Camping!

It was another first for Gwen this weekend. We headed out to Pedernales Falls State Park for Gwen's first camping trip. I reserved a campsite in advance because the campsites at Pedernales usually fill up quickly, especially when the weekend forecast calls for perfect fall weather as was the case. On Saturday we packed up our bags and prepared for some ol' fashioned car camping--coolers, comforters, pillows--we didn't want to rough it too hard on Gwen's first night under the stars! But when I called to confirm our site, I learned that I had accidentally made the reservation for the next weekend, and all the campsites were full! All that was available were the primitive sites which required a 2.5-3 mile hike in. OK, so maybe we were going to rough it. We rethought and repacked and ditched the cooler idea, the pillows, and brought our ultra-light stove, and prepared for some backpacking. When we got to the park, the park attendant was kind enough to give us the last car-camping site that they reserve "just in case." So we didn't have to backpack after all. We had a great site, watched a family of deer graze near our tent, ate some tacos, and enjoyed perfect weather. Gwen seemed to really enjoy the trip.

She slept between us in the tent, and at first all she wanted to do was play instead of sleep. Megan and I both closed our eyes, trying to pretend we were asleep, but for about 30 minutes Gwen kept tapping us saying, "Momma? Dadda?" Then pulling our hair, scratching our noses, climbing on us, Gwen persisted. It was hilarious, but we stayed strong, didn't laugh at her, and eventually she fell asleep.
We can't wait to go again!