Thursday, July 31, 2014

A Whole Lot of Work for a Bad Night's Sleep - aka Camping

I am a self-proclaimed "indoor" girl.    I know - who admits that?   Well, I do!   I go for a walk every morning and I do love being outside with family, etc., but I love sleeping in my bed, putting clean kids to bed in clean beds, etc.   So, not surprisingly, I don't do much camping.

But!  This summer, my brother Rich found a reservation available at Heber Valley Girl's Camp in Heber, Utah for one night, so we decided to go!   It was really, really fun - but oh my, so much work!  The Church owns and runs the camp, so it is very clean and well kept.   There were great cabins to sleep in, a pavilion with tables, refrigerators, electricity, etc.  So, not roughing it, but about my style of camping.   Our problem is though that because we had to bring sleeping pads/gear for 8 people - we were absolutely packed in the Suburban.  It was more full then it was a month previous when we drove to CA for a week!

But - it was really great!   We got there about 2:00 and had reservations on the lake first.  We had some rain storms hit on and off that afternoon, but it really helped keep the temperature cool and the bugs away.  Here are the awesome canoers!







 (for the record...I really do think Jack will hate all the faces that he makes in every picture - maybe not soon, but some day).
 
 Here's Jon trying to get us kicked off the lake...
 






 

After being in the canoe's, we had reservation for a "challenge course."  We put on all the gear/helmets/etc. and each took a turn.  Hailey & Sophia were too little to climb, but they still let them be strapped on and do some swinging.
 









 Sophia absolutely loved it!
 



Once we got back to camp, my parents had arrived.  We played games and visited.  Jon and I were in charge of dinner, so we had brought up a roast to cook in the crockpot for French dip sandwiches, fruit, chips and green beans.     The kids had fun watching for squirrels.  Hailey & Sophia found their own fun with plastic cups and tissues.  Becky Cowden & Richard Olsen got there around dinner time and it was so fun to have them there too!


 


 Trying to start a fire with wet firewood proved to be tricky - but they did it. 
 
 This lady thought she needed a coat  & hat!
 

 I love this picture - Kate, Sophia, Becky & Hannah
 
The kids all slept amazing!  The cabin even got a little hot - we should have opened windows before going to bed.  But, we all slept until 8. 

Sophia had some impressive bed-head.
 


Misty & Rich made us a delicious breakfast - bacons, eggs, pancakes, juice & milk.  Yum!


After breakfast, we spent awhile getting the campsite cleaned.  The couples there describe Heber Valley as a "self-cleaning camp."   Which basically meant - deep spring cleaning after only a one night stay. 

It was a wonderful time and great memories!  Thank you to Misty & Rich for planning and organizing it!

2 comments:

Kirsten said...

That looks so fun!! That's the EXACT place where we did Ammon's family reunion last summer and it is so fun. I didn't realize that's where you guys were going. It's so beautiful up there with all those white Aspen trees and deer. But I agree...so much work!! And those plank beds were so hard without padding for a week!!! ;-) Looks like you had fun...remind me to tell you about that lake sometime and a couple of disobedient Rasmussens... with canoes...at midnight. ;0

Em said...

I am with you on camping. The only reason we do it (maybe every other year) is because the kids LOVE it. It is always fun during the day, but when it comes to (not) sleeping, 1 or 2 nights is max. It does look like you had a really great time!