Camping with Cousins

My sister Vesta and I planned a camping trip in June where we were going to meet up and go 4 wheeling with all the kids together for a couple days.  Unfortunately, things did not turn out exactly as planned.  There was a miscommunication about which campground to reserve and we ended up at one that wasn't super ideal.  It was just off the highway, had no trees, and didn't have trails available for 4 wheeling.  We ended up making the most of it and the kids didn't seem to even notice anything was wrong.  Ultimately, our kids had a blast with their cousins and I guess that was the most important thing.

Our campsite.  Thankfully we were close to water, so the kids could go skip rocks for entertainment.  It was stunningly hot during the day with hardly any shade.  At night it got so cold, I ended up driving home to get more blankets and firewood at 4am.  We were woefully unprepared for the near freezing temperatures.  Vesta had her camper, so they were just fine and ended up lending us some of her blankets as well.

This was Elsa's first camping trip.  She was pretty good for the most part, but by the next day you could tell she was dying for a nap.  The tent got too hot, so Vesta got her to take a nap in the camper. Hallelujah!

 Chilly!!!  Randy entertained us with ghost stories that weren't TOO scary thankfully.

 Vesta brought bubbles which was great for some added entertainment.

 We also went up the canyon to see Bridal Veil Falls.  It was so hot.  I still don't understand how the temperatures could have been so up and down.

 Playing Uno.

 Randy was persistent and able to find a little trail to take the kids on so that bringing the 4 wheelers wasn't totally in vain.  Nadia and Elsa LOVED going on it.  Rowan, not so much.  He wouldn't even try it.

 Steve had never been on a 4 wheeler, so he was game for trying it out.  I hadn't been on one since I was 13.  I sure missed having one to rip around on. 

Elsa wasn't too happy about being left behind.


Next time we'll try to plan things better, but I'm glad we went.  We asked the kids what their favorite part was as we were driving home and "COUSINS!" was the unanimous reply.

Grandma and Grandpa

One of the perks of Steve's job is the flexibility of summer vacation or really any time off.  He didn't teach this summer and will always have at least one semester off.  We took advantage of our new found freedom and went up to see Grandma and Grandpa Luke in Washington.  I was a little concerned how the kids would do, namely Elsa, but they were all champs and we had a good trip up and down.  On the way up, we were cautious and took two days for an 11 hour trip and on the way back we just drove as long as the kids were cooperating.  Thankfully we had no issues making it back in one day.

Oh to have willing adults to read to you whenever you wanted!  Grandpa introduced Rowan to some funny new books and Nadia took advantage of the Berenstein Bear books that Grandma has.

The way to Elsa's heart- ice cream.  It was so nice to see Elsa bond more with her grandparents.  She really took to both of them and they rewarded her sweetness with sweets.

One day we went to their local country store, which is quite possibly the most amazing country shop I have ever seen.  They had samples galore, delicious food, aisles of candy, and just about every variation of popcorn known to man.  Steve and I ate Rainer cherries to no end.  It was really incredible.  If I had the capital, know how and the connections, I would love to own a store like it.  There's no question it would be successful just about anywhere.

Fudge

 Elsa found her treat to take home.  See what I mean about the sweets?  How could you say no to that face?

 Salsa bar.  Rowan accidentally sampled a "hot" selection.  Poor kid.

 All the samples of their fruit butters.  I guess Rowan recovered from his salsa experience quickly.

 Ice cream heaven!  It's really not good for me to be going through these pictures.  I'm getting hungry.

 Elsa wasn't the only one to score a massive lollipop. 

 The next day, we feasted on fresh salsa, those delicious cherries, cherry apple cider and Doritos.  I'm going to miss summer produce!

Another day, the kids cajoled Grandpa into taking them fishing.  A nice spot happened to be right next to this awesome playground and splash pad.

 Getting a good fishing spot in the shade with no geese poop was harder than you'd think.  We didn't catch anything that day, but it was a nice outing regardless.

Nadia with her Barbie pole.  Love it.

Elsa is scared of "bad ants" which entails every bug known to man.  Also, she told me yesterday she's scared of violins.  We'll have to stay on the look out for those.

 Elsa apparently would rather be spear fishing.

Oh yeah, I was there too.  :)

I think we had ice cream almost everyday we were there.  It was really hard on the kids.

Most of these pictures center around food.  That's how you know we were on vacation I guess.  We went to a buffet before going to visit Grandpa Judd at his rest home.  For some reason, I didn't get any pictures while we were there.

 We did have fun taking a spin on his old wheels though.

This will be Grandpa Luke in 20 years.  Grandkids will still be crawling all over him.

It was so nice to go and relax up in Washington for a week.  We had a blast checking out the new scenery and even enjoyed a night out at a fancy restaurant with Steve's parents and no kids.  Many thanks to our lovely hosts!  It's hard to believe we will have 4 kids the next time we go up there.