The Great Outdoors

The girls were out of school this week for Fall Break. I have REALLY been wanting to take the family camping for a long time now and thought this would be the perfect opportunity. Then Justin got sick and I thought the whole thing had to be scratched. Justin however had another idea. This is his take on the whole experience...
"I can't breathe. My chest is filled with all kinds of nastiness. My head feels like a 1,000 pound bowling ball. Pink eye is in full force.

I've tried Mucinex. I've tried some other medicine that is quite foul to the taste. I've pounded ibuprofen like an addict in an alleyway. I've rested.

None of it worked. So I tried a new remedy.

I went camping.

I wanted to see if Mother Nature could nurture my sickness. Turns out her TLC didn't work but I sure had fun trying to find out if her touch would work.

On Friday, Sarah and I took the girls on a much anticipated camping trip. I know, I know. It doesn't sound right. We have a five-year-old, a three-year-old and a two-month-old. I know, I know. Stop shaking your head, you hater.

We packed up the van (and I mean packed) full of the finest camping gear that Target and Wal-Mart could provide. Keep in mind, we were only going 24 miles from home for one night. We had every base covered. Preparation is not a weak link in my lovely wife's life.

Our little family found a golden piece of land on a ledge that looked over a very full Allatoona Lake . It was a glorious space in our neck of Appalachia .

From the minute we parked the van until the minute we rolled out, it was plenty of work but plenty of fun. The highlights were, of course, revolved around food. The foil dinners were money.

Maryn was a quote machine throughout.

"This is no place for a little girl, dad," she told me when we were looking for wood to build the fire.

Truthfully, it was no place for a sick dad either. Nevertheless, I loved it.

I'm still sick. I still can't breathe. My chest is still full of nastiness. My head now weighs 1,250 pounds. I'm trying hard not to scratch my poor left eye.

I'm still sick. But I loved the new remedy even though it didn't shake the disease from my body."

If you asked Brynna to gather the tiniest, little stick she would drop it and say "I'm too tired for that hard work! Can I have a marshmallow yet?" Hopefully she'll grow into the whole helping around camp thing!

Maryn truly was a little helper bee and loved every minute of it! She kept asking "What can I help with now?!"

Lauryn was mad and fussed that I couldn't hold her while we were getting firewood and the tent set up. But she was still a champ and slept through the night as usual. A total super score since we were all in the same tent!

I had a great time and found myself falling in love with my husband all over again. Not only did he totally take one for the team when he was sicker than a dog and go, because he knew how important it was to me, but he made it fun too. The best part for me was last night when we sat out by our dying fire for hours after the girls had gone to sleep and just talked. I did good in the marriage department folks, that's all I gotta say. It was so, so nice to get back to basics, reconnect as a family and make some fun memories. I can't wait to do it again... only next time we'll make sure Justin is a bit healthier!