Islanding

We just returned from a nearly weeklong visit to family camp. It's a little place out in the San Juan Islands with a lovely meadow, simple cabins, great food, and lots of things to do or not do, as you choose. Sacha's been there nearly every year since she was a baby and I've been quite a few times, too, but this was only our second visit as a family. Last year, as I think we've noted here before, we snuck Apa along with us and Rosa was conceived while we were there, so it was definitely special to return with our new family of five this time.

This time, we also brought some good friends with us (two families with kids about the same ages as ours) and Sacha's parents came along, so we had quite the crew. And, we had quite the good time. The kids got to enjoy more freedom than they normally have in the city, running around and rolling in the meadow like little puppies, as well as getting to go to and fro from the cabins on their own. The adults got good company, delicious food, and plenty of other parents willing to lend a hand if needed. Some of the other parents took this a bit far, letting their kids really go wild and leaving everyone else to deal with it, but I think we struck a good balance with ours, at least.

We managed to sleep all in one room, we got Rosa to nap without her swing, we got Mateo to nap again so that he could go to the campfires at night, and we had so much fun with the friends and family we were there with. Of course, there were low moments as well, but many fewer than last year and we recovered more easily. We decided that our kids' current ages make travel ideal. The older kids can entertain themselves reasonably well and Rosa is so young that her needs are very simple. Attempting another California road trip next year when she's just over a year old...well, that might be more than we can handle, but we shall see. The only really challenging thing for me was that Tali was totally overwhelmed by all the people and pretty much refused to walk while we were there. I decided that she probably needed comfort more than anything, but that meant I had to carry her almost everywhere. I didn't bring any weights to work out with, but I didn't need them, since I had 25 pounds always in my arms!

I digress. I'll finish up by saying two things. First, we're already looking forward to next year. Second, I consciously didn't take any pictures of our week. I took tons last year, but this year I just wanted to experience the week without documenting it. We had the iPad, so I could have blogged, but I didn't. We just unplugged for a week and went with it as it unfolded. High points that are mental photos: watching Mateo and his buddy run wildly in the meadow on our first day there, our trips to the rocky beach, campfires, running with a friend on island roads and trails, trips to town for ice cream and book browsing, and the sock hop dance party that Tali still (adorably) insists on calling the Sock Pup. I look forward to building memories with the kids there as they grow up and as we grow up, too!