First camping adventure!

Mike ran in the Barbarian Challenge this past weekend at Noccalula Falls. We decided to make it a family trip. We borrowed a camper from a friend, loaded up the kid and dogs and off we went! ME was so excited about our adventure, but when we arrived Fri. evening the excited quickly turned to frustration when nothing seemed to happen fast enough for her! She was very impatient waiting for the camper to get setup and the dogs to get settled so that she could go swimming. We finally made it to the pool and enjoyed some water time, but when the pool closed at 9 pm, ME wanted none of it! I had to carry her 1/2 way to the camper pulling the wagon with all of our stuff. I managed to get her back and settled in bed watching a movie. We arrived later than planned so dinner consisted of sandwiches and crackers (burgers would have to wait!). We were finally all in bed and asleep by 11. I was hoping for a better start to the next day! At some point in the night the air conditioner froze up so the night was rather warm! The next morning we were all up and ready to go by 6. Once the dogs were walked and fed, I headed to Jack's to pick up breakfast. Yes, I had food to cook, but after the previous night I wanted a big diet Coke on ice. Once we had eaten it was time to head to the race. As it turned out the race was at Noccalula but it was about 2 miles away. We walked about 1/2 a mile to a shuttle stop and rode the rest of the way. ME was a trooper! She carried her camp chair and was all about starting the adventure. Mike did really well in his race. It was about 4.5 miles of adventure race through the woods. He carried sandbags, climbed ropes and walls, and ran creekbeds, just to start. He finished 95th out of 1,000 with a time of 69 minutes. We couldn't see much of the race and it was hot, but ME was pretty patient,especially once we got a strawberry shaved ice for a treat! We weren't quite as lucky in the shuttle department on our trip back to the camper. Every shuttle that we found was full or going the wrong way and didn't stop. We managed to grab a ride for about 1/2 a mile, but walked the rest of the way. ME was a star though, she didn't complain and just hiked on. A mile and a half walk for a four year old at noon in 90 plus degree heat could have been a disaster but it wasn't. Once we returned to the camper ME settled in for a rest, snack and a movie while I took the dogs out. Mike and the rest of the race "crew" (race buddy Chris and his family) showed up about 30 minutes later. We all enjoyed hanging out and hearing their stories from the course. Once Chris and his family left we went to the swimming pool to cool off. ME has not been a fan of going under the water. My sister Scottie suggested getting her some goggles and this was their "test run"! ME loved the goggles! She went under time and again. I think we might have a swimmer this summer. We finally got to grill burgers and brats for dinner and just "hang out" and enjoy the campground atmosphere Saturday night. Sitting back watching everything was quite an experience. There was a group who set up classic country karaoke, our new neighbors had lived in their camper for the past 20 years and had a 4 year old son,lots of families with kids and dogs, retired couples enjoying card games, a family with a golf cart that they were just cruising around in, as well as many others. Part of the weekend entertainment was just watching and visiting with all of the other families. The weekend had its ups and downs, but I can say that camping as a family allows a lot of time to enjoy one another without the distractions of the outside world. Now back to the real world and the PILES of laundry!