This was our MUCH anticipated camping trip. By EVERYONE!! We put a lot of thought and a lot of planning into it. We spent all day Monday packing and getting things ready, then a lot of the morning Tuesday as well. The kids were SO anxious by the time we finally hit the road! But they were SOOOOO extremely helpful the ENTIRE time!! Which was a must considering Nate's back and my.... well, all my stupid little problems with lifting and moving around and such. The kids were AWESOME. We made Charity and Brad do most of the heavy lifting. Which actually ended up looking pretty fun for them :).
Don let us use his little basket thing to hook to the back of our car- that ended up being a huge lifesaver! We actually didn't have a lot of space which is so mind boggling for me considering we went camping with our almost-no-cargo-space Expedition last year, with all the same gear and it all fit. I guess we did put stuff on top..... but anyway. It was handy and very much appreciated.
We made a few stops, the store, to Grandma's to get wood (and a few extra things :) ), and our last one at the Colver's to pick up the Canoe (or "CaNOW" as Kelly says it). That was an interesting feat- getting that on top of our car. I have to say, had I known it would be so difficult and put marks all over our car, we may not have done it, but I guess ya live and learn. Our poor baby. Hopefully it was just paint smudged on, not off.... anyway. The Colvers were so nice to share their canoe and jackets.... that was one of the big highlights of the trip :).
So we were off! Everyone did well on the long drive (and it actually seemed to be a lot shorter than I had planned).
We arrived at our campsite around 4:00. Things looked great! We were in a "handicapped" site, but I still don't know why they called it that. I would have hated to be in a wheelchair there. But anyway. Our tent was just down a little pathway from the table and pit. So it worked out. We had our own little driveway which was nice, the kids were able to have a lot of fun there.
When we got there, everyone worked together to unload the car. All the firewood. We had so many good helpers! Nate set up the tent. Things were really nice. I let Kelly wander around with the camera to get pictures of things and so these are her little gems: (SOME of them, there were a LOT! and mostly of Erika posing ;). They're adorable.)
Not sure what was so great about the Cheez-It box, but hey, if it was worth taking a picture of....
You can see our big duffle bag on the back of the car, with clothing bags overflowing out of it! This has been our main baggage for clothing for every trip we've been on since we stole it from the Manwarings back in 2007. And I think we've finally outgrown it! Either that or Nate just packs too many clothes :). HA! Totally kidding. We've always been able to zip it up, but not this time!
We were so glad to have Ee-oh with us. Noah's not himself without it.
Oh how I wish I'd done her hair before we left! It was a rushed morning.
What a cutie!
I don't think camping would be complete without overly outgoing chipmunks and squirrels for our kids to ooooh and aaaaah over. They've played a major role in all of our campouts and thankfully so ;).
We, of course, don't exactly make them want to leave :)
I don't know why, but I love this picture! We were all so happy and having such a great time, it was really nice. A nice change to the slow and mundane that life has been dealing. I'm thinking this is when Bradley took over the camera.
I just love this picture!! I've been too lazy to edit any pictures for my last few posts, but this one I think I'll have to go back and play with it. Bradley does such a good job, I'm so impressed!
There's our little pathway, with the logs that the kids played on. And up in the campsite you can see that we got the tarp up. It's always scary to look at a campsite and see zero shade! But Nate and I are handy enough to rig a nice covering. I think we did a pretty great job this year. Withstood some serious weather! Makes the place feel more homey too if you ask me.
I finally cracked and did Erika's hair because I knew I was going to have all these pictures with her hair in her face. Still wish I'd done it sooner.
There's my handsome man. He's such a good husband and father. I really don't know what I did to get him. He's just amazing. He was in so much pain with his back, the entire time, and yet, still managed to pull off a REALLY fun family vacation. This Daddy gets 16 thumbs up (counting Wormie's of course :) ).
There's the wood pile :). Next time we will not get the apple wood. Too smokey.
And she stepped in front of the camera for a shot!
Nate's a pro at starting fires. Seriously, flawless! Makes me jealous.
Camping's just not camping without a game of cards. Charity's always one to whip them out and get it going. I LOVE relaxing by the fire with a nice game of Skip Bo. That's my kind of camping :)
My Mom let the kids take this box when we were getting the firewood and they used it as their main squirrel trap for most of the trip. They had a few bites, but no real luck capturing one.
This kid snacks like crazy!
We had a LOT of these pictures :). And a LOT of little guests.
That completes Kelly's and Bradley's portfolio.
Our first night we had hotdogs and fruit for dinner, s'mores afterwards of course :). Nate took some of the kids fishing. We sang some songs by the fire, had a lot of fun exploring and feeding the wild animals. It was a lot of fun for everyone. Everyone went to bed pretty well, Nate and I even got to sit up and chat by the fire for quite a while. We had some pretty late nights, but it was a lot of fun to be together. That first night was a little cold, but everyone seemed to sleep okay.
On the second day, we made our way to the lake for some more fishing. This was fun. I just sat there, wishing I wasn't in pain, taking pictures of it all :). Everyone's so funny to watch. I really learn a lot about my kids when I just observe, I think.
These next few were my attempts at a new picture of the backs of my children in front of the lake. I don't think I'll ever get another one. Not as perfect as that one back in 2007. But oh well. I tried :).
Erika is very brave in the water. She is almost too brave. But she's actually very good at keeping herself dry. She looked so cute :).
Charity stuck by Nate for a lot of this, fishing and watching him fish. It was cute to watch them together.
Bradley is always Mister Adventure in these places. He did a lot of fishing as well, but had fun exploring the little creek and the lake too.
Kelly's fun to watch. She really gets involved in what everyone else is doing. Tries to make things fun for everyone. I like that about her.
Noah and Luke made their own fishing poles :). Then threw them in the water with frustration when I told them they couldn't go catch up with Daddy by themselves. I'm so mean.
This is Kelly telling you how cold the water was :). "Not the water in the lake though, just the water coming down the stream".
It's always fun to see Luke enjoying himself doing things other than video games. He had a lot of fun on this camping trip, and that was fun for me to see. He really is learning how to organize his time and regulate the screen time. It's nice.
Nate caught the first and only fish on this camping trip :). He let Charity carry it around with pride. She was the lucky one who got to gut it as well! Nate says she's really good at it! Thank you Mountain Man Rendezvous!
We were all very thrilled that we were going to have some yummy fish to eat :)
After a couple of hours, we made our way back up to camp to have some sandwiches for lunch. I think Erika and I went up before everyone (so that she could use the potty) and got it all ready for them.
After lunch we broke out the tie dye!!! This was a much anticipated part of our campout as well. A lot of us were really looking forward, and planned ahead what kinds of designs we were going to try. It was a big project, with so many little ones, but it worked out really well, much to my surprise! I was really happy with how little mess we ended up with, and how few of us were covered in dye :). Everyone did their own shirt for the most part. Nate helped Luke and Noah and I helped Erika and Bradley. Kelly and Charity did a lot of theirs on their own. Then Charity, Kelly, Bradley and Luke all designed onesies for Wormie ;). That was fun to watch. They all turned out SO GOOD! We're actually pretty skilled in the tie dying department. We put them in the bags, and let them sit overnight.
After the tie dying we were all pretty tired! The sun sure takes it out of ya! Erika was needing a nap and we needed to get word from Heidi about whether she was coming or not, so we decided to take a little drive into Payson.
It was a very pleasant drive. Everyone slept. We found out Heidi and John were coming, and then found a cute little Snow Cone place to wet our whistles. We are suckers for Snow Cones that's for sure! Everyone enjoyed cooling off!
We made it back to camp, loaded the canoe onto the back of the car, just on top of the basket (I still don't know what to call that thing), so the canoe was perpendicular to the car- if you didn't see how long it was, scroll back up, it was very awkward for driving, and probably not a good idea, but Nate and I were not up for putting it back on top of the car. Nate walked along behind to make sure it didn't fall off. We drove slowly. It was hilarious actually now that I think about it, that we even attempted it. Luckily the lake wasn't far.
The canoe was a lot of fun to have up there with us! I was surprised at how much fun it was. We let the boys go out first.
Lukey had been a little nervous, so Nate was good to ease him into it and help him feel comfortable. He never did go back out on the canoe though. Again, I think it's the whole lack of control thing with Luke. He's interesting. I am glad he at least tried it out though! And I think he had a little fun.
They fished a little while me and the girls just played in the water.
Then it was our turn! I must say, I had not anticipated how difficult it would be to row. Charity and Kelly both were very good at it, their strength just wasn't equal to mine, so I had to keep switching sides with my oar and stuff. It was interesting. We definitely didn't get anywhere fast :). But they took turns fishing off the side and Kelly had quite a few really strong tugs, but no fish. Erika was even a lot of fun to have with us. She was hanging her arm off the side, splashing the water. The girl is fearless.
The canoe was a lot of fun.
While we were out, we could see Heidi and John pull up. That was an exciting moment, let me tell you! We had to make a mad dash back to shore!
I was really glad they had decided to come up. They were definitely a big part of our trip :). The kids LOVE having them around. Major highlight. They took Bradley and Kelly out on the canoe as we all watched the storm clouds rolling in.
It was raining a little, so we headed back up to camp. The transporting of the canoe went a little less smoothly, but I learned that the ranger guys at this campground were not as anal as the ones we've experienced in the past. They were actually super friendly, said nothing about me hauling a huge canoe, sideways, the wrong way, up a one-way street. So that was nice :).
We got up to camp and started on dinner. Tinfoil dinners. They sure didn't taste as good as I had anticipated. I was a little bummed to say the least. Luckily the corn on the cob was fantastic! Glad something turned out. Then we made these fun little goodies (with lack of a better name). We filled ice cream cones with chocolate chips, marshmallows, and caramel candies, wrapped them in tinfoil, and set them near the fire. Everything melted and was so ooey and gooey inside. It was really good! We might have to make those next time we're out in the back with our firepit! They were really good! It was fun to try something new too. Thank you Pinterest.
While we were getting kids ready for bed, I think while dinner was cooking, Noah had a little breakdown. He was frustrated with looking for his clothes and in his frustration came running out of the tent COMPLETELY naked! Screaming at the top of his lungs about whatever it was that was keeping him from getting dressed, and then when I told him to go back in and where his clothes were, he started to throw an all out tantrum, COMPLETELY naked!!!! It was HILARIOUS!! All the while everyone was talking about how the girls camp next to us must be getting an eye-full :) It was not one of Noah's brightest moments.... or maybe it was :)
We stayed up pretty late, talking with Heidi, everyone had their scary stories to tell, especially Noah :). He really got into it this year. Bats seemed to be the theme :). It was adorable to hear him do his spooky voice. Fun little boy.
Heidi and John left, the rain was done, we put the fire out, we all went to bed. It was a much warmer night on Wednesday. That was nice. Funny how that works with the rain clouds and stuff. Seems backwards :).
In the morning, Nate got up early to go fishing. Everyone kind of moseyed on out of bed. Bradley was disappointed that he had missed fishing. Those who were awake and I, went down to the water hole to rinse off the tie dye shirts. It was a lot of fun to see how they had all turned out. They all were so cool, and so original. We hung those up to dry (much to Luke's dismay. He was really anxious to wear his!) and we all hurried and ate so that when Nate got back, we could go down to the lake.
We took our camp chairs and some other fun things to do while we all waited our turns on the canoe. Hauled the thing down to the lake again :).
It was so much fun to have that kind of access to the lake! I know I've said that, but it really was a fun new thing for us. I think we'll have to buy one of our own now. A much lighter one of course, I'm pretty sure that canoe is the culprit of all of Nate's and my aches and pains!
Nate took a few of the kids out, then I did. When I was out, he helped Erika make a little necklace with beads! How cute is that! The other kids all had a lot of fun playing in the water (can you tell I left the camera in the car at this point). They floated on a log for a while, threw rocks, fought over life jackets (if we ever do this again, we will bring enough for everyone to have one at all times), played in the mud, caught caterpillars, it was just an all around good time! They were thoroughly entertained! I even got some reading in, and I also made a necklace with Erika, and then helped Noah and Luke make some as well. Can't go camping without beads! It was a really fun day! We left the canoe on the shore when we went back for lunch, but we spent most of the day on the water. Everyone has the sunburns to prove it.
Around dinnertime it got really dark and cloudy again. This time it started dropping these gigantic raindrops all over the place! We hurried up to the car as fast as 6 little people, a pregnant woman and a crippled man can, while juggling a gigantic canoe, several life jackets, 6 towels, clothing and shoes for all. I'm sure we were a sight. But we made it! And with only trace amounts of mud in our nice new car :(.... still not over that one either.... our car needs a detail.
Once we got up to camp it had turned into a complete downpour! We were totally dumped on! Sadly I noticed that I had left the windows to our tent down from the nap Erika, Noah and I took earlier. That was a huge bummer considering how much water had already poured down. Lots of things were wet. Some of our kids don't do well in these extreme situations, so there was some panicking, as everyone got out of the car and up to the campsite. I'm still not sure why we even got out of the car? But we all went up to the table, under the tarp, and just sat there. Shivering, talking, laughing. It was actually one of the most peaceful things we experienced on our trip. I LOVED it. I loved watching all my kids' faces as we listened to the loud drops of water pelting the tarp. I seriously couldn't get enough of the moment. I think Charity was making people giggle for some reason. Anyway, there was a lot of love under that tarp, and it made the whole trip worthwhile. I love how Heavenly Father can take a moment like a total downpour and turn it into a tender mercy. He's cool like that. I was definitely grateful. Nate and I decided that a nice little drive would be a good way to warm up, let the pit dry, and possibly grab a bite to eat unless we could find some dry wood. We hopped in the car and headed out.
We decided to turn right out of the campground instead of left, once we had seen that there was dry wood for sale, and thought it was the perfect chance to check out the scenic Nebo Loop. There was some really beautiful scenery! I took a few pictures:
We drove around long enough for the kids to get sick of it, and then headed back to start on dinner. Chicken tin foil dinners were on the menu Thursday night. Those were AMAZING!! I'm not sure what it was! We hadn't even had half of the ingredients I had planned, but the chicken, corn, red peppers with the italian dressing.... DELISH! They were perfect! And I'm really glad that I ended up precooking all the meat before we left. Helped me not worry about under cooking it, which is what I always do when we camp and cook.
Nate was able to start the fire in a puddle! Go Nate! And the kids got right back to their squirrel catching games. They did a lot of exploring around our site as well. Always calling it a "hike". They had a couple secret hideouts, and a pretend playground down the way.... they're so creative! I love that I can take my kids out and away from home and their comforts here, and that they will make themselves comfortable somewhere else, be entertained, and have a good time together. There was little fighting. And actually little that we brought from home to keep them busy. I LOVE that! No toys for a few days is a nice break I guess :). Plus they get so imaginative! I don't think kids get enough of that these days! Even Lukey was off playing and keeping himself busy the whole time without Nate's phone :). I was proud of him!
We were not as happy to get in bed that last night. Everything was a little wet, and the whole place just seemed a little uncomfortable because of it. Some extra blankets and sleeping bags would have been real nice that night. But we all managed to sleep okay. Minus me, but I won't go into that. I was VERY grateful for the air mattress that Nate splurged on the night before we left. He's my hero. I like to tough it out, but for 3 nights, sleeping on the hard ground MAY have done me in :). He's so good to me.
Friday morning, Nate took Charity, Bradley and Luke fishing, Kelly and I made some necklaces, Noah and Erika wandered around. While we were sitting by the fire (that Nate so patiently made for me before he left! love him!), I started to feel myself getting sick. And not just pregnancy sick, like REALLY SICK! I totally thought I was going to throw up (which I usually don't do) and my body was all weak and tired. Looking back, I think I may have been dehydrated, though with how much came out of me later on in the morning, it could have been food related too. It was a ROUGH morning, to say the least. And all the while, Nate and the kids loaded up the car and cleaned up our campsite. I did what I could, rolled up the sleeping bags, loaded up the camp chairs, but I was really sick! It was so strange!! And so annoying! Nate was sweet enough to get some men to help him load up the canoe. I might have dropped it on him if I had been helping though, so probably for the best. We ended up getting out of there a LOT sooner than we had planned. Sooner than we needed to just because everyone was so diligent. I was grateful for that, but so bummed that things were ending so abruptly. I hate being a party-pooper (literally especially).
We did have a fun little moment with Kelly. She had met one of the Girls Camp girls over by the bathroom, and felt attached to her for some reason, and so while we were making bracelets, she decided to make one for that Young Woman. I went with her over the their camp and luckily the girl was sitting right at the table when we got there. Kelly was able to give her the bracelet and I'm sure she felt very honored. It was cute. I was proud of Kelly. She's always so thoughtful! A little bit later, the girl came over to our camp with a little boondoggle thing for Kelly. I thought that was nice too. Makes me happy to know there are sweet teenage girls out there. I hope my girls are like that. IT was a lot of fun to be by the girls camp and reminisce about my camping days in Young Women's and tell the girls about it. I think they are thoroughly excited and looking forward to when they can go :) Mission accomplished :).
We stopped off at Colver's to return the canoe. The rest of the drive is a blur. But we made it home and everyone worked so hard AGAIN to unload the car. Our kids are such troopers!!! I really couldn't say enough about how hard they worked and how much it meant to me and Nate that they would be so helpful. They are such good kids! Even Noah and Erika took a few loads back and forth! I was so impressed! I know I keep saying it, I kept saying it to them too, the whole time, and I"ll probably say it some more, but they were just so amazing! I was really proud of all of them. They made the trip possible. We really couldn't have gone on the trip without so much help.
So that was our trip!
Here's everyone's favorite part:
Charity- gutting the fish
Kelly- riding in the caNOW
Bradley- fishing/canoeing
Luke- Tie Dye and fishing and floating around in the life jacket and throwing chip bags in the fire.
Noah- Catching squirrels and making traps
Erika- finding chipmunks
Nate- I'm guessing the fishing :)
Me- the rain storm.
It was a really good time. Lots of fun memories (I'm hoping to update with more as I remember them! And possibly having the kids write up their own descriptions of the trip). Hopefully we can do it all again soon! Here's to being able to have our Dad take vacation time!!! WAHOO!
Charity's Camping Trip:
"My favorite things
about camping were canoeing,
tie-dye shirts, fishing and lots of
other things. I got to gut a
fish that my dad caught.
I enjoyed sleeping in the tent.
One time it rained so hard
that the tarp on our
tent filled up like 30 gallons
of water!!! I love camping!"
Bradley's Camping Trip:
"My favorite thing about
camping is
canoing because I got
to go realy far out in the
Lake also my favorite
part about camping is tie die
shirts because wormies
and it turnd out realy awesome."
Kelly's Camping Trip:
"I liked when we went canoing
and I got to fish while mom rowed
I got like 50 tugs I was so close
to catching a fish but I didn't. I also
liked doing the tidie shirts I made
a shirt that kind of looks like a striped
checkerd board. I also liked traping the
chimpmonks. Since my dad let me borrow his
glove I almost got to hold one!
One night insted of making smores we
had icecream cones had caremells at the
bottem chocolate chips in the middle and
marshmellos at the top then we wraped
them up in tinfoil and put them over
the fire. I cant wait for our nexed
camping trip."
