Level 3 – Camp Eggs at Lebanon Hills Campground

we did it!

this past summer…

we went out, where the wild things are (again)…we went out, to an actual campsite (for the first time)…

this experience is what we now refer to as our level 3 camping adventure…or, how we survived camping with the kids…🙂

[levels 1 & 2 were: camping in the backyard (1) and on the lot near an uncle’s cabin (2)…]

think doing everything you do with/for your kids every day, but without the comforts of home (sounds fun, right?)…then, you’ll be close to what we experienced…sure, we only stayed one night…and the campsite we went to was just 20 minutes from our house and just 5 minutes from where our relatives live and tucked neatly into an outer-rim suburb of the twin cities…but, it was roughin’ it, man…

[note: we stayed at a campsite in eagan, mn…at the lebanon hills campground; one of the best outdoor spaces in the twin cities area–no doubt!]

and, it didn’t matter that our kids nearly got trampled by wild things (their older cousins) or lost in the woods (yes, there’s woods in this suburb) or crisp-ed by the campfire…

they loved it!

99.9% of the time they carried the day…meaning that, since they had never done any of this kind of thing before…everything we did was the most exciting thing in the world…which made the experience an “all-around good time” for the family…honestly, it was a lot of work (for the parents) though–even if you’ve got some experience with camping (which we do)…i mean, i felt like taz-daddy…spinning around the campsite like a whirling dervish…my wife was spinning her own circles, too…ocassionally, we would bounce off each other and onto the next task…but, there’s not too much 2 year-olds can do to set up and help out at a campsite…

regardless, their wide-eyed perspectives made it something special…

even when there was a chance for it all to come crashing down, like at breakfast in the morning…the kids recovered in style…

here’s what happened…

my wife and i were getting the kids up, changed, dressed, hydrated, etc (while preparing breakfast)…and, we had thought it all out–the meal plan was ready for the morning…we had picked/packed some of their favorite foods for the trip…eggs, fruit, yogurt, milk, cheerios, and pouches–of course…good to go…

until we served them their eggs…which were a little ‘well done’ due to the camp stove having only one cook setting…hell-hot …right after setting their plates in front of them, the kids were like, ‘i don’t want these eggs’ and ‘these ones have something on them’ – mind you, these kids love eggs–which is why we packed them…and now this?!  i had a few choice responses to their whining that flashed through my head, but i didn’t say them ‘out loud’…instead, my wife and i looked at each other in exasperation thinking, ‘what now?!’ and ‘this is all we’ve got’…

so, after a brief pause, i went over to jack’s plate, plucked a piece of scrambled egg off his plate and swallowed it down…he looked up at me in amazement and disbelief, like he was checking to see if i would survive…i looked backed and said, ‘yummy, camp eggs!’…immediately, he got to work on his eggs and after a few bites he shouted, ‘camp eggs, yay!’ (and grace did the same)…

the night before ‘the camp eggs breakfast’ (which we still laugh about to this day), my wife and i got a few minutes by the campfire before turning in…we had put the kids down in the tent–grace had fallen asleep instantly (like she always does–a nuclear bomb couldn’t wake her), while jack was still awake (he usually takes a little time settling down, even at home, and this was a new experience)…while we sat by the fire, talking quietly and sipping on adult beverages, jack would pipe up (every so often), ‘daddy, are you there?’ and i would answer, ‘i’m here, jack’ (until he eventually fell asleep)…

and i’m glad i was…