First things first- my camera's screen broke about a month ago, and it was not at all my fault. One minute I was using it and it was working. I turned it off, turned it back on again a few minutes later, and the screen was white. I have put off sending it in to get it fixed because I knew I wouldn't have it back in time for Gabe's birthday, and I absolutely have to have it for that. In the meantime, I have been guessing at whether or not I am getting what I want to in each shot and taking a lot of bad pictures. This is my third camera in a year, and only one of those loses was my fault.
Yesterday, the camera completely broke my heart. Gabriel's second birthday is tomorrow, so Chad took Friday and next Monday off so that we could have a big weekend as a family. On Friday, we left Charlotte in the morning and drove to Asheboro to go to the zoo there. Then we went camping nearby. I charged the camera battery the night before and packed it. At the zoo, I took two bad pictures and then heard the beeping sound telling me that the battery was dead, and it turned off. I was devastated! There are few things that bother me more than not being able to take pictures on special occasion. A little silly, I know, but it feels like if I don't have pictures of something, it never happened. I actually had to take some deep breaths and remind myself that I don't have pictures of most of our family trips growing up, but I still have wonderful memories of them. I don't have to have pictures for it to be a success (yeah right!)
I won't deny that having a camera did dampen the day for me, but it was still beautiful. The weather was perfect. Both of the boys stayed happy the entire time. We saw a baboon balancing a ball on his head and climbing branches, and the seal lions were as graceful as ever. This is our second time at this zoo, and we really like it. The animals are not in miserable little cages, which makes all the walking you have to do worth it.
The camping went perfectly. We hadn't even seen the campsite before we went, and to my relief, it was turned out to be "real" camping instead of lawn camping - we were surrounded by natural foliage, far from any other campers, and perched right above a lake. Our foil dinners were cooked perfectly (I remember them taking so much longer when I was a kid) and Colin got almost all the marshmallows that he wanted (we made him stop after four marshmallows and a s'more because he once barfed about eight of them up after going a little crazy).
We had to pack up at the crack of dawn this morning and come home in time to shower for Colin's soccer game, but the kids were total troopers. It was such a great little trip!
PS - I am hoping that something just went wrong in the charging stage with my camera battery - like maybe I didn't plug it in all the way or the outlet wasn't working. I am trying it again right now and crossing my fingers that I will have a working camera for the big boys' birthday.
