Griffin Goes Camping

You know how the story goes, like father, like son!  That proves to be true with Griffin and his Daddy!  This past weekend, we decieded to go on a family camping trip with just the three of us.  When the idea first came up, I immediately said no.  Then, after giving it some thought, I changed my mind and actually began to get a bit excited about.  Afterall, it had been well over a year since I had been camping.

Keith did all of the preperation.  My only job was to leave school ASAP so we could hit the road.  When we arrived at our campsite, we were blown away at how beautiful it was.  We were surrounded by lake keowee and the mountains.  We even had our own beach area.  After we got settled, Keith began cooking.  We didn't have hotdogs or hamburgers like you might be expecting.  Instead, we had fillet mignon and corn on the cob.  Hands down, the best steak I've ever had.  No lie!  After dinner Griffin went to bed.  Now you may be thinking "How can they be camping with a 5 month old in a tent?!"  But trust me when I say that he had a pretty sweet set up!  His pack and play fit perfectly by our air mattress.  Griffin slept better in the tent then he does at home.  Mom and Dad, not so much!  You forget how cramped it can get in a tent.

Anyways, the next morning we woke up, had breakfast, and prepared for our hike around Lake Keowee.  It was suppose to be a 4 mile trail.  After hiking though, Keith and I came to the conclusion that 4 miles must have meant one way!  Griffin LOVED hiking.  He was so amused by all of the sounds in the woods.  He actually even took quite a few naps while on his Daddy's back.  It was absolutely perfect...until Bailey got lost.  She was doing an awesome job leading the way on the trial until she caught a whiff of a nearby deer...or maybe a turkey.  Who knows!  Regardless of what it was, her jack russellness got the best of her!  Off she went!  She was missing for about a half hour when we decided to give up our hunt for her and head back to tell the park ranger to keep an out for her.  As we turned around to finish the hike, Bailey the super Jack Russell, came running over the hill.  I'm not sure who was more relieved, Bailey or us! 

Once our family was together again, we enjoyed a quick picnic and headed back down the trail.  Oh!  I think I failed to mention that I left the dog leashes at the top of the trail...this meant after our hike we had to go to FRED's (about 20 min away) to find a new one.  Keith wasn't very pleased, but on the bright side, atleast we needed a dog leash :)

After our visit to FREDS...and a quick stop at Arby's, we headed back to our site where we enjoyed a swim in the lake and then a nice relaxing night by the fire.

That night when we went to bed I found myself thinking about how lucky I am to have such a wonderful husband and such a sweet baby boy.  They both make my life complete.  This camping weekend was just what the three of us needed:  Rest, Relaxation, and Time Together :)

My Weekend

I have been looking forward to this weekend all week.  Not because I was doing anything fun or fancy, but because I was going to be able to spend it with my sweet baby boy, Griffin.  Keith left town on Friday for a bachelor party (camping ofcourse), and it was just me and my little man from then on.  We ended up not getting home until late on Friday, which meant that by the time we got settled, it was time to put Griffin to bed.  I got him ready like I always do, we read a story together, then I went to lay him in his crib.  On this night though, I just couldn't lay him down right yet.  I knew he was tired...and I was too, but part of me just wanted to hold him until he fell asleep (something I rarely do anymore).  So I sat in the rocking chair in his room and sang to him as he drifted off to sleep.  Looking down, it was almost unreal to me that my 'baby' had gotten so big in what seems like such a short amount of time.  The next day, we took our time getting ready and then ran some errands with gamma (my mom) and headed back home to get ready for cousin Thomas to come over while my brother and sister in law went to the USC game.  Thomas just turned a year old on September 3rd.  Watching Thomas and Griffin together on Saturday was definitely the highlight of my weekend.  It amazed me how much Griffin already adores Thomas.  Everywhere Thomas went, Griffin would want to go.  Now lucky for Thomas, Griffin can't really get around yet, but he would try his hardest to scoot and roll to wherever Thomas was. I had the best time with them!  Eventually, they both went to bed...atleast I thought.  As I walked down the hall a little later on, I saw Thomas sitting straight up in his crib.  He wasn't fussing or crying, but I had to pick him up.  I brought him to the couch with me where I held him until he drifted off to sleep again.  I was about to put him back in his crib but as I held him and thought about how little he use to be, I told myself to sit down and hold him some more while I was still able.  Watching a child grow definitely makes you think about life.  Growing up, time didn't seem to go as fast, but today watching my nephews, and now my own son, I am reminded how quickly time does fly and just how precious every moment we have here with the ones we love is.