Camping

 

I was so excited to be getting an extra day and a half on the mountain because of going over the holiday this year that I was very disappointed when I came down with a nasty cold a few days before. I knew that I'd be miserable at nighttime, so we waited an extra day to go down and boy was I glad that we did. I was right. I felt awful at night but managed to have an enjoyable time overall. The girls got nice and dirty but loved every minute of it.

Ashlyn spent the entire time with my cousin's little girl, Annette. They had never played together before, but quickly became friends and were inseparable the rest of the time.

Josh took the girls shooting (just with his pellet gun) and I got to shoot Aimee's 9 millimeter handgun. The girls were also super excited to try out their new bow and arrow that Kevin made them. Unfortunately, after only a few tries, they lost the arrow and thought their fun was over. Thankfully it eventually turned up.

The main activity at camp was FISHING, both in the lake and the stream.

 And the best part about it is that all three girls caught a fish. Kali actually caught four and Sadie caught three. Ashlyn didn't want to touch hers. She looked scared to death of it. At least she was willing to smile for the camera.

The girls also found a water snake at the lake and were even brave enough to touch it. Sadie chased it for almost a half and hour.

The girls also lucked out because not only did Aimee bring rafts camping, but we happened to be down at the lake the same time as them and Ethan was offering rides. They were in heaven.

 And then she made their day once again by giving them rides on her four wheeler. It was the perfect way to finish off the trip.

Ledgemere FHE

It's that time of year again. We got to go up Big Cottonwood Canyon to do our annual FHE at the Ledgemere campsite. The girls loved climbing rocks and were fearless. It was making me sick to watch for fear they would hurt themselves. So I warned them of the dangers and let them decide what they would do. They decided to continue climbing without even a second thought. Thankfully we finished the evening without any serious injuries. But I did have some very dirty children.

The hot dogs, fruit, and potato salad were super yummy but my favorite part was singing around the campfire and having a short lesson. There's something about being in the mountains that makes me realize how blessed we are to live in such a beautiful world and I feel the Spirit so strong.

Scout Master

Josh has had the calling of scout master for a little over a year now and this is pretty much how we see him all the time. Between his monthly campouts and weekly scouts, he's always doing something scout related. Today he just got home from his big summer scout camp and is glad to have it off his shoulders. He puts so much work and effort into his calling that it's amazing he survives everything else he has to do.

Also, this is probably the only picture I'll ever have of Josh with somewhat of a beard. He doesn't usually go more than a day or two without shaving, but this is what he looks like after a week.

Camping

The Bohman Family camping trip on Monroe Mountain finally arrived. The girls and I really look forward to it every year. And the exciting thing about this year is that we bought a springbar tent that fits our entire family. It was so nice to have a good big dependable tent.

We had plenty of room and the girls giggled until we finally had to be the mean guys and make them go to sleep. We didn't get to stay on the mountain as long as I would have liked to, but we did get to spend two days and two nights and we packed pretty much everything you can imagine into that amount of time.

To start off with, my cousins made this awesome teepee. I wasn't there when they made it, but I thought it was so cool. Hopefully it's still there next year.

At first the kids didn't play much in it, but once they started, it was hard to get them to stop.

They kept looking for new sticks and branches to add to the outside of it and even made some sort of door.

Then there was fishing. Sadie did it for a little bit, but quickly got bored. Kali, on the other hand, stuck it out and really seemed to enjoy it.

And her patience paid off because she caught her first fish. It was about 8 or 9 inches long and she was so excited. Josh caught one just before we left and we had a good laugh about it because it was only about 2 inches long.

Ashlyn spent her time throwing rocks into the reservoir or making birthday cakes or other "food" with her stick in the mud.

Then the girls got to play games.

And Uncle Steven taught Kali how to use a bow and arrow.

Ashlyn got to go on a wagon ride...

which wasn't nearly as fun as the Barbie jeep. She wanted to play on that thing all day long every day. It became quite a fight at times because she wouldn't let anyone else enjoy it.

Tara taught Kali how to make some cool bracelets.

And then they got to enjoy painting.

Grandma had little wooden figures to paint, but they quickly disappeared. Thankfully the mountains have plenty of rocks because the girls thought painting them was just as good.

Then there were the four wheelers.

Josh took each of the girls on a ride and my favorite was the next day when Ashlyn walked up to Sara and asked her if she would take her for a "beautiful ride". I don't know that she cared as much for the beauty of what she would be seeing as she did for the idea of getting on the four wheeler.

And of course there was plenty of flower picking.

Emma and I spent a lot of time together and she did a very good job. She obviously was enjoying herself too.

I also got to play a game of Boggle which made my camping experience. I can't go camping without playing that game at least once. It was a very memorable trip and I'm already looking forward to next year.

Monroe Mountain

This weekend was our annual Bohman family camping trip down on Monroe Mountain. The girls have been looking forward to it for weeks. The only downer was that it did a lot of raining the first afternoon into the evening. But we weathered the storm and had a ton of fun anyway.

Some of the girls favorite activities while there included swinging in the hammock, playing with my cousin Marisa, and picking flowers. I wish I had taken a picture of all the bouquets I was given. I don't think I've ever been given that many flowers in my entire life. Ashlyn enjoyed picking the dandelion seed heads more than the flowers. She ended up with buckets full.

The big wiffle ball game the first evening was a big hit too. Everyone that wasn't holding a baby or watching a toddler seemed to be participating and that's quite the group when talking about my family.

And of course there were the ATVs. Ashlyn even got to take part in that fun with her cousin Blake and his battery powered toddler one. It quickly became her favorite activity. Kali and Sadie talked Josh into given them a couple of rides on Brett's ATV and I took it for a spin too. I don't think I've been on an ATV or motorcycle for years. It took me killing it a few times to remember what I was doing and even then I refused to give the girls a ride for lack of trust in my own abilities.

We had a great time as always and can't wait to stay a little longer next year when Josh will no longer have school to work around.