We all went camping during the week of the 4th! I love camping. Especially in Pine Valley. We went with my parents and brothers and their families. Most of them camped. The rest came up every afternoon and left in the evening. It was perfect weather. We spend Wed. and Thurs. night then came home Friday. Wed night it rained (I love camping when it's raining as long as we can sleep dry, which we did) Thursday it stayed overcast and cool, perfect for hiking. Thursday night, it was cold, but everyone but me slept ok. I froze my tail off! ( I had layers and two blankets and a built in heater (Charles) and I still froze!) Friday we packed up and went home. Ethan slept for 3 hours after we got home! I think he definatley had fun. Ella...well, she was still learning to walk, and everytime she fell, she would get hands full of dirt, and she did NOT like that! We would hold her hand and walk with her, but that was about all she wanted to do. So, we may have to camp more to get her used to all the dirt!
Here are some pictures I took. Our camera is starting wig out, so I didn't get as many as I wanted, but they are still pretty cute

This actually isn't one camping, this is at Emma's birthday party. It was too cute to not stick in somewhere

It's a tradition, every time we go camping, that my brothers build a dam. Why? So they can swim of course (I think it's just that boys like to build things too) So, here they are building a dam. (Everyone helped, but Dan and Travis are in the picture)

Showing off their muscles (?) if they are muscles. Jason, Chad and Travis

Now that the dam's built, they can wade in the frigid water. In the past, we've had competitions to see who could stay in the longest. The boys claim it wasn't as cold this year. I wasn't going to find out, so I'll take their word for it.

Here are all the boys that worked on the dam, including my dad (Dustin, Jared and Dallas aren't there) Starting at the top, Travis, Dad, Dan, Chad and Jason.

Ell and Grandma watching the boys build the dam. It was really entertaining

Ethan blowing bubbles. He did three things while we were there...Blow bubbles, throw rocks in the water, play in the dirt! 3 year old heaven!

Dustin turned into Baloo! He's scratching his back on the tree. We all had the "Bear Necessities" song in our head for a while after that.
I didn't get any good pictures of us playing kick the can, but we do that every year too. The kids really got into it. They loved it!
We all had a fun time. Thanks to everyone who went. It was sure fun!