Camping

Friday

We left Salt Lake around noon and headed up to Mantua (next to Brigham City) to have a weekend get away with Brandon's family.  We fit 12 people and all our gear in 2 cars and a van, and boy were they packed to the rim.

When we got there we set up tents and then spent the rest of the day hanging out and relaxing.

Grandma and Abbie

 Chillin in the tent- don't worry we didn't all sleep in the one tent

Here is the setup of our campsite

It was fun to have the campground next to a lake. We all took turns going on the raft. It was also cool that there were a couple of swings. I think Abbie enjoyed it.

Saturday

This is how Abbie woke up in the morning. What a cutie! 

It was pretty cold during the night. Fortunately we took plenty of blankets for Abbie and so she slept just fine. Brandon and I, on the other hand, were very cold until half way through the night we got smart and each used our own sleeping bag.

Abbie and daddy lounging about in the sleeping bag before heading off to Lava Hot Springs for the day.

We wanted to tube down the river, unfortunately the river was high and a little too dangerous. So, we settled for the olympic pool and hot springs. We had a picnic at the pool. Abbie had some chocolate pudding and liked it, though you can't tell from the picture. When everyone was ready to swim she decided she was tired. So, I sat out with her and read my book. When she got up, we got in the pool also. She wasn't happy about that and started crying right away. So, far we haven't had the best experience with her at swimming pools.

Then we went up to the Hot springs. Some of them were REALLY hot.

I was expecting them to look more natural. Something like what you would see at Yellowstone. But, no matter, they were still really cool.

After a fun day at Lava we headed back to the campground and had smores around the fire.

The fire felt so good because it was getting cold. And, I have to say that I am a pro at roasting golden marshmellows :)

Before we all headed off to bed we played the game Big Budha. It was fun and spontaneous.

Sunday

Abbie woke up around 6:30 am and had busted out of all her blankets. She was cold so I put her in my sleeping bag to keep her warm. I am glad she was able to get warm and sleep more, however, I had a hard time sleeping after that. 

Because it was raining we cleaned up camp quickly. Here we are being matchy-matchy in the tent to keep warm. It was pretty funny, Abbie was wearing a jacket over her warm jammies, with a headband to hold the hoodie, and socks as gloves.

We had such a fun time! I didn't really know that I like camping so much. And I am so glad that Abbie was soooo good, especially considering her ear infection. She took good naps, slept great during the night and was generally happy. 

Oh, and because it was father's day I just want to thank Brandon, my dad, my father-in-law, and all our grandpas for being awesome examples and wonderful dads!