the long drive home

We're home now; the Great Camping Weekend has ended. We're all so sleepy that we napped this afternoon as soon as we got here. The camper is still hooked up to the Blazer and is not unloaded yet, but we brought our essentials in when we got here, like the food, clothes, cooler, dog, and baby... Dennis started crying for lunch as soon as we got off the interstate, and when I got him out of the carseat and set him on the ground, he walked up to the front door and leaned on it until I unlocked and opened it. He walked into the kitchen, right to his high chair, and turned to me and said "EAT EAT!". We had sandwiches then and immediately after he started yawning and we put him down for a nap. I took one, too! I noticed last night that I am a bit sunburned despite a heavy application of sunscreen at the water park yesterday. Dennis and David are not sunburned at all. I hate sunburn! I was hot all night and it's hard to get comfy when your back and shoulders are pink and hot.

Dennis 'helped' me break down camp this morning by dumping out every container he could find. The picture shows him eating a banana and then applying banana goo to the clean dishes in the sink. He was so much help that we ended up parking him in his carseat with the A/C running in the car and watching The Little Mermaid (the dog got banished there with him) while we loaded everything in the car and folded up the camper. We were gone from camp fairly quickly, got everything broken down and loaded up within an hour of starting (and we loaded Dennis about halfway through this). We headed immediately for Cracker Barrel to have brunch, and Dennis polished off a biscuit and a half while we waited for the food. He enjoyed some cheesy eggs and sausage from my plate and Daddy's, and a bit of pancake from his own plate. About halfway through the meal, he fixed his Cute Ray on some people sitting behind us, and we wondered why our little monster had suddenly gotten so smiley and flirty until we noticed him giving them The Treatment. Full Cute Ray with big saucer eyes, slight eyelash batting, a little dip of the head, then intense cute stare with Shy Grin working up to Big Smile accompanied by Cute Little Hand Wave. People are helpless to resist his charm--it's almost like a superhero power. We couldn't help but laugh about how this was the same little dude who, enraged, screeched like mad when we plopped him in the high chair and removed the crayon from his mouth, who went from mid screech to giggle as we set down the peg board game in front of him and showed him how to remove the pegs and then put them back in the holes. Ah, toddlerhood. It has arrived. He started to throw a tantrum in the parking lot when we grabbed his hands. He was contemplating throwing himself on the ground until I told him to watch out because the pavement was very hot. We ended up having to carry him until he saw the porch of Cracker Barrel, and then he got happy, until the high chair, and then got happy again when the food arrived. He slept for half the ride home and then entertained us with commentary about his hunger and general discomfort when the battery died on his portable dvd player. But all is well now and we are safely home and in bed. It was such a great trip that after I post this, I will be researching other campgrounds to visit in a couple of weeks!