Camping in the Blues

Before I blog about Hawaii I have to tell you about our camping trip to the Blue Mountains.  Over Memorial Day weekend we went camping with Mark and his family.  We went for 3 nights.  We had an amazing time!! A lot of people asked if I was going camping ...pregnant(gasp)?! Yes, I went camping pregnant and loved it.
Pretty much the only thing I don't like about camping is the packing and unpacking.  During that time I always think- "This is so much work! Why am I doing this?? We should just stay home and get some projects done!!"  In fact, a couple of days before we left I started having second thoughts.  I said to Darren, "Maybe we should just stay home and work on our entertainment center."  Darren said, "Yeah, I hear you, but you don't make a lot of memories at home working on an entertainment center."  What he said really struck a cord with me.  It's true.  A lot of times the things that take the most work create the best memories.  With that said, camping can be miserable if you don't have the right gear or food.  Never sleep on air mattress or you'll really be sleeping on the ground  for most of the night.  Then you'll be miserable and hate camping.  You have to know how to do it right.   We have nice sleeping bags, and use crash pads from Costco to sleep on. I sleep just as good as I do at home.
So aside from the work of packing everything, I love every minute of it.  I love the smell of fresh air, and the beauty of nature.  I love sitting around the campfire.  I love NO electronics! I love watching my kids explore.  I love chilling.  I love playing cards with my kids at the picnic table.  I love falling asleep in the same tent as all of my kids- all together- it's like a family sleepover.  Did I mention I love no electronics?  I love the wonders of the Earth and all of God's little creations.  I love my kids discovering it all.  I love to see their brains at work.  I love nature.  I love trees and wildflowers.  I love how food tastes twice as good when your camping.  I love hot chocolate at night.  I love gooey smores.  I love being with my family with no distractions.  I love getting back to basics.  I love camping.

I did a lot of research to find the perfect spot for us to camp at.  It needed to be halfway between Mark and us.  I wanted also to be away from the Memorial Day crowds.  I wanted to be close to a stream or a lake.  I called around to all the ranger stations in the area and asked the rangers their favorite camping spots.  This is the one that won.  We ended up camping at Catherine Creek State Park.  It was perfect. We drove around a lot till we found this great spot at the end of a road.  It wasn't in a campground so no one was around.  There was a port-a-potty a little ways down the road and we had a fire ring, picnic table and stream right by us.  I'm telling you- it was perfect.

One of the fun things about being in nature- finding God's creatures.  The kids had a great time discovering these snakes.

On Saturday we went on a hike up the canyon.  It was of course beautiful.  We made it about 2 miles  before kids started having meltdowns- so we turned around and headed back to camp. 

Mark brought his 4 wheelers so the kids had a great time getting rides with Darren.

Kyle and Gabe are such good friends.  It is so cute.

One morning Mark and Darren went on a run up the trail to the meadows- which was 5 miles up- and 5 miles back.  They had a great time and Darren said it was one of his favorite parts of the trip.

Mark and Darren are training

I bought these butterfly nets at a yard sale and they were the hit of the trip!  The boys were trying to catch butterflies the whole weekend.

Camping in the Blues part 2

After 2 days of camping we all felt gross and decided it was time for a shower.  Two days is the max I can take.  Darren and Mark opted for the quickest method- dumping ice cold water from the river on themselves.  While I took the more sophisticated approach.  I boiled some water over the fire and took a nice warm outdoor shower.  Ahhh, it felt so good!  My kids ended up showering and loved it too.

I you ever want to entertain your kids for months on end- just get a puppy!  They are living breathing toys.  If you go camping you don't even have to worry about potty training them for a couple days! It ALMOST makes up for the hours and hours of potty training  you will spend every day that you aren't camping.

We did this really fun easy 2 mile hike to this look out that everyone enjoyed.  It was beautiful and the kids loved it.

Mark, Darren and me.  I love these guys.

All the kids got into this big flexing contest.  Gabe kept flexing with his arms down by his sides.  This is a picture of Gabe flexing for us all.  It was so cute.

Did I mention one of my favorite things about camping is no electronics?  I love to take mind games for the kids.  They keep them entertained. 

This is a fun game puzzle called Kanoodle.  It's my favorite. Maybe because I can't do the Rubiks Cube.  We took turns doing the puzzles and timing each other to see who could do it the fastest. 

I went to a lot of work before-hand preparing food so it would minimize the work once there.  I went to Pinterest for cooking recipes.  Some were great and some were a flop.  But it didn't matter because everything tastes good when your camping!

Jared and Gabe had the best time riding their bikes round and round this road.  We were at the very end so we didn't have to worry about cars- it was perfect.

Ellie and Emma slept in their own little "room" in Marks tent.  They stayed up late and slept in late.  They would disappear in the tent for hours to visit, read, play games,  and just enjoy being together.  Ellie is in this sleeping bag but refused to let me take her picture one morning about 11. 

Kyle picked some wild flowers for me and set them on the table.  Kyle is such a sweet, sensitive kid.  I love him so much.  He is so thoughtful.

You know how when you buy a kid a toy, sometimes they play with the box more than the toy?  Well that's how this trailer was that Mark brought full of 4 wheelers and bikes.  I think Gabe and Derek and Jared played house on this trailer more than they went 4 wheeling.  They would run up and down that ramp over and over again.  Sometimes it's the simple things in life, like a trailer ramp.  Or throwing rocks into a river.  Sometimes it's nice to take a step back and lets the kids get dirty and just be kids.