Camping

Despite overcast skies, no reserved campsite, and not being able to leave until 5, I was determined to take the kids camping at least once this year. We weren't really sure where we were going to go, but figured something would work out. Regan said that she wanted to go somewhere she hadn't gone before if she had to go at all. (She had gotten her American Girl doll an hour or so before we headed out and was not happy about having to leave her!) Clint had taken his scouts to Buffalo Creek several times and even though there was a campground, you could also camp wherever you wanted. Which was nice since I was sure all the campgrounds were full. After driving through a rainstorm and wondering if we were crazy for camping, we found a decent place to pitch our tent. We started the fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows. The kids slept as well as I expected they would. The next camp out, though, I will take the bigger tent. Five people in a 3 man tent is just too many!

Lila absolutely loved running around! Until it got dark, and she stumbled over a rock she didn't see. Her little face was completely covered in dirt and mud. It took several baby wipes and quite a bit of yelling to get her remotely clean.

You can still see the dirt in her nose. Poor girl! Her nose and cheek now have several scrapes.

Since we were not in a campground, there were no bathrooms. Clint took Haden and Lila with him. Regan came with me. After several attempts to get positioned correctly, she decided that she didn't really have to use the bathroom after all and could wait until tomorrow.

I think she was a little confused about where she was when she woke up.

Regan and Haden couldn't get dressed fast enough. They loved exploring! Regan said that even though she really missed her doll, she had a lot of fun!

It is kind of hard to roll up the tent with Lila sitting on it! She has a knack of knowing exactly what I am trying to do and what she needs to do to stop it from happening!

On the way home, we stopped at Pine Valley Ranch Park. It was beautiful (and had a bathroom). The kids loved exploring the area and throwing rocks into the lake.

I realized that they love exploring the mountains. They just don't like hiking on a trail someone else made. They would much rather blaze their own at their own pace.

I think Lila could play in the dirt all day!

Haden found what he said was a giraffe-shaped log and it had to come home with us.

The kids LOVED camping and cannot wait until we go again!