The Little Things

 

Thank you, Target $1 aisle.

 

 



My Therapist Told Me I Could Write About This Now

So...yeah...I, yes, I take full responsibility for this,

thought it would be super fun to embark on the first ever

Lloyd family camping adventure!  Yahooey Kablooey!

Nope.

Oh, but the first day was so much fun!

Then, there was the night and...oh wait...

my flashbacks...where'd I put my Klonopin...?

Okay, I'm being a little melodramatic, but not really.

The first day was delightful!  We met up with my parents,

sister and brother-in-law and his parents.  My "in-law in-laws."  In-laws squared? 

I think that should be a thing.

 

We all camped on adjoining sites.

And by "camp" I mean WE camped, everyone else stayed in

GINORMOUS RVs

(and by ginormous I mean other campers stare and applaud and then come ask questions)

or cabins with indoor plumbing and all that fancy stuff.

So, clearly we are the peanut butter and they are the marshmallow fluff in this sandwich.

That first day though, I give it up to the first day.

 

 

I'm going to claim that I made these pictures artistic,

but really it's just bonfire smoke and my inability to use the flash correctly.

You wish you had my talent.

 

So yeah, who doesn't like fresh air, bonfires and s'mores?

All good.

Then came night.

Now, I don't want to scare anyone out of future camping adventures in the

great mid-west, but I think I should tell you

that a wild boar visited our campsite that night.

I can only assume that he came a callin' when he heard the raccoon hoe down

that was going on just outside of our tent.

(fyi: the raccoons were invited by a member of our own family.  Now I don't want to name names, but if you like puzzles, his name rhymes with bike, pike, or shmichael if you're formal)

I don't know the approximate number of animals that were mere feet away from our

nylon house, because I was afraid that if I moved my head to look out of the window

they would know we were in there and then they would feast.

As I stiffly lay there on my deflated air mattress I contemplated exactly how I would save the kids.

Is Drew awake?  He's nearest Emmy.

I could roll on top of Rosa and protect her with my person.

There is nothing sharp inside this tent to use as a weapon.

Once I'm covering Rosa, I could pull Drew on top of Emmy...is he even awake?

Why isn't he giving me a signal that he's awake and aware we are about to eaten?

I wonder if they can hear me breathing?

 

Fortunately morning came, and with the 20 minutes of sleep we got, we greeted the new day!

Drew and I took the girls for an early morning hike to keep them away from the sleeping "campers".

 

 

The hike was lovely and we even saw a deer leap across the path in front of us.

Then at the end, I looked down and saw a giant daddy long legs spider the size of my head

crawling up my bare leg.

I shrieked and ran out of the woods which alerted the attack dogs that our neighboring campers

 had brought with them to this here family campsite, because everyone loves an attack dog.

They jumped and barked and howled and successfully scared the girls to tears

and I gave the owners my best stink eye and promised we would never leave home again.

 

We rallied the troops by deciding to go scare my parents awake.

After all, they had missed the entire forest animal party in their lush cabin.

 

 

We hung out at my parents cabin until we decided to head to the beach.

Just as soon as we arrived, the girls in their swimmies,

it started to downpour. 

So, my parents taught the girls high stakes poker

while I contemplated if I was getting karmic payback for anything in particular.

 

 

You can see where this is going.

End of story... we left our first camping adventure feeling defeated,

and bribing the girls with all manner of treats on the way home.

I have clearly not fully recovered, but I still like s'mores. 

So, there's that.

 

 

 

 

 



Drew Face

 

Perhaps you're familiar with it?

If not, that is the exact face Drew gives me

when he's trying to sell me some kind of crazy that I'm not buying.

Like, I don't know, buying some insane looking "wizard's chair" at an estate sale.

Usually accompanied with a flabbergasted "really?"

Complete with the right eye ever so slightly more squinty than the left.

Circle of life man, circle of life.

 

 





Umm...I have a 5 year old.

 

And, I've apparently lost my blogging mojo.

Which is unfortunate timing because this 5 year old (what?!)

offers up a good bit of entertaining stories.

I decided I would FINALLY write her birthday post

after watching her wait for her classroom to open up this morning.

Her buddy Max came running over to see her and gave her a high five to which she responded, "hey."

I joyfully watched as Max went on and on about how they

 (she, Max and some kid named Sam- she hangs with the dudes) were going to

"catch some bad guys on the playground".

As he excitedly described the adventures they would have, all while leaning on her shoulder with his elbow, like Zach Morris, she bounced between conceding to an occasional high five,

 and giving him the side-eye.

Equal parts awesome.

 

This kid.

Who loves her sister more than life itself,

who is one of the most nurturing, empathetic people I know,

who jumps up and down when she comes home with homework,

who will eat a bowl full of tomatoes like candy,

who will make you rethink your entire lifes' choices with one knowing glance,

who loves to tell knock-knock jokes,

who smirks uncontrollably when caught in a lie,

who practices the monkey bars for so long and with such determination she gets blisters,

just officially became a big kid.

5 years old is the big time folks.

 

We're talking big kid scooters, and car booster seats. 

 

How did this happen so quickly?

 

We celebrated with a small cake and presents on her real birthday,

and then with the whole fam a few days later

with an "Animal" themed party.

Two things I've learned over the last year with Emmy:

1. Ya don't mess with her party themes.  Girl knows what she wants.

2. Ya don't try to pick out her clothes.  Girl has her own style.  Don't be messin' with it.

 

 

One thing I learned this year:  Don't try to adhere cotton candy to a stick with water.

That stuff melts fast man.

 

Aside the the droopy decorations, the party was fantastic,

with all of her favorite people there to celebrate!

 

 

 

 

 

Chamomile Starflower,

we couldn't have dreamed for more. 

Love you to the moon!