On the Go

It's been a few weeks, I know.  But, I had very good reason to be absent.  My girl came home and we hit the road!  I was ready.  Ready to have her home. Ready to leave all the nonsense behind.  I needed family time.  I needed a break.

We loaded up the vintage camper and headed to the coast.  It was a much needed getaway.  Something we look forward to every year.

There's something so special about hearing Caroline talk about the coast.  "are we gonna go to the Crazy Cajun?", "we have to go to the Islander so I can see what new stuff they have.", "we're taking the ferry, right?" and on and on it goes. 

We took the ferry, went to the Islander, and went to watch the fireworks.  All traditions we look forward to.  And I know that before long, my sweet 10 year old will totally think we're not cool and complain about beach camping, so I'm soaking it all up while I can.  Maybe she'll surprise me and always think we're cool...or not.

This year was so different from years past.  We normally just have the 3 of us and the hubby's parents, maybe a stray friend or 2.  But this year...we had 18 {6 families} and 4 dogs.  It was a great trip and we loved having family and friends with us. 

It was also a trip with a few new things.  You always know that camping can have it's hazards, and the beach has it's own hazards.  We've never had a problem.  There's always the loud rowdy crew that drinks too much and shoots fireworks, the crazy teens driving big jacked up trucks down the beach, and we've even had a crazy beach bum one year.  This year....well, it was a hodge podge of crazy.

The first morning there, my mother in law had an accident with her RV's canopy, which resulted in a trip to the ER and a lost finger nail.  On the third morning, a friends Yeti Cooler was stolen {probably in the night} and Caroline tumbled into the fire pit from the night before, which still had a few coals...I think she found each and every one of them.  Poor girl.  She was terrified, I was terrified.  Thank God it wasn't bad.  I quickly reacted and got cool cloths on the burns and calmed her down.  It looked bad for the first few hours and I was getting ready to make a decision about heading to the ER, and then she was fine.  I had my entire medical baggie thing with me, but the one thing that I left at home, the Silvadene.  Lesson learned.  Even though we thought we had the whole fire out, there were still some coals, we made dang sure the next night the fire was out and the coals.

Then the last night...filled with all kinds of crazy.  The generator ran out of gas in the wee morning hours.  Then some rowdy {probably trashed} campers next to us shot fireworks into our camp, showering our campers with a million tiny sparks.  Then it stormed, hey at least it cooled off all the little sparks. 

But it was still an amazing time.  Everyone had a blast and we're already planning for next year.

Before I hear what a horrible mom I am for not taking her to a doctor, I've had 2nd and 3rd degree burns before, I kinda knew the ropes and what to do.  I knew hers were mostly 1st and a few spots that would be classified as 2nd degree {the same as a sunburn with little blisters} and I knew that I had treated them accordingly.  God was taking care of her and even sent us a little help.  We went into town the next morning and were both floored when we ran into the nurse from our pediatricians office!  We told her what happened and how I treated it, she took a look and said just what I knew.  She was fine, it would heal nicely and I had done everything just right.  No need to take her in, just use the handy Silvadene when we got home.  ***But please know that if this had been another injury that I didn't know what to do, or if mommy instinct had me worrying, I would have done everything possible to get her medical attention.***