Camping fun

We finally made it out camping this season. We love camping and have ALL the stuff for it but rarely go for some reason. E has been begging us to go, she loves it! I think it's harder to plan a camping trip the more kids you have. We finally made it happen though. It was great that Daddy had a two and a half days off school right before Conference weekend. So we headed out to the camp ground mid-week with some fellow "Dental Student" Friends and we all had a blast. Not a whole lot of sleep the two nights we camped but it was still fun. The best quote from the trip was when we got to the site after over an hour of driving E says to me and C "I want a tent built and I want a fire" in such a "matter of fact" way, well okay Princess! It was funny.

We just stayed two nights and mostly lazed around the fire, played with dirt, sticks and rocks but that is what camping is all about right?! We managed a nice hike which the kids loved even though at the end they were a bit tired, okay really tired but it was fun to be out in nature and get a little exercise at the same time. Camping always makes me miss being out West, some day we'll be back there :)
Lots of pictures.....

She got her tent built and.....

a fire too, what more could she ask for?!

playing with her little people camping set while waiting for us to set up the camp site.

J's first time roasting marshmallows, he loved it!

and enjoying eating it, I love his face/reaction in this picture

you can't roast marshmallows with out making smores

She's so intense when roasting her marshmallows

Daddy lounging around the fire

My most perfectly roasted marshmallow/smore, yum!

E enjoying the hammock and candy

playing with fire, yes we are bad parents and let our daughter play with fire. She was supervised carefully :)

Fun at the park at the camp ground. This girl cracks me up! Look how much fun she was having. I remember being a kid and just loving life. Why is it harder for us as we get older to just enjoy life the way it is?!

my cute boy at the park. I just wanna kiss those chubby cheeks!

E having fun on the hike with her two new buddies

They were all so cute together having fun running through the forest and finding "big problems" and figuring out how to solve them like "a big tree branch blocking our way, and finding a way over it." It was a fun hike. It got a little challenging towards the end for the kids but it was still fun.

We let J walk most of the easy parts of the tail but he just gets too distracted and is SUPER slow. So after a while we put him in the pack. He was NOT happy about it at first.....

then he got to where he quite enjoyed being carried, so much so.......

that by the end of the hike he fell asleep. So cute!

at the end of the hike Daddy some how still had enough energy to climb a big tree and he certainly impressed his daughter and me too ;)

I am so glad we got to go even if it was just once this year we wanted to make it happen for the kids' sake any way. Thanks to our friends for coming with us last minute it's always fun with more people to share it with, the more the merrier right?!