Camping!!!

We took the kids up camping over Memorial Day and they had a blast. We went with some good friends that just moved back our way after being gone for 4 years. I have some pictures of a previous camping trip we went on when the kids were just little and its fun to compare. They were gone for 4 years, but it's like they never left. The kids all play great together and it's so fun to watch how well their personalities work together.


Me and Kristan with baby Caleb and baby Derek camping Memorial Day 2004.



....And now Memorial Day 2009


These two had a blast exploring together










Derek, Gabe, Abby, Caleb 2004








Tyler, Derek, Abby, Gabe, Caleb 2009






This is what they spent half of their free time on. They would gather up the "wheat" and tie it into bunches, then they set up a marketplace and tried to sell them to us for pop tops.


This is their "bank" and each item has a certain value which they could explain to you extensively if you dared to ask.





This is where the other half of their time went. There was a broken piece of fence that they were determined to fix. They tried so hard and had many theories on how to go about it. There were a few mishaps, Caleb had about 30 slivers in his belly to prove it. In the end thay had to give it up, but they sure had fun trying.






And this is how Miss Avery spent most of her time...eating junk. She loved the smores, and she sure made a mess eating them. What other way is there, I guess! She was so funny and was usually off on her own laying in the grass somewhere talking to bugs or just playing in the dirt. She really loved the freedom and relaxed atmosphere. I think she hates our busy lives running everywhere on every one else's schedule but her own, so this was a nice change for her.



The kids liked fishing, there were so many fish that there was always at least one kid with a fish at any given moment. I think Tyler caught well over 10 fish that day.






Avery sat still at least long enough to snap this picture of her enjoying the moment with her dad. She was much more interested in the flopping fish after they were caught.








And here is Allen's itty bitty catch of the day! If you squint and look VERY closely you might be able to see it just above his mouth in this shot. Right after I took this picture the fish fell off the hook and almost did land right in his mouth. YUCK!







We had so much fun and loved getting out in the gorgeous mountains for the first camping trip of the year. It was so nice to just be alone with our family and close friends with nothing else to do but take it all in and enjoy the beauty around us. We did some hiking (at a 5 year old level), mushroom hunting, fishing, ate til we were ready to pop and to top it all off we were able to squeeze in a mean game of pinochle. By the end, the kids were exhausted and had a thick layer of dirt covering their entire bodies. I didn't know if it would ever come all the way off, but what better sign of a good time than dirty exhausted children?


I had to snap this picture of the dog right after we got home. He was as wired as any of the kids up there and just ran and played and ran and played some more. When we got home he dragged himself into the house and plopped right down on the hard floor in the middle of everything. We had to step over and around him while we were getting settled back in, but he just couldn't move another inch. It was so silly and dramatic we couldn't stop laughing about our dead dog on the floor.