I warned the boys that since Dad wasn't coming I would need them to really step up and be good helpers so I didn't do all the work, and we all know that camping = work. Here they are setting up the tents!
Carson joined us! I think he had an OK time. He's not a fan of fires or being tied to stationary objects, or tents, or.. well... anything. But he did enjoy our hike on day 2!
Exploring the campground
Wet puppy paws! These ones are from our friend's dog Cooper, a less than year old golden doodle. He likes to jump and say hi!
Camping also = good cookin'! First night was fajitas!
There was a large field behind our campsite so lots of room for frisbee and tossing around of other objects.
Carson, cuddled up by the picnic table.
The store was out of the normal large marshmallows, so the next best thing was these jumbo marshmallows! Mmmm.....
The first night we all slept pretty good. I'm not the best sleeper anyways, so new noises and places made for a restless night. It was a tad chilly too, but we were ready for Day 2 of our camping adventure. That morning we made breakfast tacos and got ready for a hike!
We took the west loop from our campsite which made for almost 6 miles roundtrip. It was pretty, and pretty rocky so my feet and calves were toast by the end. Still love me a good hike though!
Mountain Laurel is blooming in some places!
Cade and Chloe led the pack.
Alex found us some awesome hiking sticks which came in handy crossing the creek/river back and forth.
Done!
We got back to the campsite around 2 and just enjoyed some relax time. Some took naps, the rest of us just sat and chatted for awhile. Cooper loved hanging with Cade!
Carson even took a nap in my lap while we were chatting, it was a nice afternoon.
Cade loves climbing stuff, and after awhile I wondered where he had gone and look where I found him.
It was time to start getting our dinner on. I offered to make a dutch oven dinner, and the plan was Jambalaya! I decided that even though we didn't need a fire (I could've used a charcoal chimney), I wanted the challenge of doing it with a fire. My fire turned out awesome and so did our dinner!!
Feast on this!
Carson kept digging near the picnic table and I finally realized he was doing it because he was trying to make a little cozy spot for himself. Cute and sad all at the same time.
After a delicious dinner and a few more giant s'mores we played some Phase 10 until we were too tired to continue.
Day 3 we woke up, had bacon and pancakes and then got packed up and ready to go home! Even though camping is a lot of work, I really do enjoy it.
I told the boys they could each pick an activity to help fill out the rest of spring break. Alex picked the Science Mill up in Johnson City, which is about an hour north of San Antonio. If you haven't been there, it's definitely worth the trip. They also offer a 50% military discount. I didn't take many pictures because we had been there once before. However they had a new Virtual Reality exhibit that the boys got to try, and lots of robots to play and battle with.
Here's Cade on the VR machine, swimming like a turtle through the ocean.
Here's Alex's turn.
More robots!
While we were at the museum we got word that Dan was coming home early from his work TDY, which meant we could do some spring break stuff together! Too bad he missed the camping, though. Friday Cade picked an outdoor obstacle course that is put on by the Ninja company the boys have classes at, Power Park Ninja. The boys and I did this course awhile ago but this was Dan's first time.
Before we started
A few during shots...
And after! Loved being outdoors and getting a workout together as a family!
Well that brings me to something that I feel needs to be documented and discussed. A virus started spreading in Wuhan, China and most of us weren't really aware of it until January. It's one of those things that you watch on the news and maybe you would never think about it again, except it kept spreading. More and more people in China were getting sick at an alarming rate. They called it Coronavirus and that term started becoming a frequent news and conversation topic. I kept telling the boys not to worry about it because there were no cases in the US, and anyone who had the coronavirus had been in contact with someone from Wuhan, China, so no concern for us. Unfortunately the virus has now become a worldwide health crisis and things are starting to unfold that are unprecedented.
The virus itself isn't immediately deathly, but it can cause pretty severe respiratory distress for those with already low immune systems or elderly patients. Also because it is extremely contagious and the amount of time it takes to show symptoms (2 weeks!) is so long, it is spreading like crazy. Two countries in particular had major outbreaks with high mortality rates because there was just no way the medical personnel could keep up. As the cases in the US finally came and started their inevitable spread we have witnessed life as we know it come to a complete halt. Cities and organizations have made these changes in an effort to slow the spread of the virus, which should hopefully keep us from becoming another Italy or Iran. I want to document a brief timeline of how our personal life has been affected and I may continue to log a few things as they unfold in the future just to refer back to.
Before our camping trip:
- Coronavirus, or COVID-19 as it is officially called now that has killed a certain number of people, was very much on our minds, but we were just on spring break and not anticipating anything like what was to come
- Seattle had the most cases in the US, and only a few states had confirmed cases
- San Antonio had no confirmed cases except for the hundreds of cruise passengers staying at Lackland AFB to quarantine off the ship for the recommended two weeks to make sure they didn't show any symptoms before rejoining society
- The Church had begun to send senior missionaries from certain countries home, and of course quarantine for 2 weeks before rejoining society. Some temples had closed based on local outbreaks.
- Friends stationed in South Korea had their schools cancelled and work slowed. No big panics or running out of supplies, but staying home and cancelling events to keep from spreading the virus more. South Korea had a lot of cases but it didn't seem to spiral out of control.
- In the beginning of March the Church also encouraged people not to travel out of the country for General Conference, and they cancelled the leadership meetings that usually lead up to General Conference. I remember thinking that I needed to start keeping an eye on this and maybe buying a few more canned foods and such each time I went to the grocery store.
After our camping trip:
- Once my phone came back in service on March 11th Cade immediately started checking the stats of the virus. Of course it had spread, but the first big change was that General Conference was only going to be broadcast, members are not encouraged to attend. This impacted my sister's family as her husband and their 14 year old daughter were planning to fly to SLC and attend a session of General Conference. That's a pretty big deal for our church! In the same announcement the closed the Missionary Training Center and Stake Conferences past March 16th were canceled as well.
- Colleges in San Antonio extended their spring break by one week to help combat the virus. This impacted me because our Brass Band rehearses at a university and we aren't allowed on campus.
- That evening President Trump suspended travel between the US and Europe for the next 30 days.
- A few NBA players tested positive for the virus so the NBA canceled the rest of the season!
- Tom Hanks and his wife tested positive for the virus as well. I thought that was a joke because he's been in so many survivor type movies, but I guess he's just human like us!
- March 12th- I took the boys to the science museum despite troubling news.
- Found out that the conference Dan was going to attend in Oklahoma was canceled so he got a flight home! Yay for a bonus from all this craziness! I know it's not good for his work, but we like having him home.
- The Church came out with a statement basically telling us that there will be no more large gatherings until we hear otherwise. No church meetings on sundays, no weekly youth activities, no nothing! This means we can't have Cade's eagle court of honor on March 28th. It is postponed until who knows when, and that means my mom and brother can't come visit.
- Disneyland and Disneyworld closed!!! What?! That also meant that my sister's family couldn't go on their spring break vacation. How awful!
- Went grocery shopping and it was a nuthouse. People are legit freaking out and buying everything. You can't find toilet paper anywhere for some strange reason.
- March 13th- Took the family to the Power Park Fitness, but on the way there I found out my Brass Band competition has been cancelled. I'm super sad about this because we have put SO much work into that music, especially our percussion section. Oh my, I'm heartbroken that we can't go compete on these pieces. Also I was going to fly into Chicago and drive with my dad to the competition so he could hear me play and we could spend some time together. Our plans have been thwarted again!
- I also found out that my brother's company is requesting that they work from home from now until the near future.
- The president declared a national state of emergency.
- San Antonio got its first confirmed case of the virus that's not a cruise passenger.
- San Antonio moved its largest festival, Fiesta, to November! That's huge for San Antonio.
- NEISD, our school disctrict, extended our spring break as well.
It just feels like the beginning of a lot of things to come. No concerts, no big festivals, no sports, no school, no travel, no nothing! I know it's all to help slow the spread of the virus, but it is just so strange to be a part of something like this. It has affected everyone I know in one way or another, and they haven't even gotten sick! Now we just get to wait, watch and see what comes next. Pray, wash hands, get some canned food and talk to you soon!
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