Mom & Me 2012 Camp-out

For those of you that truly know me, you know I do not like to sweat, get dirty or be outside all that much. I am an indoors girl and I am proud of it. I was raised on a farm with a family that spends the majority of their time outside, but that didn't effect me. Now that I am married and the stepmother to two little boys, I tend to spend more time outside than I ever have, just so I can spend time with them. This past weekend was the annual Mom & Me Boy Scout Camp-out and I was invited to join the boys and their mom. I was more than excited that the boys wanted me there with them and that their mom felt the same way. It was a great opportunity and I knew that I could not miss it, though I was honestly nervous about being in the woods. I have never been camping before and I did not know what to expect. Saturday morning, Ashley and the boys picked me up and we headed out to the camp. The tent and camp was set up Friday night by the boys Stepfather, so all we had to do was show up. I showed up with my hair fixed, make-up on and Coach purse in tow. I know it is crazy to wear make-up to the woods, but I do not go anywhere without my face on.

It was a fun day that flew by! We attended the Flag Ceremony first and then we went to the BB Gun Shooting Range and the Bow & Arrow Challenge. The boys enjoyed both activities and then we had lunch back at camp. After resting for an hour, we went on a hay ride to the gaming area where we played games against the boys. Shaun and I tied in the "Walking Race" and Mason barely beat me in the "Hold the Ball Between Your Legs and Run Race". We rode the hay ride back and walked back to our troops campground to pick up our fishing gear before heading down to the canoe area. I was very nervous about being in a canoe with Shaun all by myself. I have never been canoeing before, but after being put in the water, it was a piece of cake and turned out to be my favorite activity of the day. The boys were very disappointed that they did not catch any fish during the fishing tournament, but honestly, it is difficult to catch a fish when there are hundreds of little boys trying to catch fish in the same area. I think there were only five boys that caught fish out of everyone there. It was fun even though we did not catch any fish.

The day flew by and was a lot of fun, but the night was long and scary! It was lightening and thundering off and on in the distance and then moved over us later in the night. Ashley and I did not get to sleep as much as we would have liked because we were worried about our safety. Around 7a.m. Ashley jogged 3/4 of a mile to her vehicle to bring it to our campsite. We were both sopping wet by the time everything was loaded, as were the boys and all of our gear. We left the tent for Scott to pick up later when it was not raining.

Despite the weather, the trip was great. I told Ashley that the weather made us go out with a bang! It would definitely make the trip that much harder to forget. It was a great weekend with the boys and it was a great opportunity for Ashley and I to get to know each other better. I have been a part of the boys lives for nearly 2 years now and I have always had a great relationship with their mom. I know that the situation could be very different, but Ashley, Robby, Scott and I are very blessed to be able to put the boys first and have such a great relationship with one another. It makes things much easier for the boys and everyone else that is involved.

Though I am not an outdoors kind of girl, I told Scott that I would go camping with him and the boys in the future and Ashley and I are already talking about what we need to buy before next year to make it that much better.

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