Ward Campout

Whoever thought it would be a good idea to leave our warm, soft beds, running water, flushing toilets and electricty to go sit in the middle of the woods with stinky pit toilets, a cold hard ground to sleep on and very little refuge from rain. Funny thing is, I agree with the man, it is a good idea. All growing up our family went on yearly campouts and I would look forward to them all year long. This was the first time we went camping as a family and I'm kicking myself for not having done it more often. I forgot how fun it was, stressful with 3 kids, but fun. We got a bit of rain in the morning but didn't miss a beat.
We got up to camp at about 6 which was about an hour later then most got there. This meant we got the farthest parking spot and the farthest camping spot in the opposite direction. It was quite the trek to make trips back and forth and all too often it was for small little things. But once the stress of getting up there and setting up was over, we wished we were staying longer because it truly is so relaxing. The boys had a blast running amuck with all their friends swinging sticks, finding bugs, dancing with flashlights and basically anything to think of to ensure we couldn't recognize them underneath all the dirt they quickly layered on. They didn't go to bed until 10:30 but once they were out, we had a hard time getting them to wake-up in the morning. Kalei did pretty good, we had her pretty well bundled so she was nice and cozy. She was the only baby up there so she had plenty of attention. I thought she'd have a hard time sleeping but she did great.
We're definitely planning a family trip next year.
Here's to being voluntarily homeless!
The boys with their bestest buds

Carson and Brayden
Carson lives across the street from us and if he and Brayden go a day without seeing eachother they start to go through withdrawls.

Tavita and Zachary
Zach was Tavita's accompice in the sandcastle constrution project. I could seriously sit and watch these two all day and be completly entertained.
Smore Lessons

Dear Brother Wiblin is from South Africa and didn't have a clue as to how to make a smore. Junior graciously took on the task of being mentor and the two of the rustled up some mean treats!
Trapped

At first look you see Junior and Brayden. Look on the ground between the two and you see Tavita all tangled up in the ropes tethering the tent. Being the great mom I was I was too busy laughing and taking pictures to help him out.
Trekin to the Car

One of the many long treks to the car. Tavita kept this get-up on for quite some time, stick was in hand for 95% of the trip
Brotherly Love

Just needed this as proof that they do love each other for those days in the future where they insist they don't.
Flashlight Fun

Brayden and his friends had a blast running around creating light shows with their flashlights. Every so often they'd stop and trade flashlights apparently each unique glow of the flashlight was essential to each of their shows.
My favorite time of day!

We were quite cozy

Can anyone spot Kalei? She is in there and despite the way this picture looks, she could breathe just fine.
Boys and their friends

B-dawg with his homies

Campfire fun

These two were serious inseperable the whole time.

P.S. I finally posted a couple of older post behind Junior's birthday post!