Our one and only camping trip this summer.

Last weekend we went with some friends (the Baumgartners, Reeds, and Oakes) 0n a little camping trip. Little did we know it would end up being the most memorable camping trip of our lifetime....most likely.

The camp ground was fabulous. We had this great rock right in our campsite that the kids named California rock. There was much climbing to be had this trip.

There was great scenery, a nice little hot springs (which was nice to rinse off in), little hiking trails, great friends, and lots of fun things to do.

One day we headed up the road a bit to a place in the river with a little beach area and a great swimming hole.

John even managed to catch a fish. It was the only fish caught during our trip....and it had to be thrown back. But for some reason catching a fish is still exciting.
There was some cliff jumping going on too. Some campers were braver than others.

I was not in the mood for swimming across a freezing cold river and I'm getting old and cautious I guess. So I was the fuddy duddy that didn't jump. All the other adults were cooler than me and at least jumped from the lower rock.

Then the kids joined in on the action and found a little rock to jump off of too....not to brag or anything...but Owen was first.

There was even river rafting. This picture would be better if you could tell that the raft wasn't moving because the water was so shallow. We were actually bouncing up and down trying to get our raft down the river. Good times.

There was plenty of dirtiness and stickiness.

And plenty of scrapes and bruises.

But what will forever be most memorable will be the bear friend that we made. Actually the bear was more of a terrifying unwelcome guest that made himself at home in our campsite. The first night we were there we heard and animal in our campsite and and thought nothing of it. Until a neighbor camper informed us of the full size bear that had been in his campsite and stole food. So the second night we were a little more diligent about having no food out.

Boy were we surprised (and by surprised I mean terrified) when the second night we woke up around 1:00 to the sounds of a bear destroying something plastic right outside our tent. We had packed away all food and thrown out all garbage. Luckily, we had 2 families staying in trailers who felt a little braver and came out with flashlights and scared off the bear. Although I think he was just annoyed and knew he could wander the campground and find other food. Those that were brave enough to go outside found a tote of some sort that they assumed had been left out and the bear got to.

Then we went back to sleep only to be awakened again by our bear friend an hour or so later. This time we found him digging around our cooler that had been latched shut. We had assumed that a latched cooler would be safe from the bear.

Not only were we wrong we had been duped! The first night the bear had gotten into our cooler and stolen a big bag of muffins I had brought up camping. We never even knew. I had been looking for the muffin thief all day not knowing who it was. The tote the bear was destroying was actually a big tupperware of cookies I had in my cooler. The bear had gotten into our cooler twice without us even realizing it!!! Each time he was taking food and dragging it up the hill and eating it.

He left some nice teeth and claw marks for us on our cooler. Luckily we camp with nice people who shared their food, since we were running a little low by this point.

After his 3rd visit to our campground I was terrified. I think all the adults were a little uneasy. Especially those of us in tents. We lit a fire in an attempt to keep in away for the rest of the night. The third night I was so terrified I made one of the men we were camping with sleep in my tent with John and I took the kids and slept in their trailer. And the bear came back that night too....but we had put away all the coolers this time so he kept his distance. Never again will I assume that just because a cooler has latches that animals will stay out of it!

So while the camping trip was a lot of fun, I've also never been more scared in my life.

Trading

I'm a fan of Craigslist, and I'm cheap. And occasionally I want new things. So recently I combined my love of craigslist and my frugality to get me something that I wanted. I sold my ipod...

And John's punching bag (which I had permission to sell since it hadn't been used in years)...

And got myself a refurbished itouch. Technically I was about $20 short, but a fair trade I say! It arrived in the mail yesterday. It has temporarily taken over our lives. And Ainsley has decided that she is now saving for her own.

Something other than a cruise post!!!

Our summer has been a bit of a whirlwind this year. Usually we enjoy lazy summers with not much going on. This year we've had plans. Kind of different. When we got home we celebrated the fourth of July (which we have no pictorial record of) and then we headed down to Salt Lake to visit with John's family. We went mainly because Melanie was there visiting from Atlanta, and we never get to see her.

The kids had a blast with their cousins. Ainsley and Owen were so sad to have to say good-bye after only getting to play for a couple of days.
We celebrated 3 birthday's while we were there. John's aunt Marilyn, Steph, and Goob. I love this picture because it was taken at the moment that Owen declared that Marilyn was turning 100. She was a good sport about that one.

We also made a trip to the Hogle Zoo while we were there. Of course I made everyone go to the bird show...because I think it's great and no trip to the zoo is complete without it.

Maybe we'll get lucky and get to see Melanie and her family soon, instead of in another 2-3 years as is usually the case, because we loved getting to spend some time with them.

Day 7....Quebec City

Our last day of vacation was a full one. We visited Quebec City this day. It was literally built on a hill and you could see that it was built there with the rock wall built on the hill for a reason. It looked like a protected city. From what I remember Quebec City is the oldest city in North America. It looked it, and I felt like we were in Europe, especially when we were surrounded by people speaking French.

After our time in town we drove around the country side. I loved the houses and the uniqueness of them. Homes everywhere I usually go are cookie cutter and in developed neighborhoods. I loved the colored,pointed roofs, the staggered houses and the greenery.

We stopped for lunch at a restaurant that was right next to this waterfall. Literally. You can see the building on the left of this picture.

We also visited this catholic church. It reminded John and I a bit of the Salt Lake Temple just because of the granite and the style of it.

John snuck this picture of the inside, even though he wasn't supposed to because mass was going on as we wandered around. I was just shocked that they allowed people to look around while they were having church. It was weird.

We were also shocked to learn that there was no rollerblading allowed in the church. Or rather, we were wondering why there was a need to put that warning on the inside of a building.
We also got to go to the top of a huge waterfall. John looks like he's attached to a giant cord or something.

Then we went to a Maple Farm with the most beautiful view. I could definitely look out on that view everyday for the rest of my life.

Me with the maple taffy I had just rolled.

I'm still wondering how and where they store the snow that they pour the maple syrup on to make the taffy.

And then after a long day. We got back on the boat for our final night of fancy meals. John took a picture of every course. I think there were 6. It was delicious!!!

Goob became best friends with the waiters. This landed him an extra lobster tail on lobster night. Note taken.

That night we continued our cruise down the river and enjoyed the scenery. It was a gorgeous night. People were out on boats and would ride along side us on the river. It was also Canada Day. So as it grew dark we occasionally got to see fireworks shoot up in the sky.

The night was great. And we finished it off with our last night of room service and our last midnight buffet. We got up early the next morning and had a full day of travel. John and I were literally running through airports at every stop to make all of our connecting flights. I was so excited to see the kids by this point. Nine days is a long time to leave your kids. When we finally got home Emmie looked shocked. I think she thought she would never see us again. She wouldn't talk at all but also wouldn't let me put her down or out of my sight.

The kids have since forgiven us for our long absence and things are completely back to normal. And I do mean completely, fighting, whining, and all!

Day 6....Cruising the St. Lawrence

Our day after Prince Edward Island we had a full day on the ship with no stops. We went down the St. Lawrence River. Which was way too big to be a river, you couldn't see either side for quite a while. Unfortunately our day on the ship was a cold, foggy, miserable day outside. But luckily John got some great shots the night before it got so dreary. So these pictures are just more of PEI.

During that time we also got to go under a...(8 or 9 mile, I can't remember for sure) bridge. I've never seen such a long bridge. I think I would have a heart attack driving over it. And going under it was cool going under it because we only cleared it by 15 or 20 ft.

Everyone was very relieved that we made it safely under the bridge.

The day on the ship was relaxing. John and I slept in until 10:30. I don't know that we've ever slept in that late. When I finally woke up and looked at the clock I was shocked! Every night I got really sleepy. I'm not sure if it was the movement of the ship or what, but as soon as we started moving I started to fall asleep. This seemed particularly lame because at one point it was 9:00 and I was exhausted. 9:00 is bad enough, but when I realized it was only 6:00 at home I felt pretty lame.

We all managed to stay up that night for the chocolate extravaganza. It all looked very impressive.

However, the chocolate treats were surprisingly disappointing. Luckily they had my good old standby ice cream cone!