Katharine Lange: L&A Years 5&3 Week 5: Huntley Mill Kids Camping Weekend

Leia was so excited to finally be going on a summer camping trip this week, up at our friends' private property on Donner Summit, but then she had a full on meltdown when she discovered we'd only be there 2 nights. I finally got it out of her that she was pissed because she only gets marshmallows on camping trips, and she wanted more than two nights worth of marshmallows! She was super needy and whiny from the moment we arrived, and insisted on calling all the shots to try to create her ideal camping trip. I was solo-parenting since Josh was in NZ, so I had to do everything by myself. Leia wouldn't eat dinner until I put up the tent, then she didn't like dinner, then finally ate enough to earn marshmallows but through a fit about having to wait until campfire time! I was on full survival mode, and couldn't talk to any of the adults socially. Then she woke up acting cranky too. I was about one tantrum away from packing everything back up and heading home, but finally we made it to the lake and everything was better. We came back to camp for lunch, but again, she wouldn't eat, even though I said lunch would get put away soon and if she didn't eat, no treats. She said she didn't care about treats until she saw Emmett with a popsicle, but like I had warned, no food was left. Aunt Stacia was nice enough to give her Emmett's leftovers, which I was surprised she even ate (especially after discovering the mayo on the sandwich!), but she was desperate! She didn't want to take a nap, which I was ok with since she's no longer taking them at school, so John agreed to take her back to the lake so I could put Arwyn down. I received all great reports!! She was well behaved, and got along with Emmett the whole time. She even went back to camp with them so I could stay longer with Arwyn, but by the time I got back, things fell apart again. Emmett wouldn't do what she wanted, and stated being "mean" to her (all actually verified by Stacia, who even noted that Leia had been volunteering to do what Emmett wanted all afternoon). Now Leia was just too tired to handle Emmetts actions in a good way, and started up with the loud screaming and crying, nonstop. She was completely inconsolable; wouldn't calm down, wouldn't eat, wouldn't do anything. Finally she said she just wanted to go lie down in the tent, and was totally passed out by 6:30! Originally she had said she wanted to come back out when it was dark, but she never did, not even for marshmallows! And then I thought she would freak out when Arwyn was being a turd at bedtime and woke her up, but she just asked for a diaper and went back to sleep all the way until normal time in the morning! Guess she really was tired! And bonus: she actually woke up in a good mood!! But she just wanted to go home right away, and was pissed we had to wait for breakfast and wanted nothing to do with another lake swim. (Wait, is this the same girl that wanted to camp for more than two days??!) Once she saw that we were all packed up and driving (not walking) over to the lake, she changed her tune and had fun, but she was definitely still ready to get home to watch a movie! Oy, the addict! Once we got home she tried to refuse a bath, using her stalling and delaying tactics, then got all upset when I explained that meant less time at Nana and Poppy's. She was a total angel child while we were at their house, then instantly turned on the whine and complain button the second I arrived to take them home. Then she was pissed that I said "no Chocolate until after dinner" because she wanted chocolate now and a different treat later. And then she was pissed that we had to walk home, even though she was the one who wanted to walk there in the first place. Ugh, by this time I'd just about had it! I was ready to lay down the law and nip the whining in the bud, so I pointed to a sign and said, "I was going to offer you marshmallows tonight since you were so good about putting yourself to bed and missing s'mores last night, so I'll let you have both, but only if you stop whining once we reach that sign. But, if you whine at all after that, you get nothing, and I'm serious, no second chances." She whined right away, then thought about it, and ended up behaving great though dinner to get her treats, and even turned off the TV right away when I asked. Then things fell apart after dinner and after talking to Daddy, and she was too tired to walk up to bed, and on and on. Oh man, was I ready for this weekend to be over! All that in the name of camping!

Arwyn was also super excited about camping, but followed suit with Leia as far as being whiny and needy at camp. She flat out refused dinner, stating she didn't want marshmallows, but proceeded to flip out when marshmallows appeared, and managed to finagle some out of Aunt Stacia anyway. She went on to be loud, disruptive, and uncooperative at bedtime, and woke up kind of cranky too. At least she was happy with the breakfast choices, and had a total blast at the lake! She just wanted to keep swimming out to the island, over and over. She did have her floaties on, but still, it was a long distance swim, and she was totally attacking it! She did a good job eating her lunch, and was initially cooperative with nap, but I had her sleeping in the wagon in the shade, and every time I looked over, she was still sitting up and messing around. Finally she started crying for me, and when I got there, she had tipped the wagon over and fallen to the ground while trying to get out. We ended up having her sleep in Emmett's bed in the camper, but she was over tired now, and getting mean and violent. It was really hard to get her down, and now it was super late, which was a bummer because I wanted her to be able to swim again. It ended up working out ok; she got to swim, and she was pretty happy the rest of the day, finally running around and playing on her own. She did get cranky again at bedtime, screaming and waking up Leia. But the next morning we finally had a good morning, where everyone woke up happy and snuggly! Arwyn was pretty cooperative with packing, and was fired up about swimming before leaving.

Fun adventure as we head way off the grid and into the wilderness for a weekend of camping fun.

We had to stop and open 3 different locked gates...

Cross the train tracks, and wait for Aunt Stacia who got stuck on the other side while closing the gate!

Beautiful views from way up here!

The field of dreams!

Back into the woods.

And arriving at some gorgeous mountain lakes!

The princesses were not adjusting well to camp life...insisted on being pulled around in their chariot constantly!

But we made it to the lake...lots of smiles and fun now!

Pristine views and private lake...doesn't get much better than this!

And tons of fun kids and toys to play with!

Talk about a great dock!

Finally finally got Arwyn down to nap in Emmett's bed!

Final morning, and Leia finally woke up with a smile!

So nice to camp mid-summer, you can keep the fly off the tent and wake up to pretty sky views!

My little bed-mate! It was too tight to sleep next to her, so I made her sleep at the foot end!

Oops, morning bed-head and a bloody nose!

Happy Campers love morning snuggles!

Lots of kisses!

And great hugs. Best way to wake up! (Wish it would last all day too!;)

Final swim at the lake before we make our way back home!

My body totally got a workout schlepping all our stuff from the campsite to the car (at least a 1/4 mile and LOTS of trips!) And now I have to unpack it all again at home! Arbonne Phytosport After-workout to the rescue!