Spring Break Camping


Yes I know that we don’t have any kids in school so spring break isn’t actually any different from any other week that we have; however, we decided to “celebrate” it this year. There are some families in our ward who go camping every year on the week of spring break and we were invited to attend this year. We were the youngest family–by far. Most of the families have teenagers but we have some good friends in the group and we had a good time.
We had kind of a crazy day on Monday as we were getting ready to go on the campout. As you know, we’ve been looking at cars for a few months now. We’ve had our eye on a Honda Pilot for a while but have been waiting for a recall to finish on the airbag before we can even test drive it. We got a call from the dealership saying that the car was ready on Monday as we were trying to get everything packed and ready to go. We decided we’d run up there and just be late to the camp because we really want to get this car. Well, when we got there, the salesman had gotten the wrong car. It was the same model year and everything but had two time as many miles on it and wasn’t what we were looking for. We ended up wasting about two hours with that trip.
After getting back from the dealership, we finished getting everything together and somehow got all our camping gear and the kids and ourselves packed in the car. Yes we actually had to pack ourselves in too, that was how crowded it was. We drove the hour and a half drive out to Lake Somerville to camp. When we got there, most of our friends were already there and had already cooked dinner. It was around 6:00 at this point. Everyone was trying to pawn off their extra food on us so we didn’t even have to cook. Lots of my scouts who were there helped us unload and setup our massive 8 man tent. The tent was awesome! I’m glad we got it.
We really packed it in there
We really packed it in there
We had a blast camping! It was so nice to just be away with the family and to have time to ourselves. Every time we’ve gone on vacation in the past we’ve been running all over and haven’t had time just with our little family to sit and have fun. This was a welcome change for us. We still were chasing Eliza a lot and didn’t get to associate with the other adults there but it was a great time.
Eliza with marshmallow all over her hands
Eliza with marshmallow all over her hands
Eliza finally slept pretty well.
Eliza finally slept pretty well.
Running outside
Running outside
Looking at the plants
Looking at the plants
Eliza had a bit of trouble sleeping. Mostly because she was excited about being in the tent with everyone else. She kept running around and wanting to play. She sure is cute. James, of course, was out like a light all night and didn’t make any trouble.
James being happy on mommy's sleeping bag
James being happy on mommy’s sleeping bag
This is the lake where we camped
This is the lake where we camped
We had breakfast tacos for breakfast on Tuesday.
We had breakfast tacos for breakfast on Tuesday.
We stayed at the camp all day on Tuesday and did breakfast, lunch, and dinner, We had originally planned on trying to stay for Monday and Tuesday nights but there was going to be a huge rainstorm on Tuesday and most everyone was leaving. I told Sarah that if it was the scouts we’d be staying but camping in the rain with two babies was not going to be too fun so we just went home after dinner on Tuesday.
"Why are my hands so dirty?"
“Why are my hands so dirty?”
Daddy and Eliza hanging out by the tent
Daddy and Eliza hanging out by the tent
"These are MY donuts"
“These are MY donuts”
Eliza absolutely loved camping. She loved being outside all the time. She picked flowers, ran all over the place, chased our friend’s dogs, played in the dirt, ate way too many donuts, and generally just had a great time. Sarah and I took her out on the canoe on Tuesday and she did pretty well. She’s been a bit afraid of water lately and I wanted to help her face her fears. Sarah held her in the front seat and I paddled. She let us go out for a few minutes and then decided she was done so we turned around and went back. I was proud of her for doing it. She also went out with me in a kayak but that didn’t last too long either.
James holding the umbrella
James holding the umbrella
Mommy and James hanging out
Mommy and James hanging out
Daddy and James snacking
Daddy and James snacking
James was a sweetheart the whole time we were out. He was just calm and loved to be carried around and doted on by all of the ladies we were with.
Eliza and her new friend Danielle Ashford
Eliza and her new friend Danielle Ashford
Eliza zonked after being traumatized by the canoe
Eliza zonked after being traumatized by the canoe
Eliza trying to be happy picking flowers
Eliza trying to be happy picking flowers
In other news, James rolled over once this week. He’s getting really close to having that figured out!
The cute family
The cute family
future missionary
future missionary
James and Daddy time
James and Daddy time
We have a crazy week ahead of us. Our stake is doing a musical presentation for Easter this Thursday and Friday and Sarah encouraged me to sing in the choir. I have rehearsal every night, except Monday, this week so your prayers for our sanity will be greatly appreciated!
Monkey Face!
Monkey Face!