Camping!

A couple weeks ago, Ben and I took the girls CAMPING! Ben got a new awesome 10-man tent for Father's Day, so we decided we'd go try it out with the girls. We have not been camping since Alice was born. We went camping a few times when Merrilee was 4-6months old, but not since. It was an..."interesting" camping trip, but we still had fun!

The girls having so much fun in the tent

We decided to stay close to home for this experimental trip. We went to Nunn's park right by Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon (a 10 min. drive from our house). When we got there, we found a GREAT spot right next to the Provo River and a little bit secluded from other camping spots. It took us a while to set up camp and try to keep the girls contained and entertained while we set up. The girls LOVED being outdoors and getting dirty and the whole experience. Once the tent was up, Merrilee ran the length of the tent back and forth just squealing in delight. Alice followed suit by crawling close behind and giggling. While Ben set up the beds and tried to get a fire going, I took the girls to the campground playground. By the time I got back with the girls, Alice was getting grumpy, so we got the girls ready for bed. 

Right by our campsite

  The girls loved everything so much, they didn't even want to go to sleep in fear that they might miss out on something awesome! Well, Alice did go to sleep fairly well (considering the circumstances), but something woke her up a few hours later and she decided to stay awake and PARTY most of the night. Merrilee did not want to go to sleep. Ben had to sit in the camping chair by the fire and hold her and sing to her until she fell asleep (at around 10pm...2 hours after Alice went to bed).
Here's a little video of the campsite...

While I was trying to console Alice and while Merrilee was dead asleep, Ben had a close encounter with wildlife.

(From the perspective of Ben) So I was using the restroom (a tree behind the campsite) when I heard a really loud noise in the bushes right in front of me. I flashed my headlamp in the direction on the noise, and there was a pair of green eyes staring at me. To see a pair of green eyes with your pants down in the dark is a little unnerving. I walked quickly back to our picnic table to arm myself with a pink umbrella stroller and whipped around again to see the green eyes a little closer. I'll admit, I was a little frightened. After hiding in the tent for a while, I looked out once more and saw a chunky raccoon scavengering through our camp. I'm just glad it wasn't a cougar because there have been a few sightings this year (especially at BYU campus :)

The morning was a little more pleasant. Merrilee decided to wake us up at 5:30AM. She has NEVER gotten up so early...oh well.  Despite the lack of sleep for ALL of us, everyone was cheery and happy in the morning. I pre-made breakfast burritos before the trip and wrapped them in foil so we could heat them over the fire in the morning. YUM! is all I have to say.

We sat around the morning campfire and just enjoyed some family time together.

We really didn't want to pack everything up yet...it seemed like we JUST got everything settled, but we knew we were only prepared for one night and wanted the girls to get good naps at home, so we packed up camp. After we packed up, we took the girls on a little "hike" (walk) to Bridal Veil Falls. We just got a new (used) baby hiking backpack to carry Alice in. It worked pretty well, except that Alice was so tired and grumpy all the way there and back, so her cries were right in my ear.  JUST as we were approaching our car, she finally fell asleep!! Merrilee was very tired and emotional on this little walk also and made Ben carry her the whole way.

It was really fun (and needed) to get back in touch with nature and spend some quality family time together. Now that we've initiated the girls into camping, we hope we can get out a few more times this summer! Anyone want to come with us next time? ;)