Camping with Armitage's

We went camping this past weekend with our bestest buds the Armitage family in Moses Lake. Once we got there, we had a blast, but let me first tell you a story of simply trying to get there.

The plan was to leave Friday night as soon as Todd got off work at 6pm because it was a two hour drive and we just wanted to get there and get set up and then be able to enjoy all of Saturday. So, I'm thinking I have all day Friday to pack the car and be totally ready to go by 6, right?!? Wrong!! I swear little kids know more about what is going on than they let on. Sometimes, I get scared. My little baby, who is only six months old, seemed to truly realize that mommy had a lot of crap to get done that day and decided, yup, today is the day that I want my mom to hold me all day or else I am gonna scream like someone is killing me. Seriously. If I was holding her all was well in the world of Raigan. If I set her down to, oh, I don't know, pee - it was as if I had dropped her on her head and left her there. I am so not kidding. It's as if she knew. . .

And on top of that she decides that taking a nap is not on her agenda for the day. So, I have to pack basically one handed because the other one is holding her and not just for myself mind you, oh, no, I have to pack for myself, my husband and the kids and all the camping stuff and food and anything you might just need when you are going camping for two days!! Aaaaahhhhhh!! Believe it or not, we were packed and all in the car waiting for daddy when he got home. Yes, I know, I am truly amazing. So, we head off down the road to our camping destination. Now, for those of you not too familiar with eastern Washington, once you leave Spokane there is nothing. I mean, literally nothing for miles and miles. And wouldn't ya' know it - my kids both wait until we are out in the middle of all that nothingness to decide that they both have to go pee-pee. AAAAHHHH! We pull over on the side of the freeway (I know some of you are flashing back to childhood right now, it's okay, I'll wait) . . . . . . . . . . . to go potty in the great outdoors. This might not seem a big deal to some but this was our first time and we wanted to treasure it.

My awesome and amazing husband stays in the car to take pictures without my knowledge while I traipse through weeds to take the kids to the bathroom. Marcus is potty trained, but he still sits on the potty so this was his first experience trying to pee standing up. Now, picture this if you will, standing on the side of the road with your son's pants down around his ankles holding his wee-wee for him to point it in the right direction and coaxing him, "Come on, you can do it, just pee!!" Ah, the joys of motherhood. Well, we had success and I must say the boy was pretty darn proud of himself. Next was my sweet girl Raquel who was absolutely mortified that I was having her take her pants off on the side of the road, but come on ladies, don't we all know it's hard to squat and pee without getting it on your pants? It's just easier to pull one leg out. And boy did that girl have to pee!! So, back in the car we go to get on our way because it's only a two hour drive and we just wanna get there.

But wait, remember Raigan thought the day was all about her? Not even fifteen more minutes down the road she decides that she doesn't want to be in her car seat and/or look at Raquel anymore. And cue the screaming. Not just regular baby screaming, this is I have been harmed in someway screaming that is ear-splitting. (I really like it when she does it in the middle of Walmart for no apparent reason.) So, guess what? We pull over again. And hey, guess what else - if we had waited for fifteen more minutes we could have peed at the rest area where we stopped to calm down Raigan. Weird, huh? Turns out my girl is a bit of a momma's baby and she wanted to see my oh, so gorgeous face for the rest of the trip. Now, if you are married to law enforcement you can just stop reading right now. I put my oldest girl in the front seat so I could squeeze my fat butt in-between Marcus' seat and Raigan's seat in the back. Heck, I was in there so tight I didn't even need a seat belt. I was hip to hip slammed right inbetween those two car seats. All so my baby could look at me the rest of the way to Moses Lake and be happy. And yes, Raquel sat in the front seat and she isn't old enough and I don't even want to hear it. A momma's gotta do what a momma's gotta do.

Well, then we continue on our "short" drive to Moses Lake and finally get there. Then, we proceed to get lost for another half an hour because apparently, according to Todd, I don't read mapquest directions correctly. Whatever. No joking, our drive should have taken two hours or less and it took us three hours just to get to our campsite. We made it though and had a great weekend with the Armitage's.