Jellystone Waller, TX....hey, hey Yogi Bear

We just returned from a quick 2 day trip to Waller to go camping one more time before school starts. Might I just say again, camping is not a vacation. 

An island trip, lounging on the beach....a vacation.

A cruise....a vacation.

Going to a hotel and casino....a vacation.

Camping is an adventure. 

I have to get that through my mind. This is not a vacation, it is not relaxing. It is hard work, and we are choosing to call it an adventure. 

It was only our second trip, and we lost a few things off the camper, and the grill that I bought my husband for Father's Day, broke and almost fell off the back. On the good side, my husband is a rock star.

It was sweltering at the campgrounds and he worked so hard to get everything set up. He connected up all the hoses, fixed the grill, grilled the dinner, took the boys to play games...he just worked hard. And he told me that he is frustrated by the camping experience. It will get better, my love. The set up day and the take down day is frustrating and difficult. But the enjoyment days are great!

I hardly took any pictures this time because we were just too busy hanging out. We went swimming at the water park, 

ate pizza and root beer floats at the snack bar, drove everywhere on the gold cart, rode bikes, 

grilled steaks, roasted marshmallows, 

walked the dog, played in the jungle gym, 

played at the arcade, shopped for extra supplies, listened to music under the trees, drove to the outdoor movie theater in the golf cart, wore glow bracelets, Caleb entered an ice cream eating contest, and just enjoyed each other. 

Speaking of ice cream eating contests...regular kids would be chomping at the bit to dunk their faces in ice cream and eat sprinkles and whipped cream. My Autistic kid wanted to eat the ice cream but was freaking out when he realized that they had chocolate and strawberry too. He only wanted vanilla. He was also very upset to see that each bowl of ice cream had whipped cream and sprinkles. Hello texture issues!

Then it almost pushed him over the edge when he realized this is not a contest using a spoon, it was a contest where you have to smash your face into the bowl. His exact words were, "I don't like to get messy."

But he did it. He put his face in the ice cream and ate it. He didn't win, but we bought a little something as a prize for overcoming some major anxiety, phobias, texture aversions, and tons of screaming children. Success!

Today we got home and I prepped all the rest of my PTO paperwork. This is the end of summer. I am feeling officially done with Summer. School is in a little over a week and I am done. Let's get this Fall session started!!