Oh how I love to go camping!

If anyone has kept up with my blog since I started knows that every summer we go camping for a week.  We call it Clayson camp.  Originally it was my great grandma Clayson and her kids and all their kids and grandkids.  If that makes sense?  Well we did this camp about three weeks ago and had such a fun time!  It was from Sunday to Friday.  Michael went up with us Sunday to set up camp and then had to be back for work for Monday and Tuesday.  But then he came up again Tuesday night and was able to stay with us until Friday, thank goodness.  The kids did really well.  The first night Mikey kind of had a hard time.  Probably due to the fact that earlier that day (on our way to church) Michael accidentally shut Mikey's finger in the door.  Here's that story in a nutshell: 

We were literally minutes away from leaving for church and this little accident happened.  We didn't think it was too bad until we saw blood all over Michael's white shirt.  Poor little guy :(.  He was pretty much inconsolable and we really didn't know what to do.  His little finger looked horrible.  I called my mom for advice and then we called the doctor.  They said if it looked like he needed stitches that we should come in, if not then just to clean it and put a band-aid on.  So that's what we did.  Noelle was really upset about it all so I took her to church to take her mind off of it.  Afterward we headed up to the mountains.  Monday Mikey's finger looked really gross, almost infected.  It had gotten really red and swollen.  So my mom and I took a little trip to a nearby city and went to the doctor.  It's a good thing we did too.  The doctor said it wasn't infected yet but that it looked pretty bad and that considering we were camping and Mikey was always getting into something dirty it would be best to get him on some antibiotics.  The doctor wanted to get some antibiotic cream for him, but I said "no" because he kept putting his finger in his mouth and taking his bandaid off.  I know, so gross right?  So it was some bubble gum flavor medicine instead.  It worked really well.  After camp his nail fell right off and I think a new one is growing back.  But I hope to never do that again.

Anyway... Here are our pictures and reasons why we love to go camping!

1st day at camp-setting up the tent.  Noelle with her friend, second cousin, sweet Alivia.  These two play so cute together.

playing down by the stream

resting with Pa

Our tent.  It's been nicknamed "the lodge," "cabin," and my new favorite "the fortress."  It's large, but we love it and it's comfortable. 

Our tent was right by this pretty stream.  It was very soothing at night and I think really helped Mikey sleep.  We also went to Payson lake and had a blast there.

The lovely bathroom.  We have come to this campground for as long as I can remember.  One year this bathroom was out of order and we had the lovely opportunity to hike up to the other bathroom.  Basically just a wooden room built around a hole in the ground.  Gross.

This was our shower.  My parent's hooked it up to their trailer.  It was wonderful.

There was a huge pile of sand at our campsite this year and Noelle spent hours there.  She loved playing with others, but she wouldn't mind going here by herself.  She really showed her independent side here.  She did NOT need mom at all, or she thought she didn't.

Silly girl.  Playing down by the river.

Trying to convince her to get in the very cold water.

This was Mikey's bed.  He slept soooo well at camp.  I was very surprised.  Our tent would get really hot during his naptime so we had this battery charged fan.  It was a lifesaver.  Noelle also slept excellent at camp and even took a few naps.  Such a difference compared to years passed. 

We found this little guy near our tent.  Noelle was fascinated.

Mikey wanted to go everywhere!  Actually that is an understatement.  Here he wasn't quite walking but just wanted to be down on the ground.  He was usually pretty good at staying on this blanket, but still loved to get off of it once in a while.  The kids were so dirty up there.  But I didn't care much.  I made sure their hands were clean before and after eating and I used some wipes here and there.  It was nice not to be so worried about how dirty they got.  Made for a much more enjoyable camping experience. 

Around the campfire.  Noelle loved roasting marshmallows and loved the mornings around the fire.  Every morning we had hot chocolate, mmmm my favorite.

Michael participated in a horse shoe tournament with my sister, dad, cousins, and aunts and uncles.  I know he had lots of fun and he did pretty good too :). 

The last night we were there everyone got out some glow sticks.  They had lots of fun with that.  We also sang around the campfire.  That's one of my favorite parts.  We really get into it and can get a little crazy :)!!

Every year we have a pinata.  It's something my Grandma just loves to do.  Every cousin got a turn.  Youngest to oldest.  The pinata was really tough to break this year.

Mikey even got a turn.  He had no clue what was going on.  He has the funniest faces and was looking at Michael like "what the heck are you doing to me daddy?"

 We had such a fun time at camp this year.  It is sure a lot of work.  And sometimes I questioned why we even do it.  But it was worth it.  Noelle had a blast.  And is still asking if we can go back to camp.  My kids love being outdoors.  They are the happiest when they are outside doing things and I love that.  I'm glad that this is a tradition in our family and hope to continue it for many more years.