I'm Sorry, Did You Say CAMPING?

This is how I feel about camping.

This is how Shawn, Noah and Avery feel about camping.

As you can see, camping doesn't excite me a whole lot.  I like it better when S'mores are involved, but the whole "outdoor thing" doesn't do much for me.  I remember in one episode of the tv show "Monk," the title character remarked, "Nature!  Dirty!"  YES!  EXACTLY!  Nature is dirty.  And there are snakes, spiders and other assorted creatures out to get me.  And there aren't any hot showers.  Or potties. Or beds.  Or my newfound favorite electric appliance, the Keurig, which happens to make my chai almost as good as Starbucks does....  I can't help it, I like my creature comforts.  Minus the creature part, of course.

Well, I married an outdoorsy kind of guy.  Shawn LIVES to camp.  I kid you not.  He loves the creatures, minus the comfort part.  If he could figure out how move us all to a tent in the middle of a national forest, he'd do it.  If he could convince me to live without running water or electricity, we'd be out of our house in a heartbeat.  Most days I think he would have been much happier as a park ranger than as a trekkie, um, I mean techie.  The further away from civilization he is, the happier he is.  Noah is following in Shawn's footsteps; like me, Avery likes the S'mores part of camping, but has yet to spend the night in a tent.  Shawn is very good about cultivating a love of the outdoors in our boys.  He takes them hiking, biking, walking and camping.  Shawn works hard with Noah on his Boy Scout merits.  He's a good dad.  Unfortunately, the backyard is as far as they've been able to take the tent for quite a while.

Recently, I agreed to go camping with my boys.... Not in the backyard, either.  Without a shower.  Or a potty.  Or a bed.  Or my beloved Keurig.  Shawn says what I've agreed to isn't "real" camping, because we won't be out in the wilderness, but it's the closest thing I can volunteer myself for right now.  We are still going to be sheltered by a tent, shower-less and using port-a-potties.  Ew.  And I'm sure there will be plenty of creatures to go around.  Double ew.

"Amy, you silly, crazy woman, why did you agree to such a thing?" You ask.

Because I want to hear some good music and spend a fun weekend with my boys!  There is a weekend music festival we've been wanting to go to for several years now.  One year I was too sick, another year I was too pregnant, the next year Avery was too little.  It was always something.  And the festival was always held smack-dab in the middle of summer's most extreme heat, which proved to be too much for many people.  This year, it's been moved to the end of September so it will be cooler; they've also moved it to a campground, so camping is available.  *groan*  I mean, YAY!  Seriously, I am excited about it.  I can't wait to see Avery's expression when he gets to hear his favorite song live and Noah's face when he gets to see one of his favorite Christian singers live.  For the kids, it's an excuse to get away with eating foods I don't normally let them have and a chance to run a little wild.  It will be a chance to cook out with each other, count stars, do some praise and worship as a family and spend some quality time together.   I'm looking forward to a fun family weekend without computers and my husband's company calling him every couple hours to fix something.  Of course, I'm romanticizing things just a little.  We are the Furrs, after all, so there will be plenty of general mayhem, mishaps and Asperger/ADHD moments to go around, plenty of toddler tantrums, Shawn complaining about too many people, me trying to keep the peace and eventually losing control of myself, I mean, the entire situation.  That should take up the first hour of our arrival, so then we can get on with the fun!

So, if you happen to know what I'm talking about and plan to be there, be sure to look for us!  I'll be the one complaining about the port-a-potties and lack of showers, with the cranky husband, over-exhausted screaming toddler and overexcited ten year old...