A couple years ago, Eric and Heidi bought some property just outside Zion's. They invited all of us down for Fall Break and, since we had never been and we hadn't taken the kids camping this summer, we decided to do that for Fall Break.
To be honest, I was not super excited. It is a long drive all the way down there (Ivy has never loved her carseat) and I wasn't stoked about camping with a baby. Justin had hurt his back pretty badly the weekend before and we almost didn't go for that reason. But he started to feel better and we knew the kids would love to go, so we went. And, as in most things, it wasn't as bad as I was thinking it would be and it was actually a very enjoyable weekend. So I'm glad we ended up going. Kids are made for camping-they loved it and Ivy was a dream.
Packing up our car is a bit of a joke. We are fine on a normal day but throw in camping gear for a few days and all of us and it is a tight fit! Justin vetoed some of the items I had packed. But I usually overpack so we were good. On our way!
I was most nervous about keeping Ivy warm at night. She slept in the port-a-crib in the tent with many layers. She stayed nice and toasty warm and slept well-about the same as what she would do at home, just waking up once (maybe twice) each night.
We spent a lot of time around the campfire.
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| Riley and Brynn |
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| Riley showing Brynn his owie |
Eric and Heidi had some guys come cut down a tree that was dying. Everyone enjoyed watching that.
Then the big boys (the grown-ups) chopped up the tree for firewood. The kids helped transport logs but they also had fun chopping up the smaller pieces.
Brynn liked the hammocks that they had around the property. So did Molly-her and Tiana spent the majority of their time in one. (We actually ended up getting one for Molly for Christmas and all the kids have loved it.)
There were BB guns for the kids to practice their shooting and a zipline.
I've mentioned Stockton's fear of dogs before and so I wasn't sure how he would do with Eric and Heidi's lab, Zoe, walking around. He surprised us and was just fine..didn't run away or sit in the car the whole time like I thought he might. He kept asking Heidi if we could dog-sit Zoe. Wish we could find a mellow dog just like Zoe!
Cece was there too (Matt and Camille's dog). She was a dirty little dog by the end of the weekend! Just like all the kids. :)
We mostly just stayed at the campsite and let the kids play and hang out but we did drive over to the Coral Pink Sand Dunes on Friday. The most random thing happened when we were eating lunch there. Justin mentioned that the most awkward work was "worcestershire" because he was never sure how to pronounce it. The guy at the other picnic table overheard and said, "Oh, I'm from Worcester, England" and then told us the exact way to say it. Then he juggled clementines for the kids and told the adults about his job as a circus trainer. Really, I made none of that up.
The sand dunes were really fun-for about 10 minutes. Then the wind came and it was like this:
We made it down the hill and were protected from the wind long enough for some of us to play baseball before trekking back to our cars.
We got poured on all Friday night and Saturday morning which meant I stayed in the tent with Ivy for the majority of that time.
It cleared up mid-morning on Saturday so that those who wanted to could go on a hike. I stayed back, so did Justin. Molly and Stockton went with Grandma, Grandpa, Eric, Tiana, and Evie. They hiked 6.6 miles round trip and did great! Maybe I'm glad I wasn't there because this picture makes me nervous just looking at it.
I'm always surprised at how well our kids hike. They are just happy to be outdoors. This view looks like the miles were worth it!
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| Stockton, Grandpa, Molly, Grandma, Evie, Tiana |
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| Tiana and Molly |
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