Off to YW Camp!

Thursday, July 16, 2015

Because our stake did a Pioneer Trek this year, they only did a short, 2-night camp for YW camp (apparently there have been some years where they don't do a camp at all - which I think is a bummer for the 12 & 13 year olds that aren't allowed on trek). Blondie was super excited/nervous to go and M&M was excited to have her younger sister there with her. They met up on Thursday morning and then returned Saturday afternoon.

Girls Camping Adventure!

July 8 & 9, 2015

So while DH and Luke were on the High Adventure Camp, I had the crazy idea to take the girls camping! They ask about it all the time and once Kay asked if girls could go camping - since she has really only seen her dad and brother go!

So Wednesday afternoon we packed up all of our camping gear and food and headed to Mirror Lake. I have never camped here before but from what I could tell online it was a nice campsite and I was a little familiar with the area since we have hiked here several times.

I think the camp hosts were a little impressed to see a mom out there with a bunch of girls, setting up a tent and making a campfire! We got there and found a campsite that looked decent and not too far from the bathrooms and then we set up our tent. After that we went for a hike around the lake and then bought some firewood from the camp hosts and then ate some dinner and attempted to start a fire. Unfortunately it had been raining some when we first got there so a lot of the wood was wet and hard to burn. We got a small fire started but had a hard time keeping it going. We were able to roast some marshmallows and make some s'mores which the girls enjoyed. We then went to bed in the tent and proceeded to freeze most of the night! I had brought all of the sleeping bags and pads that we had and had even brought all of the extra blankets that we could, but it got super cold that night! Plus it rained most of the night and by the time we got up in the morning we were starting to get some puddles in the tent!

I didn't sleep very well because I was so concerned about the girls being warm enough - especially MJ who was sleeping right next to me and kept moving around and rolling out of her blankets!

We originally had the plan to stay two nights if the girls wanted to but with how cold and wet everything got that first night we decided to pack everything up and head home in the morning. Once we made it home we had to hang everything out to dry on our deck. The sun felt so warm at our house though!!

It was a fun experience and I'm glad that we did it. And I know I surprised DH when he found out!

Some cows alongside the road on Mirror Lake Hwy.

Kay walking back to the campsite.

Hiking around the lake - the poses that the younger two make crack me up!

And of course we have to stop along the way to throw rocks into the water!

Our campfire

High Adventure Camp

July 7-11, 2015

This was Luke's first year going on a High Adventure Camp with scouts. DH decided it would be a good experience to go with him so he took the time off work and went as well. They went to Moab, UT and camped out in tents and did mountain biking (in the middle of July!). We were very nervous about what the temperatures would be like for them down there! Thankfully it was one of the coolest weeks temperature wise that they have ever had in July! I guess our prayers paid off - DH does not like the heat!

So although they had some nice(r) temperatures for July, they also had a few torrential rainstorms while they were there! They would have a nice morning/early afternoon and then the clouds would come in and it would just pour on them for 10-20 minutes. They did a little bit of hiking, went on a couple of mountain biking trips and went river rafting as well.

We bought Luke a new bike before they left - he had outgrown his old bike several years ago... DH and Luke traded off riding the new bike and an older one that they borrowed from someone in the ward. Unfortunately Luke had a spectacular crash that bent up the bike a little and gave him several battle wounds. Thankfully nothing too serious and DH was able to take the bike into town to get it fixed before their next ride.

There was one storm in particular that caused quite a bit of damage to the campsite and equipment. DH was at camp with several of the boys (including Luke) while the other leaders took the rest of the boys into town. While they were gone a very violent squall hit the campsite and damaged several of the tents and shade canopies. There are some pictures below that can give you a little bit of an idea of the extent of it.  They also had a rainstorm hit them while they were river rafting!

Getting ready for one of the bike rides.

Playing some hacky sack

A storm on the horizon

The squall hits!

Some hail mixed in with the rain!

Some awesome looking clouds!

A morning devotional

Luke in front of an arch

Winter Klondike Scout Camp

January 16-17, 2015

A lot of the presents that DH got for Christmas this year were warm weather gear so that he could go with the scouts on their winter Klondike camp out in January. He was not super excited about it but I knew that if he had the right gear it would make the experience a little less painful for him! :)

They left on Friday afternoon and setup camp and then there were some activities that the boys participated in on Saturday morning before they left for home. Both DH and Luke survived the experience and no one froze. DH ended up sleeping in our van because they had more boys than they had anticipated and were short a tent. (And if I have any of these details incorrect, hopefully DH or Luke will correct me!)

Here are a few pictures that DH took:

Scout Camp 2014

July 21-26

Luke's scout troop went to Camp Steiner in the Uintah Mountains this year for scout camp.  My dad remembers going there when he was a scout!  Luke had some awesome scout/YM leaders that we are going to miss - as well as several of the scouts too!  Here are a couple of pictures of the group before they left:

YW Camp 2014

July 9-12

I was able to go to YW Camp again with M&M this year.  This year I was able to go and stay for the whole time.  It was a lot of fun!  We did river rafting, rifle shooting and horseback riding - in addition to all of the usual camp stuff!  The weather was pretty good except for one evening where a huge storm came up quickly and it POURED for a good 45 minutes or so.  We were tent camping so everyone went and sat in the car until the storm passed.

I was put in charge of one of the crafts that we made - washer necklaces.  I don't have any pictures from camp but when I get to it I will take some pictures of the ones that I made and describe how we did them.  They turned out really cute and the YW LOVED making them.

Thanks to DH who worked some from home and to my parents who helped out as well.  Also thanks to Luke for helping out at home too.

Overnight scout camp

September 20-21

The scouts needed another father to go with them and help drive and chaperone on a camp out so DH volunteered to go.  As far as scout overnighters, this was a pretty easy one.  They went to a cabin owned by a family member of one of the scout leaders, but to fulfill the camping part they had the boys sleep outside on the deck...  The leaders slept in the cabin.  DH had a hard time I think just with the boys in general.  It can be a hard age for boys and we have a couple of interesting individuals in the group - and it is a pretty large group too.  Here are a few pictures that DH took of it.  I only found one that actually had Luke in it.

The green sleeping bag with the plaid in the foreground is Luke's.  He is not in the picture though.