Camping with Betsy (takes 1 & 2)

When you get this far behind in blogging, the idea of catching up is positively frightening.

We took two camping trips with Nick this month; both were wonderful. But the better scenery was definitely Zion's and Bryce. And it makes it feel like you're really camping when it's 3 days, two nights. Overnighters are just a tease, don't you think?

The two daredevils hiked Angel's Landing; Betsy and I stayed far away from that cliff and instead tried to get a bit of extra sleep.

But I did join them for a partial hike of the narrows, which quickly became my favorite hiking experience ever. But we were poorly equipped with sandals, and rainclouds were moving in, so we turned around before any of us wanted to. And right after returning to camp, a flash flood began.

Betsy, who is normally a holy terror in the car, actually did pretty well. For her. We had to stop a few times, nurse, get her to sleep. But I was expecting oh, so much worse. And outside, during the day? She was an absolute trooper. Probably more so than her mother, at times. Hiking, playing games, setting up camp, riding the busses -- she did it all with a smile on her face or else while quietly napping. She did get a little frazzled in the evening, when she just wanted to fall asleep in a familiar place and in a familiar way, but who could blame her? And it was the only time she was ever upset all day long, so it was really very nice.

I'm grateful to still be so active when we have little Betsyface. She does slow us down, but we both get such a kick out of seeing her reaction to our adventures. More kids will, undoubtedly, exponentially change things. But what fun!