Camping Craze

Two camping trips, two weeks apart!  We wanted to camp with Kurtis and Lauren, and that worked out to do on my birthday weekend (apparently this is becoming a tradition, I love it!).  Then we wanted to camp on the way to St. George for Lydia's baptism.  

We were able to make both happen!

The first trip was to the Uintas, and it was cold!  With the cold wet June, the snow had barely melted and it felt like early spring, which it was up there!  The wildflower meadow next to our campsite was beautiful.

Unfortunately, it started raining right as we finished cooking our dinner, and continued for hours!

We made the best of it though, and had a great time making smores and playing games with our super fun uncle and new aunt that we love!

Our tent sprung a leak and soaked half our stuff, so Kurtis and Lauren let Owen and Maris sleep in their tent and we survived the night!  If it had been just us we probably would have packed up and gone home, but I'm glad their enthusiasm kept us there.
The next morning was clearer.

We went on a short hike,

And then had a great time at Provo River Falls again.

After a couple-week break we were ready to head out again!  This time we went South, to the Cedar Breaks area in the mountains above Cedar City.

We went on a cool hike to see the views at Cedar Breaks, with more wildflowers:

Eric had fun taking pictures in portrait mode :)

This classic view was awe-inspiring!

Our campsite was just a mile or so from Navajo Lake, and we brought the paddleboard to enjoy:

The campsite was great except for the 1 million flies and ants!  Once again we made the best of it.

Eric reading Harry Potter to the kids around the campfire :)

I made them all stop to see the lava flows:

We were happy to get to our hotel and swim and shower!  maris and owen were cute sharing a bed

Eric and Emma loved Katrina's baby Travis!

And we enjoyed playing in the Virgin River after Lydia's baptism with the Cravens and Grammy and Grandpa Jamie!

cute Emma and Justin!  And Maris and Lydia doing a spin jump.

It was a fun trip and the kids were all inspired in their own ways by Lydia's Baptism and Confirmation: worth it!

Camping really is getting easier as the kids get older, but also they are not as thrilled to sleep on the ground in a tent!  Lesson learned: taking kids camping when they are little is worth it.