Island Park

This year, we headed up to Buffalo camp ground on Sunday morning. We just couldn't wait to start our 8 days of camping! Grandma kept the kids entertained with lots of things to do. They kept busy with scavenger hunts, word searches and she taught them how to make some pretty cool bracelets.

Of course, we had to float the buffalo, even with it being a 2 1/2 hr float, we know how to make it interesting. From stopping to rope swing to keeping Xach from throwing anything and everything into the water, there wasn't a dull moment.

One day we had planned to go into the park and hike to "Fairy Falls". We had been told that it was an easy 3 mile hike and we could take strollers up till the last mile. Heck, that didn't sound too bad, so we packed up lunch and headed out. So, we start walking. I am pushing Mady in the stroller and pretty quick get way ahead of everyone else. I stop when I see a trailhead, not knowing if that is the way that we need to go. I had been walking about 30 mins, so I fugured we had at least gone 2 miles. We decide to take the trailhead, and we end up seeing some little geysers. It started to look like we were going to walk forever. Then we see some people coming towards us. We ask them if we are going the right way. The answer was yes, but we still had at least another hour to go. This was quickly not as fun as I thought it was going to be. We had been walking for almost 2 hrs and decided to stop and have lunch. There was no place to sit or anything, so we just stood out in the open and ate. On the way back, I got ahead of everyone again. Then I started to get nervous that I was going to run into an unmentionable animal. I started forming a plan in my head about what actions I would take to get me and Mady out of there safetly. At one point I even had the small cooler I was carrying, unzipped ready to be thrown so we could make a run for it. Yes, sometimes I think too much.

I love taking pictures of these 2 kids. They crack me up

Thank goodness is the only wildlife we saw!

What would camping be if there wasn't an injury? This one happens to belong to J. At least we didn't have to get stitches this year.

This picture is how I ended up the "hike". Nate and MyLeigh decided to run all the way back, once they hit the trailhead. J didn't want to, so I pushed 2 kids in the stroller through lots of gravel. It was great listening to the conversatition that took place between the 2 of them. J told Mady all about going on a mission and what you do on a mission. He also figured out how old everyone would be when Jax left and when he left. He also talked to Mady about why Xachy's hand is different than everyone elses. His explanation was perfectly simple. "Xachy's hand just didn't form right when he was in his mommy's tummy."

This is our lovely lunch spot. Isn't it beautiful?

The boys are learning to make their bracelets.

They aren't as easily entertained as they seem

Jordan with Jake

Everyone was assigned to help with cooking or cleaning up. J didn't think this was a good idea and wasn't going for it...until I taught him how to cook sausage. From then on out, he was up and helping with breakfast, even if it wasn't his turn. He also did great cleaning up. He is definetly turning into a great camper.