Camping fun

Since 2004, we've gone "car camping" every year. Rian was a July 2008 baby, so when he was 9 months old, we went camping for the first time. He loved being out in the open, under the trees. When Rian was ~2 years old, he loved running around, no boundaries of the house for his play. We had a large group of friends and kids last year, and Rian enjoyed getting dirty and wading in the water the next day.

3.5 weeks back we went "car camping", like we do every year. We had a cancellation of plans this year, and this was the second camping attempt in our group. As the number of kids in our group increases, the likelihood of one of them being sick increases too :-) and that was the reason for first cancellation. On the week of camping, Rian caught a cold, and we really had him excited about camping. Plus since he's 3 already, we're a bit more easy going with him now, even when he's sick. So we decided to go camping.

We had a relaxed morning at home, went for Rian's gym class and Rian played at home after that while I packed. Amit worked for a few hours as usual since it was Saturday. Amit was very concerned how I was doing with the packing, and he came home a bit earlier than expected - thanks sweetie for that gesture. We were right on time, had lunch at home and left at 2:05pm. Our ETD was 2pm. It helped that mom was around to play with Rian while Amit and me just did the packing and loaded the car.

Rian was very excited about camping, but was also very sleepy. We explained to him that if he takes a nap in the car, by the time we reach the campground, he will be fresh and energetic to play with his friends. Surprisingly he took the advice well, and was asleep in 20 mins! The rest of the drive went by smoothly. Amit and I got a rare chance to catch up on so many things we needed to discuss, and of course our top discussion was "our kiddo is so swweeeeet" :-) We are crazy parents!

By 3:30 we both needed our java break, and luckily found a Starbucks around. Amit parked the car but kept the engine running, it was 100+F. I quietly stepped out and kept the door a bit ajar. In and out in 5 mins, Rian was still asleep :-) We had a "woohoo" moment as we realized it was a 10 min stop, with Rian remaining asleep, and we getting our Starbucks fix!! Three cheers to that.

Two out of three couples had showed up, and 2 tents were already up when we went there. We started with milk for the kids, beer for the adults, Swati made chai, and then Meher started with grilling. Amit meanwhile setup our tent. Rian was being a darling, very curious about everything and what everyone was doing. He was very safe, and loved observing. I was worried he would overheat - he was red in the face. Daddy came to rescue and made sure Rian downed a cold juice. We found Rian peeking into the tents, asking to "help" all the uncles and aunties. Amit has taught me one thing - keeping Rian busy is easy, give him a "task". I think I work that way too :-)

BBQ'ed veggies tasted awesome, I was craving them for a while. Amit was mediator between the "elder" kids: Parv, Achal, and Rian. Kids took turns in riding 2 scooters and one cycle. Meanwhile I became food mom and fed these 3 kids bbq veggies. Corn was next on the menu, followed by some kaju katri and Oreo cookies. Kids were so dirty after that, cleanup session ensued, and milk after that.

Rian was very tired after that, given his cough/cold and in his "overexcited" state. Amit wanted to take him back to the campfire for chit chat session. It was 10pm. I was very concerned that Rian had already yawned many times, scratched his ears and squinted his eyes. I didn't want him to go into the "super cranky" zone, so I decided to get into the tent and sleep with him. Rian and I missed out on smores and some chit chat with friends.

In hindsight it was good that we went to bed at 10pm. We actually slept only ~10:30-11 as Rian kept moving around. The air bed was not very stable. Our neighbors came in at 1:30 to found their air bed out of air, and then ensued some loud noises of the air pump. At 5:15am, Rian's eyes opened and he saw daylight! That was the end of his sleep. Amit gave him the iPhone in the hopes of catching a little more shut eye. By 5:45 I could no longer sleep with Rian fidgeting with the iPhone, so Rian and I decided to step out.

We took a long walk with his favorite Razor scooter of Achal dada. Since we could not locate the milk vessel, Rian and I remained super hungry. Both of us are used to our milk/coffee first thing in the morning, within 15 mins of waking up. I was surprised to see Rian engaged in the surroundings, and not one crib about milk. He even went with me and we brushed together! He was curious about everything and everyone, and kept asking all the strangers around us many many questions :-) Finally people started waking up, and we got into milk, tea, breakfast mode.

The other 3 families were heading out to water. Since Rian already had a cough/cold, we decided to skip, and drove to Sacramento to visit the train museum. Amit and me were hoping Rian will catch an early nap, but no luck. He was super excited about the museum, and did not sleep a wink in the car. Our timing was good, and we landed in Sacramento right at Rian's lunch time. We spent ~2 hrs in the museum, and Rian was going crazy at every display. Loved watching him and the experience was blissful.

Being up since 5am, Rian got very wound up and cranky. Thankfully we finished his milk on time, and as soon as we drove off, he was asleep in 5 mins. The return again was a peaceful drive, well timed. We reached home just in time for dinner.