My parents have always loved to camp. I went camping with them several times a summer every summer of my life. Mostly in the red wood forests or near the ocean of northern California.
When Ella was little we would go camping several times a year.
After Jack was born we went twice, both times while visiting in Wisconsin.
Arizona was too hot and who wants to camp in the desert? Not me.
So Lilly and Lila had never been camping before and Jack didn't remember ever going.
When my parents suggested we tag along with them. I thought, if not now, when?
Good thing we still had quite a bit of camping gear.
Right away Jack and Lilly thought it was pretty fun! They searched around the camp spot and played army men in the dirt.
Ella was just happy to sit and eat all the beef jerky she could stomach.
Poor Lila.. she had to be held or in her bed the whole time. Too many places to wander off too and too many dangerous things to touch.
Our families tent.. and well, you can see the top of Jacobs.
The kids went for hikes along many little trails around. They hunted for cool rocks and leaves.
It was pretty damp for rain the night before we got there..
Pretty quickly Jack and Lilly wanted something else to do.
I asked that they find as many pine cones as they possible could.
They did not disappoint. This was taken before their collection was complete. In the end I think the pile was 10 times that size!
Lilly loved going in and out of the tent....
Still trying to get things to dry... we made some dinner.
Why are all things guns to boys?
Jack found this piece of wood that looked like one to him.
Bedtime at last!
I was nervous that everyone would get cold... and I was right.
More blankets were brought up and we were all much warmer the second night.
The kids all slept well, even Lila was pretty good.
We tried to all sleep in, but when the sun comes up and it's so bright it's really hard.
Good morning!
I loved the pictures my Dad always took of us waking up in our foggy tent when I was little!
Camping breakfast is always the best!
There were lots of snacks and good things to munch on all day.
The MEN found this log hanging off the side of a cliff and decided they needed it.
After a long time of discussing the best way to pull it up and a couple of failed attempts they finally got it to the campsite.
Ryan felt pretty good about his accomplishment.
What silly BOYS!
Lila was so good. Hardly a problem. If she was getting frustrated and just wanted to get down and crawl around I would put her in the tent. She liked finding hair brushes and flashlights.
Although Lilly did wander off a couple of times (not too far!) she was pretty easy too.
We just had to buddy her up with someone at all times.
My sweet girl. She really liked being outside in nature.
Adam and Tyler were so nice to play game after game of war or Pokemon with Ella!
Naps right on schedule.
A couple of years ago Ella got a Barbie camping set, which I brought for Lilly.
She played for hours!
More and more Pokemon!
It was so sweet!! I turn back to check on Lilly and she had fallen asleep!
Right after this, I moved her into the tent for a proper nap
The men all went for a hike up to a hidden lake. I guess it took forever to get there, it felt like forever to me. Sadly the lake was still frozen over so they couldn't fish in it anyways.
Lila loves her Grandma!
It's so fun that we live so close! Lila wont ever know life without her.
So after the boys got the log up from the cliff... what now.
It was pretty old and rotting through the middle.
Ryan and the boys saw this as the perfect opportunity to make a...
Barbeque....
Actually it did work really well.
After dinner that night we all started cleaning and packing up a bit.
Everyone else decided to go home, which left me and my little family up there alone for the night.
It was a little scary. But I knew that Ryan would be there to protect us!
The next morning we woke up and immediately packed up and headed home.
It was a really fun couple of days, but I was happy to get home to my house and shower!
