Camping While Pregnant with a Potty Training Toddler

I was a little nervous about our camping trip last week... both due to the fact that I'm 6 months prego, that Emily was only one week into potty training, and that it was forecast to be roughly 90F throughout the weekend.  But, we had the reservation, so we went for it.  And, for the most part, I'm happy to report that it went very well!

We went up to Camp Dakota.  Jacob had a Groupon for some of the activities.  Since I'm not really able to go ziplining, rock climbing and paint balling, he invited his brother to go along.  Emily had an absolute blast hanging out with her cousin Sophie! (It would be cool to go back sometime when the kids are older and I can actually DO some of the stuff!)

So, the key things to note before I overwhelm you all with pictures:

1. Emily didn't have a SINGLE accident!  She "went" the whole weekend in her little potty!
2. The air mattress that I slept on was almost more comfortable that my Tempur-pedic bed... had a lot more "give" to it.
3. We were at a higher elevation, with more trees... so it only got in the 70s or so.  Great weather.  Though, still 6 months pregnant and over heating.  =)
4. Holding a potty training toddler over a porta-potty in the heat while pregnant is really, really gross.

OK... now for some photos.  =)

Perfect combo: One cousin learning how to read, another cousin who loves to be read to!

Emily would fall asleep each night on her air mattress in her sleeping bag, but every night she ended up squeezed between Jacob and I.

Our "indoor plumbing"  ;)

Learning Frisbee Golf!

She's got quite the arm!

Jacob and Sophie working their way to the top!

Our tee pee.  It was too hot to actually use, but cool to look at.  ;)

She LOVED this tire swing.  Scared the crap out of me though!

Making a fire in the tee pee while we hang out outside.  =)

Camping at the Beach!

The beach is my happy place.  The calm, serenity of the Oregon coast has the power to make all of my stresses just float away.  When I was in high school I used to drive to the high school, sit on the bleachers at the soccer field, close my eyes and listen to the cars go by on the nearby road, pretending that I was listening to the ocean waves.  I used to take day trips with friends to Florence... even when it was raining and so windy that our umbrellas blew inside out... didn't matter.  I just wanted to touch the sand and hear the ocean.  =)

It's no surprise, really, that the beach, specifically the Oregon coast, has become such a part of my life and memories.  I was more than a little excited when I found out that the guy I was dating had parents with a beach house--may or may not have been a factor in my ultimate "yes".  ;)  (Love you J. lol)  Jacob proposed to me while on a beach trip, and, a year later we were married with our feet in the sand. 

P.S. Tomorrow is our 3-year anniversary!

I try to make it to the beach for a true "vacation" at least once a summer.  Back in 2010 we discovered Beachside State Park campground.  There are tons of campgrounds along the coast highway.  But, what I LOVE about this one is that it is on the WEST side of the highway... ie no walk and no road to cross.  The beach is, quite literally, steps from each campsite.  We camped there in 2010 and again in 2011.  In 2012 we had an infant, so decided to skip a year, but this last weekend we went back... with our daughter. 

It has been amazing to introduce my daughter to the things/places/people that I love and watch her explore and fall in love with them, too.  Plus, she's an awesome little camper.  Slept great in the pack and play in our tent even with all of the nose around her.  She also wasn't too interested in the campfire (which made me feel better!).  It was a great weekend.  And I can't wait to go back next year.  I even took an inventory of the campsites so I can make sure to get the "best one" next year.  =)

Good Morning!

Yummy breakfast to start the day.

Reading Daddy a "wake up" story

Got her her very own camp chair.  ;)

My family!  (I'm not a giant... just sitting closer to the camera. lol)

Have bucket, will play!

On our way home we stopped at the Mark Hatfield Marine Science Center.  A great (cheap) alternative to the aquarium!  Emily got to touch and explore all kinds of stuff!

Mothers Day

I'm home sick for the third day this week.  I have already read most of my magazines, watched my Netflix video, and obsessively checked e-mail/facebook waiting for someone to post/send something cool/weird/entertaining.  Looks like what I'll be doing today is catching up on back blog posts... and there's a lot of them.  =)

Let's start with Mother's Day (yeah, I know, right... that was LAST MONTH--I"m really behind).

The forecast called for some pretty unseasonably warm weather the week leading up to Mother's Day, so, I decided to risk it and book us a camp site at a near by regional park for the night.  Emily had never been camping before, so I wasn't sure what to expect, and I figured best to go for one night, somewhere near by, so we could make a quick escape to our own beds if we needed to.  =)  But, as with most of my other fears, they were unwarranted.  She did fantastic.  Had one wake up at about 1:00 am (I think she was cold).  We took her into bed with us to warm her up, and she thought it was play time.  After about 20 minutes of wrestling her to lay down, I finally just wrapped her up in a couple of blankets and put her back in the pack and play, where she slept until morning.  =)

Saturday the weather was great.  We played on the "beach" (off of the Sandy River), took some walks through the campground, watched a couple of deer that came (almost) right into our camp site, and cooked up some hot dogs for dinner.  Sunday, on the other hand, it poured.  Our stuff was pretty wet.  But, thankfully, we were headed home, and home was a very short distance away! 

We have another camping trip planned for August, and, thanks to this impromptu trip, I'm not as concerned about it... and am even hoping to take another one before then!

Here's some photos from our 24 hour adventure.  =)

Headed down to the beach!

The water was COLD... she was too interested in exploring to notice. lol

Love this photo of Jacob in the background. lol

Bambi!

In our new tent Emily has her own "room"... LOVE it. lol

She looks like she should be at summer camp. lol

Collecting pine cones

Hmm... how many can I carry?

Reading the paper with Dad