After lunch on Friday we hit the road for a quick camping trip with our Sunday school class. We couldn't arrive until 3pm, so our family decided to do a hike that was sort of in the general vicinity. The directions we had weren't very good, but we found the trailhead after quite a few miles of gravel roads. Elliott slept almost the whole way there and it was a fairly scenic drive in an area we've never really explored. We hiked to Aldous Lake and the trail is part of the Continental Divide Trail. It was 1.3 miles in.
After hiking back out we found our way to the campground and I cooked dinner while Jim got the tent set up. Luckily Elliott liked sitting (strapped in) in his little highchair and watching everyone in camp while we hurried to get dinner made and everything set up. The kids had a great time with their friends and although Elliott requires constant supervision and chasing, we still had a fun time. Elliott slept pretty well in the tent, staying in his "bed" for about half the night and then getting into my sleeping bag. He was hilarious when he woke up (not until 7:30!) and looked around trying to figure out where he was. He got really excited when he spotted Ezra in his sleeping bag and then asked me where Emmett was. I pointed to the other side of the tent and his face lit up to see that he had slept in the tent with his whole family. Jim needed to be in town Saturday morning to do video for the worship team practice so he left after breakfast. Emmett and Ezra hiked and played all morning and I went on a hike with some friends and a bunch of kids, even recruiting another dad to carry Elliott in the hiking backpack. We had lunch and afterwards I attempted to get Elliott down for a nap, but we ended up just resting. There were a few activities for the kids like painting rocks and assembling campfire cones (ice cream cones with lots of filling options that are wrapped in foil and cooked in the fire).Emmett hiked some more, and we think he hiked nearly 9 miles over the weekend. Jim got back in the early afternoon. Dinner was a potluck of appetizers and sides and we roasted hot dogs and had campfire cones for dessert. We left not too long after dessert so that Jim could be at the church in the morning. It was nice to get home to hot showers and our own beds (I couldn't believe how dirty the boys were after just one day), but for as much work as it is to get everything ready for camping, and then cleaning everything and putting it away, I hope our next camping trip is a little bit longer.
All three boys have been enjoying drawing, I'm trying to remember to get out art supplies for them more as they show a little bit of interest.
1 comment:
Sounds like a really fun weekend & such a sweet account of Elliott waking up in the tent! Beautiful pictures by the lake. The boys showing more of an interest in art sounds fun, maybe we can do some of that here. Looking forward to you all coming!
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