our labor day campout

[warning: wordy and travel log like ... sorry]

because camping is such an event, i prefer to go for more than one night! our original plan was to go from friday to monday ... then a wonderful man in our ward passed away and we wanted to attend the memorial service and help with the family's lunch ... so we couldn't leave until saturday afternoon.

you may be wondering why we were camping without our friends ... why this is 'our' instead of 'the shawright' labor day campout - among the reasons are: the wrights were all camped-out for this year, the unstable weather and the mommy wright is a wussy ... {did i just say that out loud?}

the weather is always a factor in these parts and we were warned that it might not be the best weekend to camp ... but i was determined to go and so we went! we arrived and set up camp and while we were getting the last of our home away from home prepared, ammon spotted a van coming into camp that looked like the wright's van. we hollered at him that it wasn't them and to come back ... he said, "it is, it's travis, i can see him!!"

"they aren't coming, get back here!!"

and then the van turned in our direction ... lo and behold - it was the wrights!! they hadn't been able to figure out what to do for labor day weekend and so decided to come up for a visit, some play time, zip-line and s'mores!! it was SO great to have them there - it's just not fun camping by ourselves!

the fire was wonderful, the stars were out and the s'mores were sticky - i asked them several times if they wanted to stay but they hadn't brought any of their stuff and nicki was perfectly fine driving home late - as long as she got to sleep in her own bed!

when our friends headed home, we drove up to the flusher toilet/shower and washed the kids feet and helped them don their pjs. the night was short for andy and i ... his machine only worked until 3:30ish and then the battery was dead {let the snoring commence}. easton kept rolling off the air mattress and the cold woke him so i brought him onto our bed and then i couldn't get back to sleep. i finally decided to go into the van at about 5:30 to try and get some sleep, unfortunately our van isn't designed for comfortable sleeping!! by 7 the sun was up and so were the kids ... and so we had to get up! after breakfast we reminded the kids that it was sunday, which meant no zip-line (campground rules) and that while we're camping we can still remember jesus and read scriptures and think about all the wonderful things that heavenly father has given us. we had a 'testimony meeting' and talked about families, went for a walk down by the river and threw some rocks in. then easton threw one that hit abi in the head ... peaceful walk done. we ate lunch and it was time for naps ... we were missing a few things (had forgotten them at home) and so for naptime decided to drive the 25 miles home to collect them. on our way back to camp it started to rain - oh no! i had left the tent windows unzipped to let it air out a little!! when we arrived at our campsite we could see looming dark clouds and hear thunder ... we hurried to close up the tent and get our chairs under cover. did i mention that we were camped next to a covered pavilion? if push came to shove we could huddle in there and wait out the storm!

our friends, alicia and james and his boys showed up just as we were getting dinner prepared. they said that it had been POURING in kirkland ... we were prepared for the worst. we had lightning, thunder, big dark clouds, cold wind gusts ... and not a drop of rain! it completely missed us!!

dinner was delicious - chicken and carrots covered with cream of chicken soup and sour cream in the dutch oven over boiled potatoes, watermelon, and chips ... mmmmm! dessert was even better - alicia was in charge and we made icecream! it was so yummy and we learned 2 things: alicia's always right and teamwork! she even brought brownies and oreo topping! it was YUMMY! i was amazed that we were able to make icecream while we were camping!! after icecream we gathered around the fire for some fire-staring and to listen to james tell a few stories.

sunday night sleeping wasn't much better than saturday night - andy slept in the van so the rest of us could sleep ... easton slept on my mattress with me, he was nice and cozy warm but my mattress had a slow leak and i was hitting the ground ... everybody else slept great! i finally gave in at 6:30 ... i had to pee, couldn't sleep anymore and wanted to get the fire started ... so i snuck out of the tent. andy's throat was sore and swollen from snoring so hard in the night and he came out of the van around the same time i came out of the tent. the kids slept until almost 8:30. we made a big breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, french toast, bacon, sausage, and eggs - seriously ... we ate like kings this trip!

we cleaned up from breakfast and went up to the zip-line! {it is located near the flusher toilet, making the jaunt double duty!} we went in order from youngest to oldest taking turns ... there were only 2 injuries - ammon didn't get out of the line of fire ... we all saw it happening in slow motion and couldn't get to him fast enough ... the zip-line seat caught him right in the back of his head slamming his face to the ground and elyssa was standing too close when grey caught the rope to drag the swing back up the zip-line and it knocked her in the head just above her ear.
after everyone that needed to used the flusher, we headed back to camp to clean up, pack up, and head home!
james entertained the kids building a 'boat' to float down the river while andy and i loaded up our stuff - he was a lifesaver ... it was great to have the kids out of the way! the boat was awesome and it made it through the 'rapids' but got caught in the duldroms so james and the boys decided that they'd be pirates and sink it instead!! it was so great of alicia to bring the entertainment! after we were locked and loaded we posed for one last group picture and piled in and headed home!

what a great campout {minus the sleeping part} it was an awesome weekend!!

first day of school here we come!