And we did Camp....

So our days at the beach turned into hours, and our days camping turned into 2, well 2 nights & barely three days.
This was our first camping trip with Lili and as much as I wanted it to be one thing well it turned out to be very much something else. I must repeat what I wanted didn't pan out. I wanted was a week at the beach & what I needed to realize is that is NOT what my family can do right know.

So this is what it was & as I think about it I know how very fortunate I am.
We arrived at a remote campground, amongst a lot of history in Creswell, NC. Pettigrew State Park which includes Phelps Lake. What I appreciated is that I got to walk on a former southern plantation rich in history, which was just a stroll away from our campsite. A stroll in the other direction brought us to a boat launch to a massive calm lake. While driving into the campground off of 64, we were surprised at the landscape. Creswell is mainly a farm town amongst miles & miles of canals, which we learned to have been dug by slaves centuries ago. Again, amazing history.

We did get to spend a few hours at Nags Head on the Outer Banks & got to check out the Currituck Lighthouse. It was impressive.
We did spend a lot of time watching Liliana: she explored, got dirty, got frustrated at small things, big things. She was just so on the go & at times I think her mind keeps going but her actions don't quite keep up & so she falls. And so falling outside on sticks & rocks hurt compared to carpet inside our comfy home. She was a trooper we all slept together in our tent.
All I can say about that is Lili is a great sleeper at home now, sleeps 12 hours straight @ night. It was not the case when we were camping. She struggled quite a bit when she would wake up, while at home she still awakens @ night in her crib, but falls quickly back to sleep. In the tent she would do so & then cry and cry and cry some more, sometimes standing, sometimes rolling around, over us in the tent. She did better the second night, but still nothing like at home. Even trying to fall asleep was different. And well of course we realize it wasn't home, she did great for the first time.

We did realize by Tuesday night she wasn't herself, had a fever & so we packed it up the next am & came back. Now Eli & her aren't so hot.... :(
(this was last week & now we are all much, much better)

This definitely won't keep us back from camping at all. We just think we may eliminate some of the factors, heat & it not being the 1st time. In a few months in the fall it will be a new & different experience for us all again....
And also what I realized its not about me, what I want - what I need to happen. Its about letting go & just enjoying the time that we have as a family, all together.