My Rugged Outdoorsmen

Mother's Day weekend our ward held it's annual Fathers and Sons Camping Trip (officially called the Aaronic Priesthood Restoration Commemoration ). Nate and Tanner had a blast, of course!

Nate will have to come back later and fill in the details, since I wasn't there. All I know is that when he came home and I was looking at the pictures on the camera I started to freak out when I came to this first picture. I couldn't figure out what on earth had possessed Nate to give Tanner a rifle. Then I looked a little closer, and realized that it was nothing to worry about; it was just the tent poles. Nate was offended that I would assume he let Tanner play with a gun.


Even though I wasn't there, I could still tell Tanner had a great time , especially when it came to setting up the tent. He was right there in the middle of all the action, and I'm sure he was a great "help" to Nate; just like he is to me every day at home when I'm trying to get things done!

I just love sleeping children!

Father's Day . . . in September

For Father's Day one of the things we gave Nate was a family camping trip. Now, those of you who know me, know that camping is pretty far down on my list of 101 favorite things to do. It's not that I hate camping, it's just that there are so many other things I would rather do, that we never make it far enough down the list to go camping!

However, Nate really enjoys it, and hasn't gotten to do much since he was released as the Young Men's president a couple of years ago, so I figured it was about time to brave it! Thankfully the kids really enjoy camping, even if they don't sleep all that well! Unfortunately with how busy we've been we had to settle for an over night trip in Madera Canyon (and no, we didn't see any illegals and yes we felt perfectly safe.) in September.

Kiersten felt like a pretty big girl because we put Tanner to bed and she got to stay up and watch Dad build a campfire (for roasting s'mores). And, while we waited for the campfire to get just right (I learned you don't roast marshmallows over the flames but rather over the red hot coals that come after the fire has been going a while. Who knew?) she got to play a card game with Mom and Dad by lantern.

As soon as Tanner woke up the next morning, he went straight for his shoes - he was ready to start exploring again!

The view from our tent!

Kiersten and Tanner enjoying Dad's yummy breakfast of blueberry pancakes, eggs, sausage and hot chocolate. Why is it ok to eat like that when you're camping? I'd never make that much at home on a regular Saturday!

After we cleaned up camp we decided to hike a little bit before heading back home. However, things weren't looking good for our hike when we had to stop for our first break after hiking from the car to the trail head! To keep Kiersten entertained and willing to go on (she wanted to stop about every 50 feet!), we stopped at each and every sign posted along the way and had her read the letters and try to sound out the words. She didn't get too many of the words, especially when there are abbreviations, but she did a fantastic job with the letters.

After completing this "rigerous" 1/3 mile we decided we had had all the fun we could handle. The trail was supposed to get quite a bit steeper from this point on, and Kiersten just didn't think she could make it any farther, she was just so tired (oh the drama!). So we turned around and headed home.

It was fun, and VERY nice to spend some time as a family before Nate started back to school! Kiersten is already trying to plan our next trip, so I doubt I'll make it another 5 years before I go again!

Fathers and Sons Campout

Nate has been waiting forever (well, at least as long as we've been married!) to have a son of his own to take on a Fathers and Sons campout. So a few weeks ago Nate's dream was realized - he got to take Tanner on his first Fathers and Sons campout. I think Tanner was the youngest camper, but only by a couple of months (there was another dad who was just as excited as Nate to finally have a son to take camping)!


Thankfully Tanner did much better than Kiersten did on her first campout and the whole camp didn't hear him all night! Nate said Tanner slept pretty well, but Nate decided he's getting too old to sleep on the hard ground (next time he's going to blow up the air mattress!)

I'm thankful for Fathers and Sons campouts - that's one time I don't have to feel guilty about not even wanting to go camping! And, in two weeks our clubhouse is having a "daddy and me" campout, and I signed Nate up to take both children! We'll all enjoy the evening, just in different ways!