THEY DO EXIST! - - in california

Over the weekend, David and I decided to take a "spur of the moment" camping trip to Big Bear.
First, let me simply start off by saying:

I am BIGGER than her.
I am STRONGER than her.
I am SMARTER than her (at times I definitely question the validity of this one).
I am OLDER than her.
And, I am MEANER than her.

So with all of the evidence weighing heavily in my favor of having the upper hand - I ask: WHY is EVERYTHING so much more difficult when kids are involved?!?!



David had class on Friday afternoon, so we thought it best that rather than skip class and avoid traffic - we'd hope for the blessing of light traffic in return for scholastic diligence. Traffic was not pretty but could have been drastically worse, and what should have been a 2 hour drive took closer to 3 hours.
David won the prize for booking at the most obscure campground possible, and our drive time was lengthened to 4.5 hours as we drove back and forth through winding mountains roads trying to find the camp ground that had no trouble finding our bank account for the reservation fee.
As our drive time increased we decided to give Lexi her bottle in hoped of keeping her pacified. Sadly, we did not factor in the winding roads and mere moments later, as we ourselves we joking about car sickness, not only her bottle but everything else in her little stomach made an encore appearance. Most of it landed on her stuffed dog - which we now lovingly refer to as the "spew sponge". And, after a brief stop on the side of the road to de-spew and attempt to settle our own stomachs, we finally pulled into our campground a little after sunset.

The "camp host" handed David our car permit looked in the car and said, "there's a bear and she has a cub." I realize I may have been a little short with her and only made brief eye contact, but I don't think there was really cause for name calling! David, however, didn't need to agree quite so readily! I was a little taken aback by her blunt delivery and realized that the mountains must be where they send "those kind" of hosts...

We got our tent set up in record time and sat down for a brief dinner. Somehow our choices for food were limited only to soup for dinner, but 4 different kinds of cookies to choose from for dessert... that's what happens when David is in charge of the gear and I am in charge of the food.
After retiring for the evening, we realized Lexi was not about to sleep in her port-a-crib; and, since I felt guilty about her clothes being damp from sitting in a wet car seat David let her sleep in his sleeping bag with him. Which worked out great from about 10pm to 3am - at which point she woke up, saw both mom and dad, and decided that she had enough sleep and was ready to play.
It was one of those nights were again I was wondering why I didn't "help" her to sleep. And also, I couldn't wait for night to be OVER. After hours of rocking and cuddling, I finally thought she was back to sleep when in clearest sing-song voice I hear, "mama! dada! papa!". Rarely have I wanted to injure my child, but at that moment I must admit my resolve weakened - - greatly!!




After the sun FINALLY came up, we scavenged for some fire wood and had a nice bonfire in no time - while deftly managing to avoid the scathing looks from other campers; apparently noise carries in the mountains.
Lex showed us yet again that she has no idea the meaning of the word "boundaries". She was not nervous in the least about wandering away from camp and out of our sight. She would walk until she saw David coming after her, and then her pleasant sightseeing turned into a full sprint. She loved the dirt, and much like sand at the beach, quickly had it every where. She was in constant motion until we finally packed up camp and buckled her back in the car - with a great deal of protest - to no one's surprise, she was asleep in the car before we even exited the camp ground.

We had great expectations and high hopes of taking advantage of out time in the mountains: hiking, swimming in the lake, and scouting out other camp grounds. But after a long sleepless night it was hard to work up enthusiasm for much more than getting home and taking a nap!
We did go sightseeing to Lake Arrowhead - which as we were informed my our "host" is a private lake. I raise the question as to how exactly a lake becomes private? I was sorely tempted to get out of the car and fill one of our water bottles with the private water, just to show "them" what I thought about their private lake. But, that meant stopping the car and there was no way I would risk awakening the sleeping cub.

Our drive home was uneventful, but there have been few times when we have been so grateful to see our freeway exit. Unlike our experience at the drive-in, we realized that we need to camp more often so that Lex gets used to it. And, also so that I can perfect ways of "helping" her to sleep far far away from people we know and cell coverage for DCFS...



Yes, we are those parents - the ones that sit and watch while their kids make an absolute mess.
Numerous other campers pointed us out as they walked by - I'm not sure they were remarking on Lexi's chameleon like ability color change to match her surroundings, or if they were points of "so that's the child - go figure with parents like those!"

By the end, it was difficult to remember what color she was when she started...