Campout '09

We had a lot of fun on the first annual (?) Welch Family campout. Syd claims it was the best camping trip she's ever been on (although she can't remember any other camp outs that weren't girls camp.) I forced my family out into the woods this year because I always remembered having so much fun on family camp outs when I was younger, and I thought it would be appropriate to pass that on to my kids...right?!

We headed across the state to Sun Valley so that Michael would be able to meet up with us. We got to our campsite Thursday night an set up camp, Kort's family met us later that night and Michael met us the following day. The night's weren't that cold, the day's weren't too hot (almost though), the mosquitoes were awful (we finished off our can of Off), we got rained on twice, and it was a ton of fun...even at 6 months pregnant! We ate, played in the stream, hung out around the fire, fished, and got to see the amazing stars. I love looking at the stars in the mountains, it's one of my favorite things. I'm always amazed at how many stars light the sky when you are in the middle of no where. We could even see the milky way. It was gorgeous! I love camping!

And now, for your viewing pleasure, way too many pictures of our camp out and a few stories that probably only I will think are funny/worth telling...I bet you'll be wising you were me by the end of it!

Owen was FILTHY within minutes of arriving at camp. The kid was seriously filthy the entire time. He just loves dirt.

Our second morning there Ains yelled out (after eating half of her pancake), "This pancake is disgusting! These are the worst pancakes ever!' Dan was sitting across the table from her and had cooked the pancakes. We couldn't help but laugh. Especially when we realized that the pancakes actually were kind of disgusting because they were doughy. It was the batter and the grill that caused the problem though...not Dan's cooking skills!

All the kids had fun hanging out in Grandma and Grandpa's trailer. There was even a rumor at one point that Grandpa was teaching a few of the kids how to play Black Jack....hmmmmm

We all got our fishing licenses and decided to give fishing a try while we were there. By we, I mean the kids that were free and the men. Owen had fun casting in his line. We sat out for a while one morning trying our luck in the stream right by our campsite. We didn't have much luck.

Until we saw the Fish and Game fish truck drive in front of our campsite and Kort and I followed it to see where they were dumping in the fish. We all hurried and grabbed our poles and headed back to the creak. Unfortunately we all headed out in separate directions and so a few of us ended up running around random trails trying to find different people. Let's just say after about 2 hours of this my feet were killing me. Note to self...flip flops do not make good hiking wear. We eventually met up and gathered around my Dad when we found out that he had caught a couple fish. He caught 3 pretty quickly, and Bria and Dan fished for hours that night and eventually caught another one. Success!

And then Syd and John got to gut their first fish...yuck! I refuse to handle the fish! They both seamed to like it though.

The next morning we headed out to a well stocked pond that Michael found. My dad caught several fish with his magic lure.
John was a little frustrated because everyone seemed to be having luck but him. But after some determination (and being handed my dad's magic pole) he managed to catch a fish.

He let Owen reel it in, although Owen was scared of the fish once it came out of the water. He wanted nothing to do with it.

That night the guys headed back out to the magic pond for some more fishing. I think my dad caught over 30, Dan caught 22, John caught 13 (although I was told that one of his was the biggest), and I don't think Michael kept track. They let all the fish go and have no photographic proof, but based on our luck earlier in the day, I wouldn't be surprised.

*I didn't sleep that well this trip, due to my refusal to get out of my sleeping bag during the middle of the night while camping just to use the bathroom, and because one night I was sure that there was a squirrel in our tent that kept touching my head, but it turned out to just be Ainsley's arm. I wish I would have realized that before I turned on the light 3 separate time searching for the random squirrel and trying to wake everyone else up to help me find it!

**I also learned on this trip that Owen has a very real and severe fear of pine cones. I learned this when after rushing down to the river to save Bria's life (that didn't need saving after all, Kort just mistook the screams coming from her husband and daughter as they were playing in the creek) and Owen started crying and refused to walk over a bunch of pine cones that were covering the ground in between him and the water. He was seriously terrified. What a quirky kid!

Other than that, the kids played, wandered, cried (I'm not gonna lie, there were many tantrums), we hung out around the fire and had a great time. Even though I was hot and tired I still had a lot of fun. There's just something about camping!

Caught

This is what John caught Owen doing this morning while the rest of us were getting ready for church. I just wonder how much he ate before he got caught?

Professional?

John went out to get some shots last night...I think he's getting pretty good. Now I just need to take some time for him to sit down and teach me. Unfortunately I'm not the best student and he's not the best teacher...one of these days though!

You're beautiful

Ains has told me three times now that I look beautiful when I get dressed and do my hair. But that she doesn't like how I look when I just wake up or when I don't do my hair and it's all crazy.

Maybe I should take a hint!

Cookies

You can imagine how much help they were!

I'm sure they'll be more helpful in the eating. I offered the kids a broken sugar cookie and Ains declined. Later she asked for one and I said we could only eat the broken ones before we frosted...so she went and broke a cookie to eat. Clever!

Staycation

My dad planned a little 'staycation' and so we were able to have a really fun weekend. Since the camera didn't come out near as often as it needed to, I have no proof of some of the awesomness...so you'll just have to take my word for it.

Friday evening we all got together and made homemade pizza and the kids swam until it got dark. When darkness finally arrived my dad pulled out the projector and screen he had borrowed and we set up a movie outside. We got the old Parent Trap movie, had popcorn cooked over the stove (which is my new favorite btw), bundled up in blankets, and stayed up way too late watching the movie outside. It was awesome...I only wish I could afford a projector and a HUGE screen for my backyard. The screen we watched the movie on was actually a king size sheet rigged to some poles and stuck in the ground...in case you were wondering.

The movie ended after midnight. Amazingly, the only 2 that fell asleep part way through were Owen and Bailey. The grand kids then got to sleep outside with Grandpa and Sydney while the rest of us retired to our own beds.

We were up and going bright and early the next morning, can I just mention how nice it is to wake up on your own, and not because of a child! We packed a lunch and loaded up our bikes, headed back to my parents and caravanned down to the greenbelt. I really do love the greenbelt. I love how you can be riding through downtown and feel like you are riding through the woods. I wish we could have gotten a picture of the bike train as we were riding. It was quite a sight. 7 bikes and 2 bike trailers all in a row. We had a picnic in the park, peeked at the giraffes in the zoo, walked through the nature center, and played at the park. We were on the greenbelt from 11:00 to 3:00. By the end there were several tired bodies, two sleeping toddlers, and I think there were approximately 7 sore bums in the group!

Afterward we headed back to the pool to cool off for a bit. The kids showed amazing energy in the water for the long night and day they had. We came home in time for dinner and bed. Completely worn out...in fact it's just after 7:00 and both of my children are sleeping soundly in their beds! So I can go pop some more of my new favorite popcorn!

Bravery

We were invited to go to the Clocktower Pond yesterday with some friends. I was worried that my kids would be too scared to get in the water and we would just end up sitting on the dock the whole time.

Boy was I wrong! Owen was hesitant at first, but very excited to be wearing his life jacket. He kept wanting me to lower him in the water but wouldn't let me put him all the way in. And before we knew it, Ains just up and jumped off the side of the dock and into the water...she was the first one in!

The water was surprisingly warm and we all had fun floating around for a while. The hilarious part came when we tried to get out of the water. Luckily there was a man on the dock that was nice enough to lift out a few of the kids because the 3 adults watching the children would end up needing the kids support to get out(one was swimming the pond to train for a race). I got a good laugh watching John try to pull himself out. The dock floated a good foot and a half above the water. We eventually used the tube I was on as a step while I held the tube in place. I had to be hoisted out backwards by John and my friend Lisa (after several failed attempts to get me over my belly). I truly felt like a beached whale and had a good laugh. We all felt a little silly when we were joined by the swimming trainer and he pulled himself right out of the water. I guess the rest of us need to start working out, or next time we could just bring a ladder!

Reverence

Lately Ains has been giving us trouble during sacrament meeting. Owen always gives us trouble, so that's expected, but to have her start acting up again has been a real thorn in my side. Our rule for her is that she can't have snacks or do activities until after the sacrament, and then she is free to color, etc. This has been the rule for a while, it's nothing new. Maybe that's why I lost is 2 weeks ago and just couldn't take Ains anymore. We were about 2 minutes into sacrament meeting when she started whining and crying and fighting. I was so fed up that I told her she had to leave with me. I'm assuming at this point she realized how much trouble she was in because when I grabbed her hand to lead her out into the foyer she collapsed in the isle.

I'm sure we put on quite a show as I grabbed her in my large and pregnant state and dragged her out into the foyer. I got plenty of smiles seeming to say, "I'm so glad that's your child and not mine!" We walked halfway around the church before I was even calm enough to talk to her. After quite a lecture I made her sit quietly in the foyer until after the sacrament and then she had to sit reverently for the rest of the meeting with nothing to do. She did quite well, even though I don't think she realized how critical it was for her to behave at that time...things would have gotten ugly had she not.
Well, I think the lesson set in. Because last Sunday as we were getting ready for church I walked into her room and she was sitting on her bed with her arms folded and informed me that she was practicing being reverent. She then proceeded to give Owen a lesson on his bed. I must say, sacrament meeting was a lot more pleasant this week than it was last week. Thank Heavens!

A much needed break

Sometimes this one...

needs a break from this one...
And sometimes this one...
Needs a break from both of them...

And today we got it (kind of)!

With school being out there has been very little individual time in our house. Lately we do EVERYTHING together. Today we got a nice little break. Ains was invited to go see the Hannah Montana movie with a friend of hers (is that weird that my daughter is old enough to do things like that?!?!). So after a morning of the kids arguing with each other, they were able to be separated! And since Ains got to see a movie, I let Owen choose one to watch as well...thus giving me my break. (I have limited TV this summer to 2 shows or one movie a day. It's been tough, I'm not gonna lie, but worth it I think. I think there have been 2 or 3 days when I was desperate for the TV babysitter and chose to ignore the rule, but other than that I've stuck with it.) Luckily on a day like today where we all needed a little break for our own sanity, we got it!

The Fourth

We do Fourth of July in style around these here parts...at least we think so!

We breakfasted... We swam hard. (At least the kids did!)
We snacked.
We ate! (Owen snagged some raspberries from Syd before she dove into the pan of cake).

We sparklered.

Just one though...and then we were kindly reminded that we were not allowed to sparker in the park.
And we got to see a great show downtown after some fun playing in the park.


The kids were great all day...unfortunately we are paying for their long day yesterday, today. We made them take naps in an attempt to thwart the grumpiness that typically follows holidays at our house...we failed. There have been a few too many tears shed today, and a few too many fights. Oh well, I'm sure we'll be back to normal tomorrow. Totally worth it!