We...
...went on walks. We trekked the nature trail quite a few time. It's a pleasant, shaded walk with a lot of fun things to see. Grandpa loves the nature trail. When Kate would get fussy in the afternoon, he would take her to the nature trail. (We really did a lot of walking. Why are most of these pictures of us sitting?) Luckily for Kate, Mom found these super cute pink hiking boots at DI for $2 before the trip. Unfortunately they are none too big, but they were perfect for this camping trip.
...played games. One of the best parts of camping is the games. We played many games, the favorite being Mexican Train Dominoes and Settlers of Catan. Enoch and Gavin loves playing dominoes with Grandma and Grandpa. Enoch is quite a good player. This is the first time I legitimately beat Jarom at Settlers. Okay, he gave me some great advice to start the game and then made some risky moves at the end of the game (maybe he let me win), but I still did win, so I'm claiming it as a victory because I've never even come close to beating him.
...played with fire. I don't know what it is about fire, but boys just love it. All boys. No matter the age. Mom and I would just shake our heads when it was time to build the fire. Geesh. They would get it as big as they could. And then poke sticks at it for the next couple of hours. And be entertained. Ooookay. Enoch did sustain an injury - a burned finger from the tip of the fire-stirring stick.
...ate really good food. I love camping food. Of course, I camp with my Mom. If you don't eat well camping, go with my Mom. She brought her special brownies. They are so good. The special part: my mom can make four different kinds of brownies in the same pan. Magic! She makes 1/4 brownies with chocolate frosting, 1/4 brownies with mint and chocolate frosting, 1/4 nut brownies with chocolate frosting and 1/4 nut brownies with mint and chocolate frosting. Everyone is happy! We also had our traditional chocolate topped rice krispies treat. We have to have them when we camp. Greg did some incredible dutch oven dinners - chicken cordon bleu and calzones. They were so good. Yummy!
...rode bikes and scooters. It is wonderfully exhilarating to zoom around the campground loop. It is just fun. Enoch had a blast riding his bike. He finally is stable enough on his bike for it to be very fun. He rode and rode and rode. He make friends riding his bike. He found a bike hill to go up and down. He had such a great time. The scooters were also very fun. Poor Kate would try to keep up with Enoch while she was riding her scooter. She couldn't quite do it, but had fun trying. The kids loved riding Greg's scooter with Dad. We were all diligent in wearing our helmets. Even Dad, who got teased for wearing his over his baseball cap!
...slept in a tent. It really wasn't that bad. We had cots, pads and great sleeping bags. I will say, though, that I really enjoyed my bed when I got home!
...watched it rain. All afternoon. Oh well. Most people played games in the trailer. I took a nap in the car.
...were obsessed with sticks. My kids had to have a stick in their hands at all times - walking sticks, fire sticks, play sticks. It was almost comical. Good thing there were a lot of sticks at the campground. (Gavin doing his Star Wars sand people impersonation. It a little concerning at how well he can make the sound they do.)
...took naps where we could.
...went fishing. Greg and I aren't big fishers, so our kids have not had many experiences fishing. Luckily, Grandma and Grandpa took pity on our kids and took them to the river to fish. Gavin did pretty well with his casting and Enoch did pretty well frustrating Grandma. Grandpa caught a small fish, let Kate pet it (she didn't like it because it wasn't soft) and threw it back.
...played (and pouted) in the dirt. Why not? We're camping. Let's get as dirty as we can.
...loved sitting around the fire. Isn't that the perfect part of camping? We talked, laughed, made s'mores and just enjoyed the warmth of the fire. It was so great to be together in the evening just relaxing.
...watched the hummingbirds. We always put out a hummingbird feeder near our campsite. This year the hummingbirds were quite plentiful. There always seemed to be at least one around the feeder, sometimes as many as seven or eight. The kids got a huge kick out of it. Gavin tried to catch one and Enoch almost did by accident. They didn't seem too afraid of us.
...smelled the Ponderosa Pines. No kidding - they smell like vanilla. They campground always smells like sugar cookies.
...got hurt. Just Enoch. Does that surprise any of us? My kids know to wear their helmets while riding bikes or scooters. My parents reinforced that when they told the story of my cousin, Stuart. He had a terrible crash at Yellowpine on his bike and lost his short-term memory. One afternoon Enoch was riding his scooter down the slight hill from the fire pit to the trailer. He was not wearing a helmet! He fell and hit his forehead on the concrete. He wasn't a bad fall, but he did have a little scrape. A bit later, he climbed up on my lap and said, "Mom, I still have my mind. I didn't lose my mind like Stuart." We all got a kick out of that.
...played at the Stillwater dam. I can't really say why everyone else thinks this is fun, but they all just love it. We always drive up to the dam and throw rocks in the water. Really, really big rocks. Such entertainment. Greg and Jarom hefted the biggest rocks, but Gavin wasn't far behind.
...didn't lose Enoch. That was the most surprising part of the trip. I gave all the kids a whistle when we got there and told them to sit down and blow it if they lost their way. By that night, all the whistles were lost (but, remarkably, we found all three whistles while we were unpacking). The best way to keep track of Enoch was by walkie-talkie. He thought those were fabulous. Good thinking, grandparents!
...had fun! Such fun! We love Yellowpine.
6 comments:
What a cute post!! I so missed Yellow Pine and camping with the family this year. Little Marcus wants to come next year so we will be there!!
where is Yellow Pine? I so want to go there...looks fun! I need to pick your brain for new camping spots..we didn't go at ALL this year. Didn't go 4 wheeling either---can you 4 wheel there?
This post brought back a lot of good memories. Our family hasn't been back in 9 years, so we should try to change that next summer. I'm surprised there are still rocks to throw into the river. Seems like we threw them all.
It looks like you had a wonderful time. There is something about sticks, rocks and fire that turn any male of any age back into a 6 year old...why is that?
Thanks Tresa for such a wonderful post of the trip, you do such a wonderful time of showing everything. We look forward to many more outings with all the family.
LOVE DAD
Love it, love it, love it! (Both Yellow Pine and the post). What a great time we had and we're glad we're back in the Yellow Pine tradition again. I'm also glad that Enoch still has his "mind."
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