The long overdue camping post

I am finally getting around to posting a few pics of the one and only camping weekend of the summer. I posted these on facebook, so I apologize if you have seen them, but since I am using my blog as a journal, I wanted to post them here as well. There is a cute video that isn't on facebook...

I took Anna up to spend a few nights with my family. We spent the first night at my parents' property in Idaho. I love it up there....quiet beautiful scenery, no distractions of the city, a warm campfire, and the most gorgeous starry sky. Did I mention the meals? My dad is a fabulous cook and always takes good care of us with Dutch oven dinners and scrumptious breakfasts.

Anna was a big fan of camping! She wanted so badly to explore the campground but the rough weeds made for difficult crawling terrain. Thank god for the pack-n-play!

We don't truly rough it when we go camping. My family does "trailer camping" (or "tin tee pee" camping, as my mom calls it) really well. My parents' trailer is really nice and equipped with a lot of luxuries...toilet, fridge, even a microwave and a TV when the generator is on. My kind of camping! Cody and Laci even came up later that night...they have the pop up trailer on the right. The gorgeous view from the propertyAnna's Buppa (my dad) had to show Anna the 4 wheeler. She fell in love instantly! Her face lit up with a great big smile when he fired up that engine. The fam (minus 2 brothers and my husband) hanging out around the campfire - my brother Cody, my mom holding Anna, my dad, and my sis-in-law Laci.Snuggling with her grandmaThe next day (after one of those scrumptious breakfasts of course!) we packed up and drove the half hour or so to Bear Lake. Even though the water is cold, I have always loved Bear Lake. I have many very fond memories of the lake as a child, and I want my daughter to grow up loving Bear Lake also. Well, it didn't take long for Anna to fall in love with everything Bear Lake has to offer! She had a blast! From the first moment she sat in the shallow water, she was hooked.

She couldn't quite figure out the sand at first, but it didn't take her long to ingest a little (okay, a lot!). What in a baby's mind tells them that sand tastes good? My little sandy-mug baby...COVERED head to toe in sand by the end of the day!

My brother says she resembles Moses...parting the Bear Lake with her toy shovel...
The waves later in the day became a little more aggressive, but Anna didn't care. A few of them hit her shoulders (and that is COLD water!) but she kept splashing and playing.
Later that evening we said goodbye to the lake and drove home. However, our camping fun was not done.

The closest thing that the John family has to a family reunion is the annual "fish fry" brunch in Logan canyon. As a child, I always looked forward to that one Sunday morning each summer. The guys would go fishing really early and catch fresh trout. The moms and kids would drive up the canyon a little later and enjoy a wonderful brunch. This tradition is one that laid dormant for a few years, but we resurrected it last year. Unfortunately, last year I was lying in a hospital bed and very upset that I had to miss it. So this year when the time rolled around, I was thrilled to be able to go! I love my family and don't get to see them nearly enough.

So here are a few pictures of the fish fry. This is my cute grandma Bonnie (GiGi, as the great grandkids call her) with a few of my cousins kids. That little Hinckley...I just want to take her home with me. She has such a sweet little personality. (And she's a redhead to boot!)
Cousins Addy and Hayes climbing trees. Addy looks so much like her dad (my cousin Nick) and Hayes looks so much like his mom (my cousin Amber), and when I look at those two, I have memories come flooding back from my childhood.. It seems like yesterday that I was climbing trees with Nick and Amber and the rest of my cousins. Time really flies.
Nick's wife Amy holding Anna. What a wonderful addition to our family she has been! So helpful, so thoughtful, and so sweet. Love you Amy!
Holding my cousin's baby Colby (4 months old) reminded me that my daughter doesn't snuggle anymore. How fast they grow!
Buppa loves his Anna.
The family gathered around the breakfast table. We enjoyed a fabulous brunch of trout, eggs, pancakes, hashbrowns, and yummy fresh fruit. Yummmm...(can you tell I love food?)
My daughter is not spoiled. She's not...ha ha! Most families gather around a game or a campfire. My family gathers around the child.
Anna had a great time, but was very happy to be back at grandma's house where she could be let loose!
And the not so happy ending to the weekend...Trav had to drive up and tow my car home on the trailer. Turns out Volkswagen screwed up when putting a new timing belt on a few weeks earlier. No worries...Trav took the car in to VW the next morning and yelled at them. The VW service manager had many apologies and the car was fixed that very day (free of charge, of course!).

Whew...that was a long post! Thanks for hanging in there! I had to document a great weekend, even if it is almost a month later. ;-)