Camping 10/14/11

We had the opportunity to go camping this last weekend.  It doesn't happen very often that it is not too hot, not too cold, and we have the kids on a Friday.  It is very rare, in fact.  This last weekend, however, everything lined up perfectly.  I spent many hours preparing, CK took off from work early and helped and I took the kids out of school a little early and we were off!!!  The above picture of C fishing at sunset is my favorite picture.

Sunset on the lake....so beautiful!  We really had the best campsite ever!  :)

This is K and J out wading in the lake.  It was warm and beautiful.  After much begging, I even got in with them for a bit.  :)

I used two different cameras this trip so the pictures are a little out of order.  This is K carrying the ladder ball stuff back to the car from the campsite (it was hike in).

But this one, however, is on our way to finding which campsite is ours.

Of course a couple of setting up the tent.  In my adult life, I have never gone camping and not been the one to set up the tent, not once.  But....my boys took care of it for me this time.

All of this is part of our campsite.  You can see the covered picnic table in the distance and I am standing out a little bit in front of the tent.  It was huge!

This was also part of our campsite.....a private access to the lake.  Very cool.

This state park also had loner fishing poles and tackle and no permit was needed to fish within the park.  Very cool.  I have never been, but CK loves it!  He didn't know if there would be fishing so he didn't bring his equipment.  CK caught many fish and both C and K each caught a fish or two.  They really enjoyed it!

My sister and I successfully planned a surprise for the kids.  They could not camp with us, but came up and we played around and did dinner together.  None of our kids, hers or mine, knew anything about it.  The above picture is of her kids running to meet mine when they arrived and found out what they were doing.

The moon on the lake was so pretty.  I had also purchased light sticks for all the kids and they loved twirling them and throwing them.  This picture (below) turned out pretty cool.  :)

Finally, there were a million spiders everywhere with huge webs like this one.  I think that all this heat for so many months has left the campground relatively empty and the spiders just took over.

We did have another guest that I don't have a picture of:  at least one skunk LOVED to be in our campsite.  He wasn't really scared of humans, but we were scared of him.  No one wanted to cut our trip short with that horrid smell!!!

It was a great weekend.  I couldn't have asked for a better one.  I am soooooooooo blessed.

Still Catching Up....Heading Home After the Wedding

The honeymoon was over, it was time to head home.  We picked up A first and spent the night with CK's sister, M.  We had a great time and I am so impressed with her family.

The next morning, we headed down from Idaho to Utah, where we picked up K, C, and J and then took A to meet her mom.  Here they all are, playing with their cousins one last time.

Then we began the drive to Colorado. It was beautiful.  Even thought I drive to Utah from Colorado every summer, I usually take a different route since it is closer to family.  It has been about 8 years since I drove this way.  WOW!  The beauty is amazing.  It just goes to show how much God loves us.

We stopped at a rest area right off the river.  It was so beautiful.

I love this action shot of J throwing the rock in the river.

Finally....I looked behind me and what did I see?  All three of the children doing something electronic to occupy their time.  Hmmm....trips for me as a kid?  Books.  Coloring Books.  Sightseeing.  That was it.  I have to admit, though, that as tired as they were by this point, I was grateful for the distractions.

The next day, we went with my parents and brother to Boulder, Colorado.  I grew up near here, but my kids have grown up without mountains and they were just in awe.

We stopped at NCAR, where they have a research center, but they also have interactive science exhibits.  It was fun.

There are also many trails right from NCAR through the mountains near Boulder.   We had a few minutes, so we hiked a little.  It was a hot day, so we didn't stay out long.

That same weekend, the kids played outside in my parents' backyard.  I didn't take a picture of it, but it is a LARGE yard, full of grass and trees.  The kids love to climb the trees and also find some dirt to play with the trucks in.  :)

CK and I had the opportunity to visit with A, my best friend, and her husband, CH.  I love them both.  We went bowling and out for pie.  It was a great evening and we laughed and laughed.  The boys ended up bowling extremely well-I think it was the competition factor kicking in.  :)

We also went to visit my dear friends, J and N.  They moved from here to a home that is minutes away from my parents'.  Awesome.  At least we get to visit.   Here...I am not sure what C is doing, but he looks like he is having fun!

Here are the four kiddos:  K, C, Q, and J.

Q loved C and he loved her.  I have a half dozen pictures of the two of them just smiling at each other.  Maybe she is the reason that C wants a baby sister.

Finally, we got home.  And....look what we found as we came in????  One of my dearest friends, J, had contacted our pet sitter and left us a welcome home present.  It seriously MADE MY DAY!  It was one of the nicest surprises EVER!  What a great welcome.

And...Finally...I am getting caught up.....there is still more to come, but at least I am up to August 8, 2011!!!!  Just two months behind.  LOL.

5K? Or Was it?

C ran his first 5K on Saturday.  It was for a foundation established by the family of a little girl that passed away with a rare type of brain tumor.  Our elementary school supports this foundation every year.  All the 5th graders were invited to train for the race by practicing with one of the teachers after school.  About 8 kids decided to do this.  C was one of them.  He ran in 100 degree heat at 3 pm every day and he loved it.  He trained and trained and trained.

Finally, the big day was here.  He was excited and ready.  The teachers and students that were around all commented on how C was fast and how he was the one that ran the whole way at practice.

 Here he is right before the race.  :)

 And, they are off!!!

And then, we waited and waited and waited.  The first runners came back at about 16 minutes, but there were not very many.

And, then more and more came back.

The girls that trained with C came back, all saying that C was ahead of them, yet no C.

Hmm...odd.

One of the teachers that is a runner came back and said that the course was not well marked and she had run at least an extra .4 of a mile.

Hmm...30 minutes....35 minutes...40 minutes....

The principal that walked/jogged the whole thing came back.  No C.

The teachers started to talk about how the male teachers hadn't come back yet and last year they ran it in 26 minutes.  Hmm...odd.

People that definitely walked the whole thing came back.  Pregnant women pushing strollers came back.  No C.

45....50....55 minutes.... No C and no teachers.  Hmmmm....

C's dad started to worry that he'd been abducted.  Because the teachers weren't back either, I started to worry that C had twisted or broken his ankle and that they were carrying him back.

Finally, at about 58 minutes....he comes running in!!!

We found out that the path was not clearly marked and most of the lead pack went the wrong way.  They estimate that they were off course about 2 miles.  C said he ran the entire way, stopping only for a few seconds when they realized they were off course and turned around. 

He was disappointed, yet I was still proud of him.  He ran much further than the race for which he had trained.  He kept going even when he knew that his being gone for so long would mean he did not have a super race time.  I am one proud Mama.

Now, I hope he finds other physical things to do with his time.  This daily raced training he did really helped him to be happy and have a great attitude.

One final note:  At school yesterday, they presented him with a medal.  I guess that after he left and they did the ceremony that he placed 2nd in his division (0-10 boys), so a teacher got it and brought it to him.  I saw many boys cross before him, but perhaps they were 11 or 12.  Either that or they realized the race course errors and were able to re-calculate.  I don't know, but it is very cool that after all the work and all the frustration and all the heartache that he came away with a medal.