First Solo trip

Cooper has always been a momma's boy. Wait, let me emphasize this a little more...

ALWAYS. BEEN. A. MOMMA'S. BOY.

I couldn't do anything for him until a few months ago. Brush teeth? Bath? Food? Ya' kidding?! You can't cut up pancakes 'cause you don't do it like mom!

But it's two cuts... into wedges. Each mini pancake. C'mon... ur jus' messin' with me, dude.

Now, since Suz started back to work (that's a 'hole 'nother story there...) I've been spending mornings with Cooper. I do breakfast, clothes, teeth... the whole nine yards. It's totally changed our relationship. So, when I suggested we go camping together, just me and him and no mom? He was game.

Kinda.

We all had to talk about it, but in the end, we headed off to the Lake of the Ozarks for a night and a day in the deep.

And we did great! 

There were some tears and some blood, but hey, in comparison to some other trips I've done, it was problem-free. We met some great folks on the next spot over who had kids in Cooper's range and they hit it off perfectly. Lots of bike-riding. Lots of playground time. Lots of throwing rocks in the water while the sun sets and the adults all say, "Don't get too close! You'll get muddy!" kind of time.

We did lunch and dinner and breakfast and lunch again and naps. We did some kayaking and played in the water and still had time to pull in some Ha Ha Tonka hiking and ruins. He even got to see his first live-in-the-wild snake.

It was good enough to do again. Which, if the weather's right, we just might get to...