Family Camping Trip

We went camping with my sisters and their families last week. Nate and I always assume the responsibility to get up the canyon early and find a good spot. It’s a lot of pressure. We lucked out this year and scored our favorite campsite. It was occupied when we got up there on Thursday morning, so Nate walked over to see if the people were staying through the weekend. It turns out they were his neighbors when he was growing up/the parents of one of our good friends. And, they were just packing up to go home. Sweet! Thank you to the Tesches for saving our spot.

Jody’s family came up on Thursday afternoon and Holly’s family joined us on Friday. It was a great trip and we all had so much fun. The kids decided that camping with their cousins is lots more fun than just camping with our little family. I loved that they kept each other entertained so I could be extra lazy.











We took the kids’ bikes up with us. They don’t get lots of bike riding in around our house, so they (except Elise) couldn’t get enough of it. They rode their bikes all around the campground and they each (including Elise) managed to have at least one wipeout that was bad enough to draw blood.





We made a few trips down the river on Thursday and a few more on Saturday. It was amazing how much the river bed had changed (I’m guessing from the high water that we had this spring). The changes were mostly good, but there was a big tree stump that had been uprooted and was sticking root-end-out into the water. That, and a few big boulders, made navigating downstream a bit more challenging. I’m afraid that some of Holly’s kids might be scarred for life after getting dumped off their tubes.















We played a few different card games with the kids, but the biggest hit was Speed UNO. We’ve been waiting for them to be old enough to introduce them to the fun way to play UNO. It is great when you can turn a mind-numbing game into something the whole family can enjoy.



We got in a few games of volleyball with the older kids while the younger ones played at the park.




The favorite activity for my kids was playing kick the can on Friday and Saturday night. Abby declared herself the winner and claimed the trophy (the plastic Pepsi bottle that we had used as a can). Kevin had helped her sneak up close by having her hide behind his wheelchair, and she managed to kick the can while Nathan was guarding it. She was so proud of herself.


We cleaned up and headed home on Saturday night. It was sure tempting to stay another night, but Ben had reminded us earlier that “we don’t camp on the Sabbath.” What were we thinking teaching our kids the Ten Commandments? :)