We survived

So we're back in Tucson after a nice relaxing weekend in the mountains. Of course anytime you add a 2, 3, and 4 year old to the mix there's bound to be some mishaps. I'm happy to report that we really had a great weekend with only a few minor meltdowns. And, I'm being honest. The kids had an absolute grand time. I enjoyed myself and I know Paul enjoyed himself as well. We went with another couple, Matt and Tessa, who have a 3 year old little girl named Angel. Angel, well she's not one to be completely honest. She has total only child syndrome and doesn't listen to her parents or anyone else for that matter, but despite that they all managed to get along about 95% of the time. After all no child is perfect. I know ours aren't. Just made me extra grateful for my two. :)
So, we got up to MT Lemmon about 1030 Friday and started setting up. We rented a pop up trailer from the base and boy am I glad we did. We brought tons and tons of food because we decided to stay until Sunday and with kids you can never bring enough. After I sprayed LYSOL all over the trailer I was ready to make this our little weekend home. I set up the beds with tons of blankets and pillows, got all the food put away in the drawers, and set up the kids potty area which consisted of a potty seat, Lysol, and hand sanitizer. I mean anyone who knows me knows there was no way my kids were going a la natural in the woods, or in the bathroom that was near our area. Anyways by the time we got everything set up it was nap time for all of us. So we all got nice and confy and took a nap only to be interrupted by rain, and lots of it. We were still waiting for our friends to come and I was beginning to the the rain would make them change their minds. Of course the area we were in didn't get any reception for cell phones, so there was no way to just make a call and see if they were on their way or not. After waiting another two hours in the rain Paul decided to drive down the mountain and see if he could get reception. He came back and said there were about 1 1/2 hrs away from Rose Canyon Lake where we were staying. Well that hour went by and so did about another hour and a half. I just knew they changed their minds. I was getting a little concerned b/c we brought real food. Food that required pots to cook it in, and they were in charge of all the cooking utensils, plates, forks, and pans. I had one loaf of bread and pb&j and everyone knows that'll only get you so far. Needless to say they ended up showing up right as the rain let up. We ended up having hamburgers, hotdogs, and brauts for dinner. Not too shabby for out first night. Everything went well. We only had to take cover twice after dinner due to the rain and luckily they had their tent and everything already put up. So the kids ended up going down about 0930 and I was right there with them. After going up and down the hill a million times for potty breaks my back was done. I didn't sleep for crap. I actually layed there all night listening to all the other campers. Friday must be happening times at the mountain, because everyone seemed to be having a blast and was so loud. I mean laughing, jokes, screaming, dogs barking, you name it I heard it. Not to mention us picking a spot near the restroom backfiring on us. LOL I heard every footstep that went to and from the restrooms.
Sat morning the kids woke up bright and early(0730) ready to play and have smores since they didn't get to the night before. Don't worry I'm not that bad of a mom. I made them wait. Breakfast consisted of scrambled eggs, sausage, and bacon. Justin was in heaven. That boy loves meat. I think he probably had 4 or 5 pieces of sausages. Kailee's like me. No thanks. She did however enjoy eggs and cheese with me. After breakfast the plan was fishing at the lake. Didn't quite happen that way thanks to more rain. After it stopped, Paul being the great dad he is made the executive decision to let the kids have smore. After all he promised yesterday and he was darned if the kids missed out again. We all had smores and warmed up by the fire. It got cloudy again and rained some more. I was beginning to think this would be our last night for our friends since they woke up soaked with a tent full of rain. Lucky for us the rain held off and we halled tail down to the lake. We figured at most the kids could at least see it if nothing else. After making our way past a very brave baby skunk we found the perfect spot off the dock. JP and Kailee practiced throwing and pretended to fish while I sat and snapped away. I couldn't believe how beautiful the day had turned out. The sun came out and everyone was just relaxing by the lake. Couldn't get any better. Tessa just had to run to the store at the top of the mountain. She was going a little stir crazy so I decided to go with her. We got ice and a few other things she needed and headed back down to the rest of the group. The weather was still beautiful and when we got back the guys had already started cooking. Chicken for me and the kids and steak for Paul. We also had potatoes, corn on the cobb, beans, and of course hot dogs for the kids. I knew they would prefer that over chicken any day. It was delicious. Or maybe I was just hungry. The kids rain around and played some more while the grown ups sat around and watched. Then the kids started getting tired and we all sat around the fire and got nice and cozy. Kailee being Kailee knew there was marshmallows and asked if they could roast them before they went to bed. We let them have two a piece and then I took the kids up and got them ready for bed. They fell right to sleep. I did too. It was a long but great day.
This morning I awoke to Kailee right in my face asking to go play. She knew it wasn't raining and was ready. So I got the kids dressed and ready and sent them out with Paul while I started packing the trailer up. We had another nice breakfast of sausage, eggs, steak, chicken, basically anything left over and then we all started packing the camp up. The kids didn't want to leave at all. Although I had a great relaxing time, I won't lie I was ready for a hot shower and my own house. JP fell asleep half way down the mountain and Kailee watched Tinker Bell the whole way home. It couldn't have gone any better and I foresee a ton of camping in our future. And next time we go we will be camping in style for sure....More to come on that later.