memorial weekend camping: 2013

we LOVE adventures.. and if it's up to me, we find them as often as we can. so glad this recent camping trip with good friends panned out in our favor.

camping tips with kids 101 (these are all actual things we have learned while camping):
*best to show up before dark to set up a tent.
*put the sleeping bags on an incline as opposed to a decline.
* a tent is made from very thin tent material.. all noises can be heard..
*sleep is overrated, especially during the best part of the night when kids are in bed, fires roaring and chatting about anything and everything is in order.
*there isn't much worse than having to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night while camping...
*creepy horror stories about serial killers, recent murders, etc are best told in the middle of the very, very deep, dark woods.
*bring more hot chocolate with marshmallows and less carrot sticks.
*put your food away at night. seriously, squirrels, deer... bear all enjoy pb&j too.
*kids need nothing more than sticks/dirt/marshmallows to stay fully entertained... leave the animal toys, crayons (..that melt to a mess), legos at home.
*pack a decent first aid kit! ...and by decent, i mean basically anything more than band aids and neosporin... check here for a real good starter list. better to be over prepared than under. i consider myself pretty prepared most of the time... but fell short this particular trip when we had a nasty burn accident... :(
*ALWAYS pack some shorts and a swimsuit just in case, even if weather predicts cool weather.
*always a good idea to go for a 5-6 mile run in  bear/bearhunter(or redneck!) season..through the super thick northern idaho forest as long as you have a great friend by our side and some good pepper spray.
*showers are also overrated...
*repeat: wipies are a MUST! and extra toilet paper never hurts.
*food is best with dirt. even better with dirty utensils.
*tinfoil dinners are the best food on earth. no matter what's in them.

spring break: moab & southern utah edition.

 we had so much fun on our extended spring break trip to utah. my oldest sister corinne was getting married at the tail end of our trip ( a post of its own..) so we spent a week or so exploring the moab/arches/south-eastern utah area... along with a quick stop in our old hometown vernal utah.

 

no trip to vernal is complete without a trip to visit the dinosaurs and dino quarry that it's famous for.

our dear friend allison ( who i have known for nearly 30 years) was such a great host. we loved spending time with her family.

 

we use to take feild trips to this place as kids. i remember barfing all over the shuttle bus on the way up once.

we cruised down to moab to spend several days after vernal. we spent a lot of time hiking , swimming, eating and playing in dirt. we loved it.

slot hiking in arches national park just outside of moab. the kids LOVED this.

arches big and small hidden all over the place.

cody climbed his little heart out.

lola literally tried to bring home every rock that she came across.

incredible skylines and colors. the iphone pics don't do this place justice. depending on the weather that comes it, it completely changes the feel of this place.

an overcast day called for a short drive over to canyonlands national park... a smaller grand canyon.. but still pretty grand. dead horse point was pretty neat too. especially the history behind it.

landscape arch is the longest and oldest arch in the park, as long as a football feild and only 6 feet at the most narrow point. the expect it to collapse at any time so we wanted to be sure and see a piece of history. they no longer allow you out near it.

seriously.. i think i'm still finding peices of sandstone from lola.

the hike up to delicate arch was pretty extreme even for adults, let alone 4 and 10 year olds...but they were troopers. we took our time and made plenty of stops along the climb up.

steep ledges....

made it to delicate arch! this was my #1 must see. it was mind blowing and way better than i imagined!! i for sure want to go back when i wont have a panic attack worrying about one of the kids rolling over the edge of the cliff!! well worth the effort though!

these jeeps are the EVERYWHERE! i'd love to rent one next time.

sandhill was a HUGE hit with the kids... and with me and arah. we all loved it. the sand is so fine it just brushes right off.

we made the trek over to goblin valley on our way back up to salt lake. its the most bizarre place literally out in the middle of nowhere. we felt like we were on mars. another huge hit with the kids. they could have made mud balls and played hide and seek forever.

 

my sister always drives so that leaves me to be the pbj maker extraordinaire. these trips leave us with great memories.. so thankful we make the effort to take them.

 

the end.