Camping in Flagstaff

We drove up north to camp with Pa and Grandma in Flagstaff over the last weekend in June. Our plans were derailed a bit when our van's transmission failed halfway between Cordes Junction and Verde Valley--basically in the middle of nowhere. After four hours on the side of the freeway, we were rescued by Scott, James, and a tow truck. The van went to a mechanic, and we decided to forge ahead with our camping plans, though we didn't get the kids bedded down in our tent til about midnight.

Despite the van problem, we had a good time camping near Lake Mary. We tried out our new (huge) tent, which fits us with some room for stuff! We enjoyed campfire cooking, roasting marshmallows,

Josiah used the stomp rocket I bought for Father's Day (as a dad-and-kid present) to make friends with kids from the neighboring campsite. They jumped on the stomp rocket and ran after the darts for a long while, then switched to playing pirates in Pa and Grandma's canoe.

Grandma and Pa took the kids on some short hikes near the campsite, and we all went down to the lake a couple times. The kids loved "sailing" in Pa and Grandma's canoe! Pa beat out Josiah's bid for captaincy, so Josiah settled on first mate. Lydia was second mate. Abby was content to be a passenger.

Abby 

Lydia 

On one trip up the lake, everyone saw an osprey take a fish home to his nest. They're still talking about that osprey (and impressing people with their knowledge of birds . . . or at least one bird species)!

On one excursion to the lake, Josiah and Lydia got soaked. Grandma let them hang their clothes to dry and run around in their undies for awhile when waiting for the rest of us to get down to the shore. Josiah got cold and tried on Daddy's shirt . . .

During some afternoon down-time, Grandma told the kids stories about "camp robbers" (raccoons, blue jays, rats, skunks, etc.). These stories have lived on vividly in their memory since, and they pester Grandma to retell them when they see her!

Grandma and Abby

Clara, in keeping with her easy-going personality, was just about the ideal camping baby! She took naps in the tent in her pack'n'play with minimal fuss, and she even slept outside in the pack'n'play when we had to pack up camp on Sunday morning. She loved riding around in the carrier on Daddy's back, chattering and laughing at the scenery and the kids' antics.

At the end of June (at almost 8 months) she had become quite mobile with her army-crawl, and of course, she's heavy now. We put down an outdoor rug that she could play on, but it was hard to contain her on it--she always pulled herself over to the forbidden ground to pull grass, pick up handfuls of dirt, grab some cinders, etc.--which all went in her mouth. So that was the most challenging part with Clara: she wanted freedom to move and needed some time out of our arms, but there wasn't much space to let her roam.

Overall, the camping trip was a success, even with the non-ideal car situation! We hope to do another camping trip this summer or early fall--if Jeremy deems the car reliable enough. :)

Thanks, Pa and Grandma--we couldn't have done it without you!

Five?!

How can my eldest be five? No, it may not seem too old to you. Yes, he's still a little kid. But he's a kid, not a toddler. I look at his lean ribs, legs getting gangly, face losing baby fat . . . he's a sweet, handsome, lively, funny guy, and we love him so much.

Of course, I'm behind in my posting and Josiah has now been five for almost three months! But here we go with some documentation on his birthday.

Smiles first thing in the morning:

Josiah had long and eagerly anticipated his birthday. He was so excited to turn five! He chose the big kids' long-standing favorite breakfast--Dutch baby pancake, with plenty of berries. (It's an easy, egg-based oven pancake; I didn't object to an uncomplicated birthday breakfast!)

Josiah likes his with whipped cream on top, so he got plenty of it on his big day:

Uncle Dave and Aunt Barb were here for Josiah's birthday, so of course they joined in with our little family celebration. Josiah had long been requesting an ice cream cake. Here's what I came up with:

It's a flourless chocolate cake on the bottom (brownie consistency), then a layer of vanilla ice cream (Trader Joe's French vanilla is the best!), then crumbled Joe-Joe cookies (like oreos), another layer of vanilla, and decorations of whipped cream and chocolate chips.

After our supper of homemade pizza, we lit the candles and brought forth the cake.

Josiah waiting for his cake

I'm glad the cake turned out nicely! Everyone liked it, and Josiah is planning his next birthday ice cream cake already. He keeps adding to the ingredient requests or reminding me which types of ice cream I need to include. But after asking for and eating a generous slice of this one, he told me, "I'm so full . . . You shouldn't have given me a big piece, Mom!"

He was excited to move onto presents:

Aunt Barb made little "airplanes" with gum and live savers

The girls each got one, too!

Josiah bit into the lifesavers right away

A new shirt! Green is his favorite color

Memory game from Grandma in Dubai

Dinosaur sticker/activity book and castle book from Mama and Daddy

He has poured over these books for hours!

Daddy helped him put together a few of the dinosaur "paper dolls"

Josiah had hoped for a huge pile of presents, which he didn't get. But he's gotten a lot of fun out of the ones he did receive! Grandma and Pa in Flagstaff gave him a pirate telescope after they returned from Hawaii--what a thrilling gift that was!