Thursday, September 9, 2010

Camping part 2 ~ Grand Canyon

Upon leaving Zion, we drove a few hours to the north rim of the Grand Canyon.  I visited the south rim plenty as a child, but never the north rim.  It looks pretty much the same!

We had originally booked a single camp site because we were going to bring Bailey, but upon arrival, we and a few other families jumped onto the group site (no dogs allowed) instead (all the other families with dogs boarded them as well).  It was awesome!  We had a giant area complete with 3 fire pits, 3 picnic tables and a sewer pipe running below.  We kept feeling booms and after a few ridiculous theories on what they were, we finally asked.  The jokes about the poo running below our site never got old....are we adults or what?

Our fun campsite.  
We had 5 families and a total of 20 people.  
We were told our tent is the Duggar tent-the one with the yellow rain fly.  Its pretty big.


6 of the 8 kids. 
The other two were too small and innocent to be involved in the dinner time shenanigans.


Kylie and J.  After their first meeting and few hours together a couple of weeks back, they declared to be each others new best friend and J called Kylie his "girlfriend" to his mom.  Its super cute, but Jonathan heeded plenty of warning to J and his dad.  Here they are playing Yahtzee.


Look at these blue-eyed beauties!  
Juliet and the other little girl are 1 month apart in age (both peanuts), however big D, being only 14 mos. old most likely outweighs them and wears bigger clothes.

We usually ate meals at the same time with the other families and were never in a food shortage.  The first morning we had a fully "catered" pancake breakfast.  The instant coffee wasn't half bad either.

The next morning we took a hike along the rim to the lodge.  The girls did well considering it was about 3.5 miles round trip, and unlevel a lot of the way.

J & Kylie again on the start of our hike...at one point they were looking over the rim with their arms around each other.  No one got their cameras out quick enough.


Us at an overlook.  
Why the girls cannot look at the camera is beyond me.  Its always right in front of them!


Stopping to do a little dead tree climbing.


Of course its way more magnificent in person.

 
Enjoying the view from a bench.  Kylie is singing, maybe??


At the lodge.  A better attempt a picture.


I got very sick to my stomach when the girls got close to the edge to look over.  I guess since becoming a mom those things just bug me a lot more than when I was a kid.  And no, I didn't plan their outfits.  I packed one kid at a time (we had a 70 degree temp change so I packed a lot of clothes), and had you seen me in the morning getting the girls dressed in a mad dash to get them out of the tent to take them potty, you'd know I didn't plan it.  But it makes for cute pictures!


Just a tad windy up here at 8000 feet.


Planning something mischievous, I'm sure.


The hike back seemed much longer than the way out and the girls fell often, so here they are skipping with Jonathan singing their rendition of "A Spoonful of Sugar" and how it "Makes The Trail Go By Faster".

We hadn't done a squadron camping trip since our Wild Boar days back in Idaho and it was so much fun.  We are planning one for the spring to another nearby campground.  Our squadron here is tiny but filled with wonderful people.

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

Camping part 1 ~ Zion National Park

We took our first tent camping trip (in a very long time) over Labor Day Weekend.  I was a little nervous since I got accustom to our camper, but we sold it before laving Florida, so it was back to roughing it.  We opted not to take Bailey, and instead board her (which I've never done) and it was a good decision!  She would have loved it, but we had no room for her in the van, and keeping her on a leash the whole time (Nation Park rules) would have been annoying for her and us because she whines when she's wearing it.  

We began the trip with a stop on the side of the road in Arizona somewhere to do a little shooting.  The big girls got in a little Red Ryder action.  Jonathan has had his BB gun since he was a kid.




Then Jonathan unloaded on his laptop.  It deserved it.  It messed up one of his briefs for work and its been slow anyway...it was time for its quick departure.
First he took his .357 to it.


Then his new 12 gauge shotgun that he got for Weapons School graduation last year.


Aahh, he feels much better now.


Bishop helped put the laptop out of its misery as well, and then the guys did some skeet shooting.


Oh wait, lets blow up the laptop again!


I don't think it'll start up anymore.


The kids were safe and sound (and cool!) in the van watching a movie while the big boys did their manly shooting.
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We then headed to Zion National Park to camp at the Watchman Campground.  We booked only a few weeks ago and got back to back sites which worked perfectly for hanging out and eating meals together.

Making the girls earn their keep!




Good work ladies.


Our sites...Jacob's on the left and we are on the right.


Why the heck would we waste our Oreo's on the animals?

After setting up camp, we walked across a few campsites to the river.

Daddy helping Juliet over a puddle.


Cooling off.


Ava is the bravest of all 3 girls.  She climbed up this tree quickly and without hesitation. She's very much her father's daughter!


Kylie was thrilled to see frogs again!  Its been a few months since she held a slimy creature in her hands.


Babying my baby.


We all hung around this part of the river, but the muddier parts would grab onto our flip flops....


...and here is Kylie bawling after she fell in.  Mommy was upset too.  I hate my kids this dirty!!


Pouting and muddy.  I would have done the same thing.  She is her mother's daughter.


Ava can get some good air when jumping.


On the way back to our site, we saw this squirrel getting ready to salt his margarita glass.


After dinner (fish tacos with the halibut Jonathan and Bishop caught in Alaska last week), the kids were ready for S'mores.  Ava's new trick is looking cross eyed.  She's really good at it!


Getting the perfect marshmallow.


Time for deliciousness!!


So excited!!


Mmmmm....

After a VERY windy night, Jonathan got up and fixed us all his grandmas fried french toast.  It certainly isn't healthy and its messy to make, so camping is the perfect place to do so.

That giant pan is filled with oil.


Yum!

After breakfast, Jonathan threw the baseball around with the girls.


 Kylie catching the ball.


And throwing it.  Good form!


Ava's turn.  
She greatly increased her frisbee skills this trip too.



After packing up, we headed out of the park and onto the north rim of the Grand Canyon to meet up with a few other families from the squadron.
I took a few shots of the park while we waited to go through the tunnels on the way out.




God saw all that He had made, and it was very good ~ Genesis 1:31