Camping

We had such a fun time camping with a few of our homeschool friends at the end of August. We actually slept in a tent. If you know anything about me that is quite the feat. I'm not a big camper. But we ended up having a really good time.

 In the morning, our two oldest girls decided to go exploring without telling mom and dad. They came to the tent slightly giggling calling for us to come help them. When I opened the tent door this is what I found. I was less than amused, especially since we didn't bring extra clothes!

The mud was SERIOUSLY CAKED ON!!! 

The mud had to be scraped off!

This is the creek they decided to explore...

And this is where they got stuck! Thankfully a nearby camper heard there cries for help, got a stick and pulled them out.

 Once they were all cleaned up there was no shortage of snake hunting . . .

 and frog hunting. SO MANY FROGS!!!

 Porkchop shot his first bb gun.

I think he liked it! 

 We were sad we couldn't stay the full weekend with our friends, but the hubby had an international flight he had to get back in time for. But on our way home I was able to snap this shot of the Manti temple. So beautiful! Can't wait till we can do this again. Hopefully we can stay the full time!

Pooh Sticks

Every year when we go camping it's tradition to play the game "Pooh Sticks". This game comes from the classic Winnie the Pooh and is really quite a simple game, but the kids LOVE it and look forward to it every year! And truth be told, we (mom and dad), do too! To play, all you do is find a stick. Go to a nearby bridge with a river flowing underneath it. Starting at the upside of the river, everyone drops their sticks in at the same time. You then run to the other side of the bridge to see whose stick comes out on the other side first. The first stick to show up on the other side is the winner!

So here we are doing our first round of Pooh Sticks. This was the first time that Piglet was really involved and it was a lot of fun to watch her discover the excitement of this game.

 Here they are waiting for their sticks to come out on the other side.

 And here is our winner!

 Look how excited she was! LOVE IT!

 Even Porkchop was SUPER excited!

But shortly after our first couple rounds of Pooh Sticks, Piglet found a nearby field of buttercups and had to stop to smell the flowers. 

 She's our free spirit . . . or should I say strong willed!

 These really are silly traditions, but we LOVE them and look forward to them EVERY year! I only hope that my kids don't become to "cool" for Pooh Sticks!

A New Camera Lens

My hubby got me a new camera lens for my birthday! I have had the stock lens that came with my camera for a long time now and have wanted a nicer lens for a long while now. I am pretty happy with this little lens. It does a really great job of blurring the background when I want it to, allowing for my focal point to stand out. So here is what I did today, in no particular order. 

I'm still learning how to use it!