Wednesday, July 6, 2011

outdoor adventures!

last weekend, we took jack camping for the first time!  it was so perfect, we booked more reservations for a total of FOUR camping trips this summer.  fun, fun, fun (+fun)!  sorry for the abundance of pictures, since i don't document any other way these days, the blog will be very picture heavy!

we accidentally booked the BEST family tent-only camping site right by a beautiful lake with great weather, hiking, and scenery:
tees, shorts, and flippities until about 9pm
then the boys just added a fleece - gorgeous!
we hiked in the morning and evening, beautiful.

union valley reservoir near ice house road on highway 50
btw, it snowed again the next week and ski lifts were OPEN on the 4th of july!
wildness.
after our morning hikes, we made breakfast, chilled by the campfire, and waited for the sun to warm up.

turkey sausage and pancakes
then we headed down to the lake for swimming, sand castles, and relaxing.  every site was sold out so there were a ton of families there, but we hiked a few minutes along the shore to a very secluded sand beach where we spent our days.
the lake was freezing (snow melt!), but the boys really loved it
i spent my time in the sun, reading 'shopaholic + baby'
intellectual reads are prefect for camping ;)
we hiked up for a quick lunch and a little nap for jack (he slept after a brief car ride to get more ice - it was super helpful for our evening!).  after relaxing a little at our site
have to document all of it, right :)
we made dinner (with the help of a movie on the ipad), ate, played games, and made my FAV s'mores:
candyland!!
(these are the best for kiddos and traveling!)
our tent set-up
pete is an amazing campfire-maker.
go boy scouts!!
jack starting to fade
but totally loving it!
taking a turn at toasting
he skipped the crackers
straight for the marshmallow (on face!) and chocolate
i pretty much shock most people when they hear i went/go camping.  here's the deal:  i love the mountains and bodies of water.  especially those that have sweet beaches and warm weather (these are my requirements when booking camping reservations.  warm?  water?  i'm in!).  also, s'mores are my most favorite dessert in the world - and they just don't taste nearly as sweet anywhere but a camp site.  now that jack's three, camping is EASY.  i know it sounds ridiculous, but pete loves the cooking and setting up.  (i double checked that fact to make sure i wasn't ditching responsibilities and he said that that's what camping is all about to him!  yessssss.)  add in not having to sweep the floors, do that many dishes, and a weekend off of laundry and i'm sold.  super sold.  we're heading out to union valley again this weekend, can't wait to see what this site will bring!!  we'll be on the other side of the reservoir to check that side out :)  i promise not to post as many pictures of the next trip!

2 comments:

Sarah said...

See your kind of camping sounds good. I would try your camping.

By the way when did jack grow up? He's such a little boy now.

info said...

I like the pictures..keep them coming.

PS-Remember when you hated large bodies of water??