Second Rate Second Birthday

OK.
Who the hell knew Brazos Bend state park needed a reservation for camping? I mean, really. Not me, and I surfed their website up and down before we left. We packed our crap...what seemed to be still too much for just one night camping trip to celebrate Anna's birthday...and headed out at around 4pm to Brazos Bend after I gave a speech downtown. In no way does Brazos Bend compare to her first year's birthday celebration at the Ice Hotel in Quebec, Canada, but we at least thought it would be a new experience for her.

She hated the tent all week in the back yard, and we expected wind gusts up to 25mph overnight (but no rain). So we actually expected to pack up our tent and head home in the middle of the night if none of this was going over well with her. The weather was awesome: cloudy and mid 70's with an overnight low in the 60s. Not bad camping weather for Houston.

We arrived at the park around 5pm.

Park Ranger Lady: Day pass or overnight?
Paul: Overnight camping!
Park Ranger Lady (glimpsing at the crap in the back of our truck and the toddler in the car seat): Oh! Do you have a reservation? Paul looks at me.
Me: Huh? Really? No...
Park Ranger Lady: Oh no! I think we're full...hang on...yep we're completely full! In fact we're usually booked every weekend between October and May.
Me: WHAT? Really? There was nothing on the website about reservations. And why do so many people in Houston actually want to CAMP? She looks at our stuff again and offers us the option of a day pass...apologetically. What else were we gonna do? We paid $10 (ouch, good GRIEF!!!) and went in, not knowing what to do. We drove around and saw TONS of tents. Anna gets excited: Tents! Tents! Of course she's excited now...there would be no tents for us. How sad.

We could smell the grills in the air and hear the kids laughing. That wasn't for us tonight. But really, the place was super full. Full of boy scouts and church campers and just GROUPS of people and kids everywhere. So we played on the playground for a bit then decided to go elsewhere to cook the freaking dinner we'd planned anyway.

Hot dogs, chips, and pasta salad. And a little birthday cake with a lady bug on it for Anna. We drove around and found a little picnic spot and it was starting to get dark. Anna was getting sleepy in the car. We asked her if she wanted a hot dog. "No". I asked again and she said "Yes." So we got out and unpacked our crap, including the lantern and propane stove. Paul cooked hot dogs while we tore into the birthday cake (after we sang happy birthday, of course. Anna smiled at that one from mommy and daddy then sang it to herself over and over). Anna loved the lady bug. Even though the cake had slid around a bit.

I looked around at some other folks at these picnic spots and commented to Paul on the fact that we were steerage. Couldn't even get a room. Exiled to the peripheral picnic spots while others were gathering around their fires and enjoying the sunset. We were second rate. Dang it.

Trying to settle into the moment, I attempted to make her a pretty necklace out of the flowers around us. You know, that easy daisy-chain type of necklace. Yeah, well I couldn't really get it to work. Nice try, mommy. Then it started to drizzle. Really? Really? Paul and I looked at each other. Anna ate her hot dog.




It stopped. Then the June bugs came. They hurled themselves at us and our stuff. Anna giggled and squealed "No!" But she touched one that Paul gave her. The hot dogs were good enough. We drank milk out of the Princess cups we bought for her birthday cake. The instant camp-type mac and cheese sucked. The crickets started chirping and the people around us left. We turned out our lantern so the bugs would leave us alone. The clouds parted for just a bit to show Anna the moon. "Moon! Moon!" then: "Where'd the moon go?"




Fireflies! They came and they were pretty. Anna loved that. And we said "sshhh...listen to the crickets." And she'd listen. And she'd point at the fireflies. We three sat there in the dark, listened quietly to the crickets, and watched the fireflies. At around 8pm we started packing up to head home, not sure what to do for her actual birthday, tomorrow the 8th. As we packed, Anna and I sang Twinkle Twinkle. It was still dark: no lantern. It was great. We were happy. In the car, she told us all about the crickets, birds, fireflies, June bugs that she touched, and the windmill she saw earlier. She sang songs all the way home, and I captured "You are my sunshine" on video.

It was a second-rate second birthday dinner but it actually turned out fabulous. We made the most of the situation, and I think to Anna it was just awesome. The playground, cake, and fireflies...sounds like a dreamy toddler dinner to me.

We agreed her first camping trip should be in Colorado anyway. Not Houston!

We decided on the way home that we're going to brave the Houston rodeo for her birthday tomorrow. I feel like the awesome birthday dinner went so well, anything from here would be just fine. Even if the rodeo ends up sucking. I hate crowds.

I put her to bed around 9pm and when I kissed her goodnight, I told her when she woke up she'll be 2. This is your last night as a 1 year old, baby. She held up her hands and said TWO! Love you, night night mommy.