Actually, we really enjoyed ourselves. Of course, the preparation before and clean-up after were a lot of work, but the time at Whitehorse Lake near Williams, AZ was really delightful overall.
Jeremy bought a couple hammocks last year, and we put them to good use during our days camping. The kids loved swinging each other in them, relaxing on their own, or playing pretend with the hammocks as ships, hideouts, etc. Jeremy and I enjoyed watching the stars in them the first night after the kids went to sleep. The other nights were colder, though, and we couldn't have a camp fire because of fire restrictions.
The kids did a little nature journaling and some narrative drawing (Josiah had Pa and Uncle Justin climbing a tree!).
We had a couple very windy days at the beginning of the trip; that and cooler weather than we expected meant that we really got cold! The temperature got down to around freezing most nights. The kids don't do a great job staying inside their sleeping bags, and they all got a cold at the outset, so we had some rough nights trying to sleep in a tent all together. But we expected to be short on sleep, and despite some extra crankiness, we all had lots of fun during the days.
Lydia
Abby
Daddy and the kids
Whitehorse lake is pretty small, especially with the recent lack of precipitation. We could see where the water level once was--much higher than now! But it's big enough for fun in row boats and kayaks, and Jeremy and Josiah went fishing several times (with no luck but a few bites and a crayfish).
We hiked around the lake on Friday morning. It's a relatively easy hike but took us a while with all the kids: it involved plenty of detours to climb rocks, check out sticks, balance on fallen logs, watch out for "widow makers" (which Josiah was especially nervous about after Jer explained the term), eat a snack, complain, look at bugs, etc. We stopped to fly a kite near the boat launch, which was great fun til the kite lost an essential part in a crash.
Clara was a daredevil rock-climber! She had me frightened a couple times
Abby
This is how Clara felt some of the time . . . she never wanted to walk very far on her own and was probably pretty miserable with the runny nose and cold
Anna, Justin, and the girls came out Friday night. Our kids were waiting with high anticipation for Kezi to join them! The girls especially were over the moon when she arrived. We had lots of fun biking, exploring, hiking, rock-throwing and climbing, boating, etc. with them. We parents enjoyed some time to talk after the kids were in asleep, though it took a bit of finagling to make that happen--and it was cold!
Kez has a special flair of her own :)
Grandma and Pa came out Saturday morning and brought their boats. Everyone loved being with them and getting a chance to go out on the lake!
Don't I have a beautiful mother-in-law?
Kezi and Lydia
Grandma with Clara and Willow
Pa and Abby
The rowboat crew
My seven-year-old!
On the trail
On Sunday we all piled into cars to drive a short jaunt to Sycamore Canyon, which is just gorgeous (and a gorge--so a little nerve-racking with a band of small children). There were several groups of rock climbers scaling the cliffs, which our kids took great interest in. We walked around part of the canyon and enjoyed the beauty and lovely weather and scenery.
Pa and Lydia
Willow and Justin
Anna and Willow
Pa protects the twins
Snack break in a dry river bed
"I'm the king of the castle, and you're the dirty rascal!"
Kids under the "troll tree"--Grandma told lots of troll stories, and my kids are convinced they're real. They found green bb's that they think are "troll money."
Lydia the tree-climber
Cutie cousins
Poor snotty Clara
We're so glad the trip was successful, especially after some negative past experiences of camping with kids. :) Ours are at great ages now to really enjoy the fun of building fairy houses and playing and wandering in the woodsy bits near the campground, as well as old enough to enjoy some hiking (except Clara, who wanted to be carried most of the time). They all were so sad when Uncle Justin, Aunt Anna, Willow, Kezi, and Grandma and Pa had to leave on Sunday--and then sad all over again when we packed up to head home on Monday.
