it wasn't ideal, it certainly didn't ruin our time there. Grandma came with her pockets full of games and activities to pass the time.

Of course every camping trip must include a couple trips to the ice cream shop. I find it hard to believe that we held out until Tuesday before we made it there, but Bear Country Fudge Co. has the best ice cream in the area. Just to make sure, we went twice. It was just as good each time ;)

This pic mesmerizes me. I just love those big eyes, rosy cheeks and wind tousled golden locks.

We said good bye to the lake and drove home on Thursday. The kids were especially sad to leave the beach. We truly had a great week. I am thankful that we can take time to get away as a family.

Returning home is always a little daunting when you consider the amount of dirty laundry we accumulate over the course of a week...

AND, we'll close this post with a little video I made to highlight some of our favourite moments from our week at the lake. Happy Summer!!