Camping!

For the last several months, the boys and I have been aching to go camping. But with house hunting, moving, Eric's schedule, and Isaac starting school it has been pretty impossible. Finally the opportunity arose. My brother Cody off handedly invited us to go with him to his ward campout (probably thinking we'd say no :)) and we jumped on it! Lucky guy! So Friday afternoon, a few weeks ago, we met them at their house in Apache Junction and Cody, Em, and us headed up 2 more hours to a place in the pines past Prescott to enjoy the beautiful weather and the great outdoors. It didn't take Isaac long to find a tree to climb. He scaled right up it and several more. I was impressed with how high he got on a couple of them.

Carter and Ashlyn headed straight over to some dirt. It's amazing how fun it can be to just get dirty without anyone caring.

They found a little ditch to slide down its bank. Better than any park!

Sloppy Joes, thanks to Cody's Bishop, was the perfect fit for dinner. Doesn't look too sanitary, does it....

It actually got cold! I loved it until later that night - more to come...

No camping is complete without a smore or two. Here's Carter and Emily roasting marshmallows.

There's nothing like a tent to make kids silly and giddy before bedtime. All apart of the fun of camping!

I tried to pack as light as possible since we were throwing into one vehicle with Cody and Em, so of course I decided to skimp on blankets. Nice one, Aub. I had brought two for myself, plus the kids' sleeping bags, but had to use one for extra covers for the kids, which left me with only one small one. Cody offered to let me use his mummy sleeping bag, but trying to suck it up and pay my own consequences, I refused. I didn't sleep a whole lot that night. Besides nearly freezing to death, I had to take on Eric's role. He's usually the one getting up 50 times a night when we camp to make sure the kids are covered and not cold, but since he wasn't there, the job fell to me. Halfway through the night, Cody had mercy on me and made me switch bedding with him. I was so cold and so grateful I couldn't refuse. It came in handy having the sleeping bag because Ashlyn got too cold a little while later and I was able to bring her in with me. The boys say they slept just fine and Cody said it wasn't too bad for him with the blanket. How? I have no idea, but I'm glad!

After such a fabulous night, Cody was the first one up and graciously took Ashlyn, and later Carter, out with him. Here's Ashlyn eating her pre-breakfast snack from Uncle Cody. Not the most nutritious, but I was so happy to still be in a warm sleeping bag, I didn't care. I was happy she was happy - and besides - it's camping!

Here they are eating their real breakfast.

"Thanks for bring me camping, Uncle Cody. You're the best!"

A boy in their ward brought string to make bows, which was a big hit with the boys. I don't think the poor kid had any idea what he was getting into! Thankfully Cody stepped in to help.

Check out my amazing archers!

Before we left, we went exploring for a little bit. Another family had found this amazing fallen tree with fun roots to climb around on.

We decided it would be best to remove Ashlyn from the picture!

After a wonderful evening and a great day, it was time to wash up and head home. Thanks again so much, Cody and Emily, for allowing us to tag along. We needed it and the kids loved every minute of it.