Friday evening we met my parents in Stokesville, VA at a campground for a weekend of camping. The rain had mostly stopped except for the occasional sprinkle, but it had gotten windy and COLD (highs in the 50's and lows around 40). Not my favorite camping weather, but the boys didn't seem to mind at all. On Friday night we roasted hot dogs over the fire and had corn on the cob and s'mores. We all dressed in lots of warm layers and hunkered down in the sleeping bags for the night. Micah got his own toddler sleeping bag from Grandad and Nana and used it to stay warm while Ezra got dressed in about 6 layers of clothes and sleep sacks. Saturday morning was rainy again, so after breakfast around the fire Nana and I decided to takethe boys into town while Grandad and Matt started their rogaine. We were able to find a children's discovery museum in Harrisonburg, VA that occupied our day and kept us warm and dry. Micah loved it!
Grandad participated in the 6 hour rogaine event, so he got back to camp mid-afternoon. We made a fire and cooked "hobo stew" for dinner. After the boys got tucked in bed, Matt made a stop by camp to warm up before continuing his 24 hour rogaine event that would keep him out all night. He apparently saw a bobcat while out! Sunday dawned a little sunnier and we welcomed Matt back into camp around 8 AM. He ate, showered, and headed in to the tent to sleep a little while Grandad, Nana, the boys, and I walked around the area and started to pack up camp. We ate lunch together in a nearby town before splitting ways to head home.
While the camping was fun, it was also very tiring with two little boys who needed constant attention, so needless to say, I was glad to get home. Thank goodness for grandparents to play soccer with Micah, keep Micah from eating sticks and touching the fire, and hold Ezra some so I could eat and go to the bathroom!
Despite the boys being a lot of work, they were also a lot of fun on the trip. Micah is growing more and more into his own person and trying to figure out who that is. We had to move him back into a pack n play because the freedom of not being enclosed was too much for him to handle at the moment, but hopefully he'll grow out of it. He loves to repeat everything said, and so it constantly saying all of these huge words that he hears in conversations, which is so funny to hear from the mouth of a two year-old. He is also very insightful; often saying things that you don't expect him to have picked up on. Ezra is starting to leave the little baby stage and want to watch the world. This means he is starting to prefer to look out when being carried and is starting to enjoy small toys that he can chew on and shake. This also means that at times he got tired of having to face my chest while in the carrier on our hikes... poor kid. But as you can see, we got lots of smiles from both of them and are so glad we get to share our love of the outdoors with them!