It's time for the annual Smith Family camping trip. This year Mike and Cheryl are bringing their almost-four-years-old niece Tabi. Like all family trips, they always start with cramming the vehicle with all the luggage. Mike is trying to shove every last bit in there, while Cheryl is politely pointing out better ways to do it and keeping her youngest entertained throughout the process. Kyle is dragging a large bag of supplies while Tabi is "helping" load.
Once they arrived at the campsite, the boys decided that it was their duty to put up the tents. They dragged the new tent, that they bought the other day, out of the car and got to work. After ten minutes, things did not seem to be going well. The tent had more instructions than an Ikea futon and Mike was trying to translate the Spanish instructions to see if that was easier. Meanwhile, Kyle was just trying to force it into place and Caiden was just happy to be playing with the rope.
Spoiler alert: They never got the tent set up.
They all had to sleep in the old tent they had with them.
After lunch, Mike took the cubs to the nearby pond to fish while Cheryl stayed back and took a much deserved nap. After spending a fair amount of time at the pond they returned with their bounty. The cubs were so pleased with their haul and they couldn't wait to show Cheryl. When they got back to camp they showed Cheryl and she told them how proud of them she was. She was even proud of her husband for pulling in the smallest of fish.
After the fishing trip, the Smith's hung out at the campsite for a bit. It didn't take long for the youngest to find trouble. Since they were camping they thought that it would be a good idea to make a campfire. That was fine, except they knew that they weren't allowed to use the matches or anything fire related. That didn't stop Tabi though. She was almost four after all. She convinced her, slightly, younger cousin to join her on her adventure and together they snagged the matches box. They managed to start a few fires in some short grass but they never picked up and traction. Fortunately for them, and the rest of the forest, Mike and Cheryl finally caught on and noticed that the toddlers were being oddly quiet. They found them and quickly put an end to the shenanigans. They demanded an explanation but all the cubs could really do was smile and give the puppy dog eyes in hope that would get them out of trouble....
After a failed, but valiant effort, to try and puppy dog eye and explain their way out of almost burning down the forest, Caiden and Tabi were instructed to go pick a switch and bring it back to Cheryl. Both cubs knew what them meant and nervously looked through the brush for the "perfect" switch that wouldn't hurt too bad.
After Caiden and his cousin finally picked out a switch, they returned to Cheryl. Cheryl picked the most suitable one and set is aside. She then pulled Caiden's shorts down and untaped his diaper. Cheryl then pulled Tabi's training pants down and had her step out. The two naughty tots were then bent over a nearby log and given a good lesson about playing with dangerous things and how they can prevent forest fires.
After Caiden's and Tabi's spanking, and subsequent nap, Mike and Cheryl decided that it was time for a nature walk. Everyone was thrilled at first, but it didn't take long before the craziness broke out. Mike led the way with Cheryl in the rear and keeping the cubs sandwiched between them. Caiden wanted to stop every few feet to "look at the nature", Kyle was whining and complaining that he was tired and wanted to go back to camp, and Tabi wanted to wander off the trail and explore. Needless to say, the walk lasted all but 30 minutes.
Mike handled the diaper/Pull-Up changes after lunch so it was Cheryl's turn to clean the tots. Unfortunately for her, both were more than just damp and she got stuck with the stinky ones. She cleaned them both up and put them in diapers for the night. Mike on the other hand, had the slightly more fun chore of starting the campfire with Kyle.
After a fun filled day in the forest, everyone was exhausted. Mike, Cheryl, and Tabi got into their pajamas while the boys stripped to their respective Goodnite and diaper. They all piled into one tent (since no one could figure out how to set up the other tent) and went right to sleep.
These cute images bring me fond memories of childhood when I spent Christmas at my late Uncle's farm and every night after helping with the daily chores I had a delicious 🙂🙂hot chocolate snack with my cousins gathered, God bless him 😢😢. , congratulations to