SHADES OF SHERWOOD

Getting ready to go camping the Shelton house is NOT an easy task. Packing clothes, food, blankets, pillows, bikes, toys, and all other paraphanalia for 6 people, 4 of them being kids, tends to be quite the arduous task. I am usually quite crabby on the day we venture out (just ask Mr. Shelton) because of all the work that is involved in this whole camping thing. This time around was even higher up on the stress level indicator as I was asked by the Mr. to pack the car and head down to the Marina in order to unpack it all and get it into the Motor Home to go. That meant I had to pack a cooler, sheets, kids blankets, sippy cups, diaper bag, all the food, suitcases, bags, bikes, cooler and stroller 4 kids and myself into my SUV. Easy? Nope.

But I managed to stuff it all in the car, sweating profusely by the end of this task and in desperate need of another shower, but it was packed. Here is a look at the car as we headed out the driveway on our way to meet Dad. Nice, right? I am glad we did not get pulled over as I am most certain I would have gotten a ticket for having an overstuffed car. Is there such a law? I bet there is.


Once we got there, and got settled in, the fun began. Well, actually not. We got there so late, the kids had minimal time to play before melt downs were had by all, and bed time was needed.

After a good nights rest, the fun DID begin.

Ava and Liv played together, taking a moment to stop and let Momma get a picture.

As I knew it would, the novelty of playing with her baby sister wore off, and she headed out to play with the bigger kids. This left Olivia no other choice than to get into anything and everything in site.

Here she is climbing up the stairs to another campers Motor Home, checking things out....

After getting her down from there, she meandered around our site, and managed to find a fishing bobber on the ground and decided to give it a taste. Why not, right?

Then she headed over to the cooler, decided she was thirsty, took out an ice cold beer and attempted to drink it.

I finally contained her in her high chair for a while where she happily drooled away and ate some dinner.
Ava spent much of her time riding her bike in circles around the camp ground.

Anthony decided his idea of camping this weekend was to sit inside the Motor Home and play Star Wars on the Play Station. And me, being Mother of the year, decided what the heck? He was happy, so why not. [For those of you that know Anthony, you surely understand.]

He did occasionally come out of the camper for some fun. Here he is pulling his shirt up over his head, calling himself a ghost from Scooby-doo.

On Saturday we all headed down to the crick with our chairs and coolers to dip our feet in the water and enjoy some libations. The kids had a great time catching minnows in their nets and playing in the sand.

Lucas posing for a nice photo by the water, in his clothes.

He decided to get down and dirty in the wet/muddy sand and build a castle. Notice the very white socks and new shoes off to the side?

Well, here they were after our little excursion down by the crick. He decided, when Mom was looking, that he wanted to put his socks and shoes back on. He then decided he wanted to go walking around in the crick and find some minnows, with his new shoes and socks on. Can we say ruined? He obviously did not mind, as he spent the rest of the day with his soaking wet, mud/sand filled shoes and socks on his feet. These kids never cease to amaze me.

So besides having to throw out a brand new pair of socks (not a big deal), and a brand new pair of shoes (a bit bigger deal), we had a great time camping. Fun was had by all. Here's to looking forward to next summer's camping trips!