Moab

We took the kids camping (much to my chagrin). We wanted to go somewhere we had not taken them yet, so we chose... Moab... in the middle of August.... Did we think that through all the way? No... my advice go in the early spring or fall.... it was H.O.T.

We did however have fun. We saw dinosaur bones encased in rocks, dinosaur tracks frozen in time, breath taking scenery and did a little rock climbing (well mostly the kids climbed).

A dinosaur rib bone,

Dinosaur Tracks



The kids got to show off their rock climbing skills

Tough man Bradley

Exploring our first arch.

Double Arch Hike

 

Showing off their wild sides and being ONE with nature.

Taylor Family Reunion 2010

This past weekend, was the Taylor family Reunion, Richard's Mom's side of the family. It was held at the Altamont Group Campground in American Fork Canyon.

We went up Friday and was able to set up camp and settle while the kids explored their surroundings and played with the cousins who were there. Olivia and Emily were attached at the hip. It was so cute to see them everywhere together. While Bradley was an explorer. He wanted to be off hiking all the time. He met his 2nd cousin Ryan and they buddy up and hiked and he also played with Nathan, Alex and Savannah too.


Friday night there were a few activities that Cindy and Mindy brought along. The kids all made foam visors and they wore them all weekend. And everyone was able to Tye-Dye shirts.




Saturday was the official reunion day. Everyone who decided not to camp came up for lunch, dinner, reuniting and activities. There was a treasure hunt, a scavenger hunt, crafts, a balloon toss, and several other games. The picture below is from one leg of the treasure hunt where they had to find a dirty sock (they used Richard's because they are pretty gross).




We packed up on Sunday morning and brought an exhausted family home where most of them took a several hour nap.

The Spruces

This weekend we went camping at the Spruces. Richard and the kids went Thursday, which meant I had a whole night of peace and quiet at home. Thanks Richard!

Heather and I came up Friday afternoon, then Jeff and Ivy came up later. We had a lot of fun hanging out by the fire and playing games. Ivy even broke out her camp songs. I got to be my klutzy self and twisted my ankles while falling into a bush (not too bad of an injury though).

Saturday we went on a hike. We didn't make it all the way to the waterfall (because of the before mentioned injuries). But we got some welcomed exercise and wonderful pictures.

Late Saturday afternoon my mom came up and we had dinner, played more games and sat around the campfire. We even used our dutch oven that we got for a wedding present and have never used until now.

The whole trip was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed being with my family and being in nature. I just wished I could have showered. I felt very dirty and I know my kids were, they were practically rolling in the dirt. I guess Richard wins, I am a camper as long as I have a trailer!

The post below this one is a slide show of some of our camping pictures from this trip. Hopefully you don't think it too long. I have a hard time deciding which to post. At least I didn't put all 126 on!
~Amanda

More Pictures from Soapstone

So here are more of the pictures of us camping and mostly hanging out.

Bradley and Olivia

Ivy and Jeff chillin' in the trailer.

Olivia and Brooklyn waiting patiently for food.

Heather acting all grown up.

Olivia and Jeff relaxing by the fire.

Olivia with her backpack chair.

Brooklyn and Jacob

Amanda, Piper and Katie

Camping at Soapstone Basin

So let me be the first to say that I don't like camping. I hate bugs and being dirty, and lets be real that is what camping is all about. Richard loves camping and is always trying to convince me to go. We have gone less than a hand full of times since we been married.

We decided to go camping at Soapstone Basin over the 24th of July weekend. This trip was a group trip not only included my family but also my Mom, Heather, Ivy, Jeff, AnnDrea, Anthony, Jacob, Brooklyn, Katie, Trace and some other of AnnDrea's friends. We had a large camp site and three trailers there. Luckily we had enough room that nobody had to sleep in a tent.

The kids of course had a blast. Bradley is a little adventurer. He liked to go on hikes and explore the wilderness. He also is a firebug just like his dad. He helped keep the fire going and was very interested in how to start the fire and to put it out.

Olivia was my dirty dirty little camper. If there was dirt she was digging, or rolling in it. She didn't care how dirty she was, in fact it seemed if she was clean than she would not be happy until she was filthy again.

We also took our puppy Piper. At first she was a little confused and a little prissy. Not wanting to be dirty or go potty in the wilderness. But she got over that pretty quickly and she was just as dirty as Olivia and loved to explore just as much as Bradley.

All in all we had fun, even though we were filthy and the bugs feasted on us. Poor Bradley got the worst of the bug bites. He has over twenty and can't stop itching. I always knew he was sweet. I am not saying I liked camping, but I will never go in a tent again, now that I done the trailer thing. We already have two more trips planned this year, so I guess for now I am a camper. We will see if this last!

~Amanda

**Look for more to come as soon as I get more of the pictures**