Anderson Family Reunion

Every labor day, Mike's extended family has a family reunion camping trip in the Beaver area. We didn't go last year because I was due to deliver Aynsley, but we have gone the past two years before. I was very nervous about going this year...who goes camping with two kids under two? After a lot of debate and learning that we would have access to a trailer, we decided to go.

We left our house before 4:00 on Friday, and after a lot of delays, finally arrived around 12:30 that night. Talk about a long night! Fortunately, it was pretty easy to get settled in and everyone was in bed by about 1:00 AM or so.

I was pleasantly surprised with how well the kids did camping on Saturday. Jaxson was able to take his first ride on a horse and both kids seemed to really enjoy exploring and getting dirty. Jaxson absolutely LOVED playing with the big kids...digging holes, playing with the ball, you name it. He was also quite the little ladies man. The other little girls that were there kept trying to give him hugs and kisses. It was quite tender.

I was able to enjoy a nice run down the canyon and had my personal best time for a five mile run! We also took the kids on a ride in one of the UTVs that was there. Jaxson loved it, and Aynsley fell asleep. As we were coming back from our ride, we saw such a beautiful sunset over the lake that we were camping next to. I commented to Mike that I hadn't even got my camera out at all, so I would have to make sure that I did the next day.

Mike and his cousins

Little did I know that Jaxson would wake up in the night with a fever. He started crying in the night, so I just had Mike bring him in bed with us so that he didn't wake up Aynsley. After he came into bed, I thought that he seemed really warm, but I thought that maybe I had just overdressed him for bed. That next morning, I was certain that he had a fever. We gave him some ibuprofen and hoped that would do the trick. He seemed to perk up for a little while, but it was obvious that he was still feeling really sick. He just laid by me on the bed moaning...it was SO sad! We were able to track down a thermometer and found that his temperature was over 102 degrees, so no wonder that he was feeling so sick! At that point, we decided it was time to just pack up and head home early.

Bottom line...besides Jaxson getting sick, the camping trip went better than I was expecting. I had totally been preparing myself for the worst case scenario, so I was pleasantly surprised when it wasn't as hard as I was expecting. Staying in a trailer was a huge help, but I think it also helped that we were prepared with so many things from home that the kids are used to, such as their favorite snacks and high chairs. It is good to know that we can travel with our kids without having it be a complete disaster. :)