Sometimes Things Do Not Go As Planned

So last Saturday night was a camp out for moms and sons that was put on through Matthew's school. It was a sign-up type of event that was a fundraiser (and did quite well as I understand, yay!) and Matthew and I had really been looking forward to it. It was muggy and hot last Saturday but our spirits were high and It promised to be an exciting adventure for both of us. For Matthew it was just because camping is cool and a bunch of his school buddies would be there to play with. For me, it was the adventure of actually doing all the work myself (yes, I often have Andy do the things like set up the tent!) and having time to hang out with my kid and with a lot of other moms of boys!

Well, we carpooled with our friends Karin and her boys and got there (out at Oxbow park) in good time. I got everything set up easily and fairly quickly and then grabbed a bite to eat as there was still plenty of lunch stuff to be eaten. It wasn't long after this that Matthew began complaining of a headache. I figured he needed to eat and hydrate himself and then we had planned on going on a short hike on some of the trails. Of course, we hadn't gotten very far and Matthew kept saying he felt like his stomach was in his throat and he had to throw up. Great......so I encouraged him to at least aim for the bushes and not in the middle of the trail. In that process, (he ended up not barfing at this point) Matthew got his first introduction to stinging nettle! So now he was too busy crying to notice that he still felt sick.

We finally got back from the walk but then Matthew finally threw up. I wondered (hoped) that maybe it was just an upset stomach so I had him drink some water and rest for a bit in the tent. But of course the lure of all the other kids playing was too much so he went out again and I went to go converse with some of the moms. But again, it wasn't long before I saw Matthew throwing up again over in the bushes and this time I got him to lay down and stay in the tent. He did fall asleep and I began to figure how I was going to get out of there before Oxbow shut down their gates at 9 p.m. Naturally, getting a cell phone signal was almost impossible but I did manage to get a text through to Andy. I was still chatting with some of the moms about my predicament and how I was going to get my sick kid home when my phone actually beeped at me and Andy had left a voicemail saying he was on his way!

When Andy got there he helped me pack up our stuff and Matthew didn't wake up for any of it. Poor kid! I should mention that before he fell asleep I had told him that I was going to have to call daddy to come take us home early and he was devastated. He cried and begged me not to call daddy but I wasn't interested in being stuck there all night with a sick kid! I mean, who knows what will happen at 3 a.m. ? Matthew could be up puking and I really don't want to chance being stuck in the park! So we went home and Matthew pretty much forgot about being upset about leaving since the curvy road getting out of there was real tough on him. We had to stop in Gresham to get a plastic bag at Safeway because this was the one time I was unprepared and didn't have one in the car. But we got home and got him into bed and boy was I feeling a bit disgruntled, knowing all the others were back at the camping spot and sitting around the fire and eating smores!!

The next day Matthew still looked rather pale and sat around watching movies all day. By Monday he was fine but we are both now looking forward to next year. Since we weren't there very long, I didn't get too many pictures but here are a few. And for a much cheerier and brighter account of how most everybody else enjoyed their experience, go check out Amber's blog. :)

I have to still laugh at this last picture! Just before I snapped it, the boys noticed I was about to take their picture and suddenly yelled "Camera Alert"!!! I clicked and then they ran! ;)