The kids were awesome and such great campers. Our site was small, but perfect for us. The weather, though a bit cold at night, was great during the day. Here we are setting up camp and getting ready for dinner.
Berlin doing her Vanna White pose, modeling in front of our tents. They boys slept in one and the girls in the other. I think Santa might bring us family tent for Christmas ... we'll see!
We bought glow sticks for the kids to have at night. It was funny to see them all lit up around the campfire.
I love chillin' by the campfire each night. The kids put themselves to bed each night right before it got dark (gotta love that), so Ryan and I got to enjoy the campfire together and just talk the night away.
On Saturday we went up to Silver Lake and hiked up to Twin Lakes. Round-trip it's only about a 3 mile hike, which is perfect for our kids. The first little bit is fine as you climb above Silver Lake through the Aspens. But then you get to the rocky and steep part of the trail. This is where it got boring for the kids, which led to a little whining. The lake at the top is nice and we chilled out for a bit on the rocks and shore. I don't like that everything up Cottonwood is watershed protected (no swimming or entering the water). Finley wanted to get in so bad. Despite being told not to, he found a way to "fall" in while trying to walk on the rocks. Awesome. Below, Finley and Berlin exploring in the Aspens. Followed by the makings of a fit by Berlin.
Overlooking Silver Lake. Such a great view. Below, the kids are making silly squirrel faces.
After the hike, we headed back to the campsite for a late lunch and some rest. We had a little squirrel in our campground that entertained us the whole time too. Ryan woke up Saturday morning to a strange sound and went to investigate and found the squirrel trying to chew a hole in the top of our bag. Luckily Ryan caught him in time and put a stop to that. But the squirrel was ticked so he scampered to the edge of the table and sat and chirped (scolded) Ryan for a few minutes, then ran off. Later on that afternoon we saw the same squirrel run across our site with a glazed donut in his mouth. What? That's right, an entire glazed donut in his mouth. Finley and Berlin were laughing hysterically. It was awesome. An hour later, as I walked Berlin down to the bathrooms I overheard the couple at the lower campsite exclaiming that all their donuts were gone. I laughed and asked them if a squirrel got to them. They brought over the box and there was a HUGE hole chewed right through the middle. I told them about the squirrel we saw scampering by with a donut in his mouth and we all laughed. In the end he made off with 5 entire donuts. Sweet. I think that Squirrel is set for Winter. That or he will be on one big sugar-high.
We also saw a mama moose and her calf on our evening walk around the campground. They were snacking on leaves and branches from trees and weren't phased at all by our gawking. That was pretty cool. I have never seen a moose that close up.
Italian Sausages for dinner ... mmm - yes please! Followed by marshmallows. Finley doesn't like marshmallows, but he loves roasting them till they fall into the fire. It's pretty cool watching them get bubble and grow. This way he doesn't miss out on all the fun.
Overall, our first camping trip was a success. Can't wait to do it again next Summer.
