My oldest baby turned 6. We decided to go on a weekend camping trip to celebrate. Gramma Tam and Papa Kerry came too. I'm starting to realize that our van is not as big as it once was. We bought it right after Ivan was born, and at the time I thought we'd never be able to use up all of that extra space. Ha! Well, the space is gone, and once again Aaron has to get creative when packing us and all of our crap into the van. :) It might be time to invest in a roof rack...or stop having kids...or both.
Our destination was Payson Lakes, only about 30 minutes from our house. We camped on Loop A, a collection of first-come first-served sights. And we chose site 26 A. We could not have picked a cooler camping spot. It was the best. The picnic area and the fire pit were next to the parking space, then you had to go up some wooden stairs and follow a trail back a ways into the forest to get to the tent sites. It made it feel like we were very secluded and the only ones camping all alone up in the mountains. It was awesome! And beautiful.
Speaking of awesome...our canvas hotel (aka the 8 man tent my mom and Kerry gave us for Christmas) is the coolest! I can't believe how big it is. It has enough room for more stuff and more kids, unlike our van. :) (Don't mistake me here, I love our van, it just gets really packed when we travel because we have so much stuff to take.)
We saw a moose! My first up-close moose ever. Moose just happen to be my favorite animal, not sure why. My mom and Kerry spotted it on their way into the camp ground, so we all had to go for a little stroll to check it out. It was right there by the side of the road. In the picture I am standing on the road.
We got the tents up just in time, because it started hailing. It didn't hail very long, but then it rained. Gramma Tam to the rescue. She had a deck of cards in her bag. Go Fish anyone? How about two hours worth?
After the rain storm, we went for a walk to check out Payson Lake. It's pretty low this year because of the drought, but still beautiful. We walked all the way around it, stopping here and there to skip rocks and such.
Then we went back to our campsite to start a fire and get our Hobo Dinners going. Everything was still pretty wet. I was glad that the fire was nice and warm. Papa Kerry showed us a fun new camping snack...he roasted a cheese stick over the fire until it was melty. It was really good. The kids weren't sure about it at first, but after they tried it, it was a hit. And Gramma Tam brought chocolate milk, which is a treat my kids don't get very often, so they were pretty much in camping heaven.
I love this sequence of Del. She's just in her own little happy world, skipping up the stairs on her way to the tent. Carefree. She was singing too.
Everyone except Adelia slept really well. Ollie even slept all the way through the night. He's such a great baby. When we got up in the morning, it was Lincoln's birthday! We had bagels and juice for breakfast, and then he wanted to open his presents from Gramma Tam and Papa Kerry. A Batman watch, some swimming goggles, and the game Battle ship. He was delighted.
Me and Aaron, with our favorite six year old birthday boy
Oliver was very obliging and took a morning nap out in the open while we took down the tents and packed up the cars.
Then we drove to the lake and spent the morning canoeing. There is something really soothing about canoeing (except for when all three children decide to lean over the same edge of the boat at the same time), it's calm, while still being active. Kind of like hiking. I love it.
Papa Kerry, Lincoln, Adelia, Ivan, and Aaron taking the canoe out the first time.
The lake started to get pretty crowded around lunch time. So we packed up and headed down the canyon. We stopped and hiked the Grotto Falls Trail. It was a quick hike, but it was beautiful, and really fun. The kids liked crossing the many bridges. Aaron was happy to be out among the pine trees.
Grotto Falls is really cool too, it's kind of inside a cave, except the roof is open sky. The water at the bottom of the falls is shallow enough to wade ankle deep in. It would be a really fun place to hike to and spend a couple hours just hanging out and letting the kids play in the water, like a natural splash pad. But it was a little crowded since it was Saturday, so we didn't stay super long.
As we hiked out, the boys enjoyed running up ahead and making gates in front of the adults, and not letting them pass until they said the secret password. I remember doing this as a kid too. :)
Then we came home and made Lincoln's cake. He requested a castle. We were a little low on accessories and time, so this is what we came up with, but I think it turned out nice. Props to Aaron, he did just about all of it while I made dinner. After dinner he opened his presents from Ivan and Adelia, two Nate the Great books, and another book about Greek Mythology from Aaron and I. He'll be in reader heaven for at least a couple of quiet times. :)
Gramma Tam and Papa Kerry had given us some sparklers for the 4th of July. Lincoln wanted to use them on his birthday. So we did.
To finish out the birthday celebrations, Linc got to stay up after the other kids were in bed and play me in a game of battleship. He won. So all was well.
Happy Birthday Linc! You are growing up so fast. I can't believe you are already a first grader. You are such a good kid, and a big helper. You always amaze me with the things you know and remember. I'm so glad you are in our family.
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