Soapstone Day 2

We had a big breakfast of hashbrowns and donuts on Saturday, and then just took it easy around the camp site for a while.  Daddy set up his hammock but didn't even get a turn in it!

Kenzers reading.

And Parker reading, too!  Proof they all really can make it without TV for a little while.

They always love to play some sort of game in the trailer.

In the afternoon, Grandma and Grandpa Arnold drove up and joined us.  Kenzie wasted no time at all showing Grandma the wildflowers she'd collected for her little book.

We drove over to Teapot Lake so the boys could fish.  Cameron was interested for about as long as we figured he'd be, but Parker did patiently keep trying for a long time.

Kenzers brought her water shoes to wade in the lake... suddenly we heard a splash!  She had slipped and fell completely in.  She was just hysterical with laughter.  Thankfully her clothes were in the van, so I hiked back with her, and then we hiked over to the nearest campground so she could have a bathroom to change in.  It was a wet walk for the poor girl, but she mostly just thought it was funny.

Everyone else just enjoyed hanging out, snacking, reading, and fishing the day away.  Nobody caught anything, but a random person did give Parker a fish (already cleaned, even) because she had too many, so he still was able to cook it over the fire and try it with dinner.

I thought this was cute of Cam Buddy.

Back at our camp site, Kenzie started our fire, Grandma and Grandpa headed for home, and we cooked tinfoil dinners.  Cameron and Parker entertained themselves for the longest time with a single ball they'd found in the trunk.  Always fun to see them playing together.

Finally, we got a kick out of this last picture from breakfast Sunday morning before we headed home.  Kenzers is not a morning person!  She laughed at her expression here, too, though.  It was a successful camping trip, and just the break we all needed, and it was also wonderful to come home and shower!

Soapstone Day 1

Friday we packed up the trailer and headed out to go camping for the weekend.  It's always so much work, yet it was so great to disconnect from the crazy world and just go hide in the trees for a few days. 

 Striking a pose when we first arrived.

This was how they wanted to pose, though!

Parker started the fire for dinner.  Here he was just collecting his tinder.   

This was the best picture I could get at dinner with these goofballs.  We always make a pesto cheese dip as an appetizer, and Kenzie and I eat quite a bit but it usually goes mostly uneaten because we can't finish it.  This year Parker decided he liked it, and it all disappeared!  

We laughed at this long string of cheese hanging out of his mouth.  Twelve year old boys are hungry creatures! 

 Cameron loves camping, so he was having a great time running around pretending to be a chipmunk (we saw several chipmunks, and a deer even ran right through the edge of our camp site!).

 Finally, I thought this was cute.  Kenzers hanging out with Mom and Dad after the boys fell asleep.  We kept the campfire going for a long time, and enjoyed looking at all the stars since it was a clear night.  It was a successful day of camping!

4th of July Weekend

Friday Daddy had the day off work, so we all went bowling.  It was fun, but I got my worst scores in years (probably the mask's fault!).  Cameron was hilarious, as always.  He lined up the ramp, then turned around to face his audience, gave us thumbs up, and would bump the ball with his rear end.  He was pleased no matter how many pins he hit.  Parker tried without the bumpers for the first time, with mixed results, but he was determined.  Kenzie was a bit dramatic after every gutter ball, but overall it was fun to get out and do something.

Friday evening we had our first date away in a long time - we picked up Gandolfo's sandwiches and stopped at Vivian Park.  We set up our camping chairs and just watched the stream, and then walked along the trail a bit.

Then we drove to Sundance and took the full moon lift ride.

It was so pretty, and peaceful.  The ski lift was quite smooth and it was cool, but not cold.  We saw two bucks at one point!

Can't really tell in the picture, but the full moon is there.  It was much easier to see in person, but mostly half the fun was the rest of the scenery (well, and catching snippets of conversations as other people passed!  That was entertaining, too).

Saturday we went out to the lake.  Parker and Tatum played on the raft thingy for a long time.

Cameron joined them when he wasn't busy hucking rocks into the lake.  He worked up a huge appetite by the time dinner rolled around!

Kenzie and I sitting on the rock, cooling off our feet in the lake.

I always think everyone looks so silly playing on the VR headset.

The surrounding houses put on a good show.  Many fireworks were directly overhead (a red firework happened to go off right as I took this picture).  The boys ran around with their glow sticks and were totally zany.  Finally about 10:30 Cameron announced he was tired, hugged his grandparents, and headed to the van, so we hurried to pack up!  He was asleep in no time at all as we drove home!  It was a fun weekend!

Planetarium & Miller Refuge

We left the house!  We made our free appointment to walk around the planetarium this morning.  There were maybe 20 other people total, with a third of those being employees.  

At least the kids could spend as long as they wanted at any exhibit!  Parker took the build-a-rocket game quite seriously and made it to space multiple times.  Cameron's rocket blew up on the launch pad, so Parker finally built one for him to fly.  

Even the astronaut is wearing a mask!

A machine went by overhead taking height readings, so Parker had to point out his reading compared to Kenzie's (Cameron was behind Parker, then Kenzie, then me).  He is still enjoying rubbing it in that he's taller.

Then we drove over to the Miller Bird Refuge and took a walk around.  It was nice and shady and followed the creek.

They are sure looking grown up lately!

It was pretty, and nice to just walk around and get some fresh air.

Parker was apparently ready for lunch, as he was always way ahead on the trail!

My cute Cam Buddy.  He threw plenty of rocks into the stream every chance he got!

We had brought lunch in the cooler, and so we set up a picnic not far from the parking lot.  I got a kick out of Cameron with his legs crossed, content to sit outside.  He told us the picnic was a good idea.  Then we drove back home, and the kids all sprawled out in front of the TV totally exhausted.  They are not used to any activity!