"Sweetest days of childhood, playing in the deep woods, stomping through the creek and feeling oh so much alive. Camping in the forest, enjoying the crichet chorus, hum my songs of gratitude around the crackling fire. Right here in the stillness I found my house of worship with column trees and canopy of stars...Here in my cathedral."
I love this word picture from this great song by Chris Rice - it resonates so beautifully with my own experiences at Lake Almanor. As a child, I loved all the adventure it offered - motorcylce rides, water skiing, innertubing, wakeboarding, chipmunk-catching...every day was filled with wonder and anticipation. But it wasn't until recent years that I began to see this little piece of forest as a retreat, a place of renewal and rejuvination, an opportunity to experience God like never before... a house of worship. Sitting on a log in the still quiet hours of the morning, skiing on perfect glass at sunset, or slicing through buttery water with the oars of my kayak - it is in these moments that I've never been closer to God. Ahh, only 11 more months until we are back again.
While I did have precious moments of serenity and solitude during our trip, that's really not round-the-clock reality with two small children and a yellow lab! Wow, I sort of think anyone who braves 10 days in a tent with two babies and a dog deserves a ribbon or something. And my husband deserves a gold medal. He worked HARD - cooked all the meals, did the dishes, and watched the kids so I could ski when the water was good. Not to mention set up camp, made comfy little beds for our kiddos, and helped at night when they were not such happy campers. Thank you, babe, for making such a huge effort to make this a "real" vacation for me.
So, here is a summary of our trip in pictures:
Night one: Not so good. Baby had a fever, up most of the night. Woke up Ezekiel. Both were freezing. Kevan and I both up trying to keep the kids from waking up the entire campground. Finally, at 3 a.m. Kevan takes the baby for a drive to get her to sleep. He stays in the car with her until 6, then they both come back to our tent and crash. Completely exhausting for all of us.
Day one: While Kevan catches up on sleep, Ezekiel manages to disclocate his elbow while playing (or maybe while I was "helping" him step over the ledge of our tent. Moms, beware. Don't pull your kids up by their hands!). While I try to decide if he's really hurt, he falls asleep from pain in Uncle Matthew's arms. When he wakes up and still can't move his arm, Kevan and I decide to make a trip to the dinky little hospital in town. On the drive there, we talk about the possibility of 9 more nights like the last and the fun of adding a broken or sprained arm to the mix. We wonder if we should turn right around and drive home. THANKFULLY, his arm is just dislocated, the doctor pops it right back in and we immediately have our happy son back. And then, finally, things started to turn around and the rest of our trip was GREAT. The kids even managed to stay warm and sleep well most of the nights (which makes for happy days!).
And the fun begins! Family boat ride...
After the first few minutes of adjusting, Bekah Jane really didn't seem to mind her life jacket. Both kids loved going on boat rides.
My little skipper.
How fun is this? Andrew and Melissa got this trampoline/slide thing and we spent hours on it every day! Fun for kids and grown-ups alike!
Bekah Jane taking her afternoon nap at the beach. Love that - mama got to read by the water while she slept.
Ezekiel spent all day playing in the sand or in the water with his cousins.
Kevan in the boat my cousin Steve made. I got to take it out, too, and it was simply beautiful. Definitely a highlight.
When Kevan saw these pictures he said "How could I not love hanging out with my kids? They are so great!"
Papa Mark with the "triplets" Autumn, Cami, and Ezekiel
It was sooo wonderful to be back in the water again after a 3-year maternity leave. How beautiful is this?! I skied and wakeboarded to my heart's content. And now that I am older and wiser (but mostly just older!), it is much more about peace than performance for me. And, boy, was it peaceful out there. Love love love it.
Me and my girl.
Bekah Jane was pretty exhausted after watching her mama ski! She kept on sleeping in the tent - life jacket and all!
Maddie, Bekah, and Abby.
Good morning, family!
Doesn't she look warm and cozy?
Saying goodbye to our campsite...
5 comments:
Bethany...you amaze me! 10 nights in a tent with 2 kids seems SO incredible...you deserve MORE than a ribbon! What a wonderful time it looks like you had! How fun to be there with your whole family and what memories for your parents...I'm sure they loved every minute of it!
Beautifully done, Bethany! I love all the pictures :) I tried to keep my post to pictures of only my family (to not steal anyone's thunder), but I just couldn't resist some of the super cute pictures! I just kept telling myself that this way, anyone that wants thoses pictures can just save them on their computers.
You are a super hot skiing mama... can't wait to see you ski again next year :)
Also... great job holding out as a tent camper with us :) It was great fun being your neighbor!!!
sounds like you guys had a blast! it's fun to read about your trip there, as that was my families vacation spot for several years when I was a child. glad you were able to both relax and have craziness with the kiddos :)
i love reading your memories of my favorite other family! Do you remember when Tracy and I dislocated your arm??
Bethany- you are such a good writer! I just read the b-day blog for Ezekial, beautiful- made me tear up, and now this one. You are so brave to do the camping thing, but I must say it looks like it was a blast and it made me want to brave a tent for some fun family time away!
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