Backdated to June 2009. Remembered/Written July2024.
Thanks Callahan (currently camping) for the push to get it blogged :)
We'd planned a camping trip, our usual spot in Anderson Cove next to Pineview Reservoir. We had the trailer and reserved the spot for two days. We went up Friday, June 19. Gray got home from work earlier than expected, so we were off and able to avoid rush hour traffic.
Pulling the pop-up trailer, we arrived and got set up. After the initial hesitation, the two little ones seemed very happy to be camping (old hat for the three older boys). Colton couldn’t open the door to the camper so he would stand outside the door and yell “Ding Dong the Door!” which made us all laugh and was a statement that wouldn't soon be forgotten.
We had a little negative excitement ...
I remember seeing Keaton across the firepit when he started, shook his head and started screaming. He said a bug had flown into his ear. This was a time when Keaton had tendency toward hyperbole and hypochondria, and the fact that we couldn’t see anything, we weren’t sure what to think.
Keaton settled down a little, but then he'd move his head a little and his eyes would grow wide again. "It's buzzing" and he insisted something was in there. I took a flashlight, pulled his earlobe down to open things up as much as possible and ... there was something in there. A black, not so little, bug butt. What to do? It was getting late and we weren't sure if this was something a doctor/ER/instacare should handle, if we could even find one (and could we get back into the campground or did the gates close for the evening?) Gray then got the idea to have Keaton lay with his ear up, and he poured water into the ear canal. Whatever was in there didn't like being drowned, and it started moving around and backing up. It was like a scene from a science fiction movie, with the legs coming out, then the body. It was a medium sized housefly or black bee, not really a small bug! The stuff that nightmares are made of! Not a great picture, but you get the idea. Gray had the file from some clippers to encourage and nudge the bug all the way out. Poor Keaton ... it was actually traumatizing for all involved. Keaton's main memory from this event was that no one believed him :(
The rest of the evening went pretty smoothly. Some cheese sandwiches, hotdogs and smores (lots of smores!), some Uno around the table. Milk and mini chocolate donuts. Keaton had his favorite striped pajamas (
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas ... Cooper never got a turn wearing them but Colton eventually did,
Striped Pajama Sequel). When it was time for bed, Gray turned out the light and Colton gave a little gasp at the darkness, but the night went fairly smoothly. Noisy neighbors kept us up for a while, and Colton cried a couple times. I don’t know if I really slept at all.
Saturday morning, Grayson had planned a run around the lake. I didn't note exactly when he left, but he was gone a long time. He had thought the path around the lake would be about 10 miles, it was actually over 15! This on top of a killer bike ride he did yesterday (which he said was probably his hardest workout ever). When he finally made it back, we had a yummy breakfast, pancakes, french toast and bacon ... and smores. For breakfast.
A little rest, a little time at the beach...
There wasn’t much beach as the water level was so high. It was cool, and rained off and on. No Keaton in the pictures ... maybe still recovering from the bug in the ear.
The extended family (Blackham and some Bailey) was planning on coming up. Gray called them and told them the weather and water weren’t really cooperating, but they came up anyway ..
... and we all got dumped on! There was still some food and fire and family visiting. After everyone left, we retreated to the camper. There was a break in the rain, and we decided to pack up and go home rather than stay another night as originally planned. We were able to get off pretty quickly and got home without incident. Home again home again, jiggity jig.
