Camping

We decided to go camping as a family last month(i know it has been a very long time since i last posted). This is the first time ALL of us have gone. I think the last time we went, Little John was 3 and Sam wasn't even a thought in my mind! Wow- has it really been that long?? We got off to a late start on Saturday because John had to work. We left around 3:30 and arrived in Shaver Lake around 4:30. We headed directly to "our spot" hoping it wasn't occupied since it is out in the middle of no where and you can't reserve it. It is the BEST place to camp. There is a little creek that runs right by the camp spot with this massive tree that had fallen years ago stretching over it. It is great for 3 little busy bodies to climb on! As we were coming around the bend, we saw clothes hanging on a line and knew that our most wonderful spot was occupied. So we turned around and began to search for another spot. We were very disappointed until we found an even more awesome spot. This spot also had a creek near by and even had lots of patches of snow! It was the craziest thing. Snow in July. We began to un pack our things and get our camp set up while the boys played happily. Once we were un packed, we began roasting our hot dogs the old fashion way... on a stick. They turned out really yummy and we were all full and happy. By that time it was getting dark so we moved on to the best part of the evening- smores!!! Oh how I love smores. They might just be my most favorite dessert. I have continued making them for myself this week with the left over chocolate and marshmallows. Max was ready for bed soon after and asked to go into the tent. Sam quickly followed, expecting a wrestling match which did happen. The sleeping arrangements were as follows: Me and Little John in the back of the truck and John and the two little boys in the tent. Bad idea! My poor hubby had to deal with rain, a flat air mattress,a growling dog right outside the tent, children who wouldn't go to sleep and children who wet the bed. While I woke up rested the next morning, he did not. Neither did Max, which made for a very hard day. He was tripping and falling and crying and throwing lots of fits! It was actually quite funny and we didn't let that stop our fun. We had a great time exploring and it felt like we had the mountains all to ourselves. I would do it all over again...not sure about John though!

On our way up- the people in the back seat were feeling kind of silly!


Yep... your eyes are not fooling you- that is snow that the kids are standing on! We coulnd't believe it when we pulled up and saw snow! The kids were so excited and ran around like fools while we unpacked camp.




Once we unpacked the boys were ready to shoot at some cans with their bb guns and bow and arrow. This proved to be a bit difficult when Sam decided he didn't need any help! We quickly assured him that he did and there would be our way of doing it...or our way of doing it! He chose our way and daddy helped him!


Let me just tell you how annoying John was with this stick. He would not leave the campfire alone. He insisted on poking the logs to "get them in place" all night long.


We made smores- the BEST part of the trip! We all enjoyed them, as you can see!




When the little boys went to bed (actually they didn't go to sleep. They went into the tent to wrestle each other), we started to tell scary stories. We thought John was old enough for that. Apperantly not! Look at the expression on his face in the next few pictures. He was cracking us up!!



Max's morning pee! look at those cute cheeks


John loves his dog. When he feeds her at night he tells me "mom, I am going to go feed my girl now"





We had a very healthy breakfast consisting of donuts! yum yum


As you can see, Samuel thoroughly enjoyed his!





This is how we saw Max for the majority of the second day. He was quite sad and cried a lot. Maybe he will enjoy himself more next year when he is a little more coordinated and doesn't fall as much





The boys all loved jumping over this creek.








Mikey found these little gems! He was so excited because he is kind of obsessed with sunglasses


This is how dirty these kids were at the end of our trip. This is the one thing I don't like about camping!









The boys were so tired on the way home they fell asleep. John was assisting Sam by holding his head up because his head kept falling down and he looked so uncomfortable.
We had such a great time- despite the lack of sleep and the continuous crying from my Maxi! I will look back on this trip with fond memories!