Saturday, July 11, 2009

Camping and Coons.

Mr. Marvelous and I are big quality timers.

Like the other day, when we loaded up our bikes, the bike trailer, and Julia and Luke's bikes, then drove downtown to the river to ride together, it was like it was Christmas. Christmas without 6 feet of snow and subzero weather.


And, I heard those jingle bells a ringin' again this weekend when we loaded up the oldest two and headed to the camp ground.

Creek hiking won first prize for the escapade that was most fun.
Along the way we found flipping fish and rock hideouts that solidified just how creative God's juices are.


It's no secret, our two oldest are as adventurous as we hoped they'd be.

We did things like eat Doritos when we'd normally be having supper. We allowed the children to potty in the bushes, we stayed up way past our bedtimes, and we had a great time doing it.


Then, it started raining just before Mr. Marvelous and I were ready to hit the hard ground our sleeping bags were resting on. Because of that, we missed putting this bag in the truck:
...and a couple hours after I finally fell asleep, I woke to some pesky 'coons who thought we left it out for them. But, laying there, listening to the rustle of bags, then them climbing the tree next to our tent totally freaked me out nearly lulled me back to sleep.
Ah, the sound of pure nature.

And definitely a trip of pure fun.

9 comments:

mrs boo radley said...

The weenie picture is my favorite!!

Stephanie said...

That's so fun!!!! I can't wait until Allie is alittle older and we can do things like that!

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a fun trip! I really enjoyed the pictures until I got to the last one. I couldn't help but notice that your very young kids don't appear to be in booster seats(the law in MN says they MUST be until age 8)and that your precious daughter isn't even wearing her shoulder belt. That is SOOOO dangerous. In an accident her spinal cord could actually be severed. Little kids don't belong in adult seatbelts. I've been reading your blog for a while now and you appear to be a FANTASTIC mother, so maybe they normally are in car seats, but it's just not worth the risk of being without one... ever. Personally, I feel that all children should be in a 5-point harness until age 6, but at the very least, use boosters. Here is a video with more information: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2LFo8vVi04&feature=fvwr The Graco Nautilus is a great "big kid" car seat. Again, if they normally are in car seats, I apologize. [[hugs]]

Aimee' said...

Love it! The kiddos are so cute!! And I'm sorry, but it really irritates me that people go around reading blogs and picking apart pictures and leaving anon comments. How do they know you guys weren't stopped? Or that J popped the seatbelt off for a quick pic? Grrr, sorry. Just irritates me...as I'm SURE you properly buckle your babies!

4under3 said...

Yikes. It looks like I have some explaining to do.

First off, I didn't take offense to Anonymous' comment. At all. I've always thought of myself as a person who takes constructive criticism well.

However, I will explain this, all 4 of our children are in 5-point harness seats when riding in my vehicle.

On this particular trip, Julia and Luke are both in booster seats. (Neither which are actually ours.) We are using my MIL's booster--that she uses for our 5yo niece--who was at our house watching the twins while we were camping, and our 5yo niece's booster who we pick up from daycare at least 2 days a week.

As for me, I could keep them all in 5-points until they don't fit anymore. It's true. They are the safest. But on occasion, if MM runs a quick errand, he'll take Julia in the booster that stays in his truck for our niece.

The reason why we decided to use both boosters this time was for extra space for camping stuff.

Also, if you can see, the first picture and the last were taken within minutes of eachother. In the first picture we were stopped at the check in station and stretching our legs. The last picture was us back in the car (rearranged a bit) and driving around the bend to our campsite.

Also, Julia not having her shoulder belt crossed in front of her in this last picture, is new news to me. I guess the fact that we were there, but not there yet dropped our guards a bit.

It's not an excuse, I'm just saying.

Rest assured, the 4under3 crew is safe.

Tiff

p.s. Aimee, I appreciate the "gotcho' back" comment. [grin]

Anonymous said...

Tiffany, glad you didn't take offense, I didn't mean any. Car safety is just one of those things that I am so passionate about, I'm a dork. Thanks for the clarification on the carseat situation, glad to know the kidlets are all kept safe.

Aimee, I'm not actually a random nobody going around picking apart people's pictures. I am a somebody, I just decided that anonymity would be better than awkwardness in this instance. I promise I don't usually post anonymously, I'm just shy about confrontation.

Kasey said...

love your pics.
but did you know that it is not safe to leave trash near a campsite because of bears?
just kidding.
xo

Aimee' said...

I didn't mean my comment rude! I just see so many anon comments on peoples blogs about things people are passionate about but choose to leave their name off. I feel like when you're passionate about something don't be shy to leave your name!! Be proud!! Carseat safety is important and you should be proud of it. Tiff doesn't seem like someone who would be offended easily, especially since she knows she takes care of her children properly! Sorry if I upset anyone!! =)

Anonymous said...

Sounds like a blast! Steam hiking looks really neat. Great pics!