Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Camping Trip

We decided to go camping during Sareny's spring break. It had been a long time since we'd gone, and Finley had never even been camping before. We picked an area a couple hours north of Phoenix near Montezuma's castle. The weather was just right for camping. Once we got to our spot, everyone set to work getting our camp set up.


The kids love to help! Isaac was sleeping in the van while we were getting set up. He woke up in a really grouchy mood and just crying/screaming. I finally figured out (with no help from a crying, incoherant boy) that he pottied his pants, and once he was changed he was happy.

Sitting around the campfire goofing off. Isaac hasn't really figured out the whole bunny ears thing...

See?

The next morning Keith cooked breakfast while I lounged in bed...between Finley, who slept in our bed, repeatedly startling herself (and us) awake and then crying for a couple of minutes, and being joined in the night in our bed by Sareny, I didn't get much sleep. I did enjoy the nice lulling sounds of the nearby river though, it was very soothing. In exchange for breakfast in bed, I had to clean the dutch oven.

I'm sure you noted from the above picture how close our site was to the bathroom, which was both a good and bad thing. When Isaac has to go, he has to go, and there is no messing around. Or there will be a mess around. haha. So it was handy for that reason. Unfortunately, we occasionally caught a whiff from the bathrooms (which were the non-flush kind), which was not handy.

After breakfast we walked around the camp area a bit.

Isaac was sitting down, and Fin came up from behind and hugged him, and it was just adorable.

Cute friends!



We walked over to the river. This was a little tributary.

These trees were blooming and were so beautiful. Kind of reminds me of "White Way Delight," from Anne of Green Gables.

In front of the large river.

For the drive back to Phoenix, we decided to take the extremely scenic route. We saw some snow on the side of the road, and decided to stop.


We also stopped to see Roosevelt Dam and this cool bridge.

Same bridge, from the other side.

This is right by the dam.

And this one is from the bottom of the dam. The kids were excited to see a rainbow in the spray where the water came out.


We were totally shocked when this happened:

Keith and I enjoyed a nice, peaceful ride and were actually able to converse amoungst ourselves without being interrupted. It was really nice! The whole trip, while short, was really nice, and we are planning to go camping again soon!

9 comments:

holli jo said...

Looks like you guys had lots of fun. I love the pictures, especially the one of Fin and Isaac hugging. So cute! And she is getting so big.

Also, I can't believe all 3 kids fell asleep at the same time! What are the odds? Lucky you.

Christina Overton said...

That looks like so much fun. I'm sure you made lots of wonderful memories for your kids.

It's weird. I've always HATED camping, but lately I have felt this strange urge to take my kids camping. I think we're going to start with pitching a tent near my parents house and work up from there.

Tanya said...

Great camping pictures! I'm kind of jealous. We have snow on the ground.

Lexi said...

that looks like so much fun. i like all of the cute pictures too. those kids are so cute together. taking the scenic route home looks cool.

Tanya said...

Okay Hill, you make camping look fun. The picture of all three kids sleeping had me laughing! Every parent's dream come true!!

Vicki said...

Camping is fun! Hopefully I'll make it this summer!

cassidy said...

That looks like such a fun little trip! I love those pics of Finley and Isaac. So cute. In that second to last picture I thought Fin wasn't wearing pants and thought Keith was quite brave to hold her on his shoulders! Ha ha. And the sleeping picture is so cute. Lucky you!

Jolynn said...

I'm feeling a little like Christina, not really liking to camp, but kind of wanting to! I wish we could have gone with you guys. It totally looked like a fun trip. The pictures of the kids are so cute. And they look so sweet and innocent in that sleeping picture that I'm having a hard time believing you that Finley throws hissy fits dailey! Ha ha.

Gardner Family said...

How beautiful and fun and exhausting that all looked.