It's no secret--we love to camp. We love friends. We love family. We love camping with friends and family. This year August was pretty amazing because we spent every weekend camping (or cabin glamping) with friends or family. That's five weeks in a row! It was extraordinary, but to be honest, by the end I was extraordinarily exhausted. As I put away the tents, tarps, mats, and sleeping bags for the last time, I felt comfortable giving them a rest, at least for a little while.
Our first camping adventure was with our friends, the Calderons, at their property up Ogden canyon. Isn't it beautiful?
Here are Stacee and Talia working on meal prep.
The Calderon's cute kids match up in age with Annika and Eli.
Jason went for an intense marathon training run Saturday morning and came back in need of a nap.
This teepee was the perfect get away for the boys.
Meanwhile the girls played in the hammocks...
...and the dirt. Obviously.
Disconnected from all cell service, we filled our afternoon with card games and snacks. That's how you know life is good. Stacee and Andres, thanks so much for sharing your fantastic wilderness home with us.
Now all we need to do is pick up some inflatable kayaks so we can explore nearby Causey reservoir together. So stunning.
Three little Daisies following the trail. One little Daisy wandering off.
This craft made me smile. It's been puzzling Girl Scouts for generations.
Well-done.
Our final one-night camping trip was with neighbors on our block. We feel so very fortunate to be connected with these amazing families who live just houses away. Looking back, I didn't take many pictures, but here are a couple special friends that our kids get to hang with.
And here are the yummy tinfoil dinners we made. Ham, pineapple, and sweet potatoes instead of the traditional ground beef, onions, and spuds.
An evening cruise on the paddleboard.
If Annika had stood up and looked out the tent window, she would have seen this:
A couple of moose feeding right outside of our tent. (One of them looks like a bear in this photo, but our camping wasn't quite that exciting.) I wasn't surprised to see them there because we'd seen a moose the night before at the lake. Then, when I went to use the bathroom in the middle of the night, I could hear the tromping and chomping of a couple giant animals right between myself and the door of the outhouse. Terrified, I ended up walking way around and using the men's instead.
Overall, the moose seemed quite docile and accustomed to people. Even so, as a mother it was pretty scary. My biggest fear was that Annika would see the moose as cute and cuddly and try to give them a hug. Fortunately, the only animals she petted were insects.
Boating fun. Just wish I had a good photo of the zipline.
We left our neighborhood campout early to go a Hansen cousins reunion up at the top of City Creek Canyon. To be honest, most faces were unfamiliar, but it seemed like everyone enjoyed themselves.
I do know these guys. Mike Loveridge, Justin, and Ben. Okay, so Mike somehow knew our ward was due to have our bishopric reorganized in the near future. Knowing that I was Young Women's President and Jason First Counselor, he seemed pretty darn certain that Jason was going to be released, or else we would know about it by now. That night I was asking Jason if he knew something more than he'd shared because Mike was so confident about our callings. Jason's eyes grew wide and he started to chuckle (grimace?), having just received a very enlightening phone call from the stake president moments earlier.
Christy flew in all the way from Phoenix for the special occasion. Here she is with cousin Trina.
At the end of evening, Jason, Annika, and Brock went for a hike up past the end of the canyon road. They tried to get lost, but fortunately made it back before dark.
Camping may be dirty, camping may be smelly, camping may be hard work, but it's fun times folks. Fun times.
1 comment:
So glad you all enjoy camping. There is so much good to see and feel in the world that becomes more apparent and approachable while camping.
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