Really Awesome Camping Trip!!!!

We wanted to do a longer camping trip at the end of this track-off, but between soccer, cub scouts, church and work responsibilities, we were only able to squeeze in two days and one night. We decided to stick close to home so we wouldn't have to waste some of our precious free time traveling, so we chose to go to a nearby (about 15 min. away) state park. It wasn't up in the mountains, so I was afraid we might be a little disappointed. It ended up being the best camping trip we have ever had! We had SO MUCH FUN! We really can't wait to go back!!!

We loaded up on Thursday and left right about lunch time. Luckily, someone had tipped me off that Jimmy John's had $1 subs that day, so we stopped there for lunch.

(Very smart, Jimmy Johns! My kids keep asking when we can go back...)

We drove to our site and set up our camper.

From there we had the rest of the day to explore and have fun! We hopped on our bikes and rode to the reservoir where we spent a couple of hours creating a huge sand castle/city/aqueduct thing. We all worked together on it and it was actually a lot of fun (I don't really build a lot of sand castles.) The kids also dared me and Ryan to swim out to a buoy, which I did--impressive because the water was COLD! I swam some laps in open water. (I've got to start my triathlon training somewhere!)

As we were getting dinner ready, the kids spotted a bunch of deer right across the campsite, near the bathrooms (which I have to say, were AWESOME. This is an important quality in a campsite.)

You can sort of see the deer behind the kids in this picture. They got even closer.

We had an easy, but delicious dinner and gourmet s'mores (using caramel and cookies and cream Hershey's bars.) Then it was back onto the bikes for some twilight exploring. We rode for at least another hour, just taking in the gorgeous sunset and beautiful, huge cottonwood trees. That night Ryan stayed up with the older kids to try to get a view through Isaac's telescope while Lincoln and I hit the sack.

The next morning it was an easy breakfast in the camper (the more I camp, the more I realize that when it comes to food, the easier, the better.) We went on another bike ride around the reservoir and to a wildlife preserve area, where we got off and hiked for a while.

Then we went back to the campsite and Ryan and I loaded up while the kids rode their bikes around. When we were all ready, we went back to our spot on the beach and were delighted to discover that our sand castle/city/aqueduct was still there, completely undisturbed. (The fact that we had built it on a Thursday afternoon surely helped.) We spent another two or three hours at the beach, playing in the sand and water, eating lunch and adding to our fortress of sand.

Finally it was time to go back home and back to reality. I really, really, really wish we could have stayed longer. It was one of those rare moments in a family where the stars align and somehow everyone is happy and working together and getting along and laughing and you catch a small glimpse of what heaven will be like.

Really can't wait to go back.