Camping at Scenic Beach

The kids & I just got back from spending a couple days camping at a great local state park. Scenic Beach is a beautiful, forested, clean campground on Hood Canal. Since it was mid-week (when most dads are working - Thanks Dads!), we did a moms/kids camping trip. We had 7 moms camping overnight, and 3 more came to spend the day with us on Wednesday.

A lotta moms = a WHOLE LOTTA kids. (These are just a few that I caught playing a game of Kick the Can and I forced them to pose for a picture. We had at least twice this many.) Fortunately, the campground was virtually empty, so I don't think our boisterous group disturbed many people.

This is why I love my job! Supervising kids playing on a playground (or at the beach) is what I do best. :-) (Right Jessica!?)

But don't start thinking that I don't WORK at my job. I'm on the job 24-7, making sure my kids don't fall out of trees,

or drown in the ocean,

or get hypothermia,

or fall off cliffs.

And I've got to make sure they are standing IN FRONT of their friends before they throw rocks in the water.

I've also got to be adept at bandaging owies and giving lots of hugs & kisses.

Not to mention the stress of keeping kids out of the campfire, trying to get them to eat something healthy and monitoring how many marshmallows they eat so we don't have to deal with tummy aches all night. (Check out Adana. She was wiped out after a long day. The lights are on, but nobody's home.)

And at the end of the day, I have to gently get 4 dirty, sleeping kids tucked into their sleeping bags

so that the moms can enjoy a few minutes of peace (and the left-over s'mores) around the campfire. (Check out that awesome s'more! The secret: Keebler Fudge Stripe Cookies. Oh yeah! Those looked sooooo yummy. Sometimes it is almost criminal that I don't eat sugar anymore.)

Then, when we get home, I've got to clean out the car, wash all the laundry, scrub down the kids,

while they crash on the couch.

I LOVE my job! And I can't wait for our next camping trip!