(playing catchup. I'm diving in to September)
Our church group (ward) does a campout every Labor Day weekend. Some members in our ward own some secluded property in Grass Valley CA only 1.5 hours from our home. It is absolutely beautiful and just the right amount of camping to do with kids (and by that I mean they have showers, running water, toilets, a full kitchen, mess hall, a man-made swimming hole, man-made water slide, zip line into swimming pool, frisbie golf, trampoline, shooting range, a creek to fish or pan gold or play in, etc.
Anything we could want to do in a weekend away from the city is here.
It is so great and though camping with a new baby isn't the funnest kind of camping...its camping and we LOVED it! There's big blue, our 10 man tent that we are outgrowing (once you get 2 queen sized blow-up mattresses in there, there isn't quite room for those 10 people anymore).

Sean and Anam couldn't rest from their training for Tough Mudder. These two boys worked hard for this race! I am proud of them.

The tents all in the grass. It is a perfect spot to camp (no hard rocks).

Playing with Daddy

This kid was going, going, going, going and then concked.

Bruh-ders

Here goes Dominic down the waterslide. I love this slide but the water at the bottom is a bit chilly. Still, its great fun.

The pool is made of huge tarps with a layer of old billboard fabric underneath. It is amazingly strong.

Aaaaaaahhhh. The serenity.

I watched from up above mostly. It was fun to see all the kiddos go down the water slide. I even went down a few times. I think I was the only girl this year that went down.
What is up with that????

The awkward moment when you realize you have stuck your hands into your child's vest and everyone is watching you. Well, your wife and the camera are, at least.

Ringo and Michael snuggled (and then I kicked Ringo out after the picture cuz that gross to snuggle with a dog.)

Funnest slide ever.
So, I realize that I look like a somewhat out-of-shape, WHITE, mid-30's mama going down the zip-line
but,
well, I am all those things and it was fun.
I even went again. First time on a zip-line ever.
Dominic, taking his turn with the .22
It almost looks like Dominic isn't wearing anything behind that board. He would ride this boogie board all the way down the slide and then just skim right across the water after the jump. This was the preferred mode of transportation down the slide for the kids.....I'm not sure why I never tried it.
They have a big trampoline. Lots of fun for lots of kids.

Some of my friends spotted a baby snake in the grass near where they were sitting. Not many people were around (no men anyways) and I walked by and they said, " Katie will get it."
and I did.
True story.
We had a small gardener snake growing up, snakes don't really bother me. Spiders on the other hand.
I handed the snake off to Dominic to go let it go in the creek down below.

Never knew so many ladies would be so interested/grossed out by a snake. hee hee. There were many squeals coming from this group.

Dennis got a lot of snuggle time with lots of different people. It made me happy to know that he was getting a lot of attention and I was able to give a lot of attention to my other kids too....something that I'm learning to balance at home and don't have as much help as I did while I was camping.

The cars from the life game are so much fun for toddlers. And that spinny thing.

Aaaaaaaaaaaah.
This girl got Diiiiirty! Nothing that a quick dip in the pool couldn't fix.
But even with all that dirt, I love this pretty picture!
Sean got a .22 from G-Gma that she didn't want anymore. We cleaned it up and let the kids get some practice shooting targets. I think guns are fun and a skill that every child should learn (with proper direction of course). I look forward to many more trips to the range to practice.

Penny was not as thrilled about all the noise they made.

Still dirty.

Not sure who was rocking who to sleep in this picture.
This is our friend Andrew. He loved Michael and Michael surely loved Andrew. He is very good with kids and has a special connection with all of them. Shortly after this campout he and his wife split up and he moved to another State. Again, our whole family misses Andrew. =(
Thank you for your example and the happiness you spread. We loved your goofiness and the fun and charm you always brought with you. You are, and will continue to be, greatly missed. If you are ever in the area....please stop by!

Michael's bud Miles was awesome. Michael just wanted to play and follow him all over the place....the best part? Miles didn't mind.
Thank you Johansen's for yet another great campout! We'll be back next year.....