Packing for a 6 day trip is never easy, but especially when it's a camping trip. We got fortunate and were able to use my parents work trailer and it made the trip unbelievably awesome!
Day 1 - Tuesday After we finished packing we headed to Burger King to get some lunch before heading out of town.
We were surprised to find that Dustin's mom and his siblings: Krista, Alan, Brian, Boone and their families were all going to be there that week as well as his cousins daughter Maria and her family of 7. Krista's family brought a family of friends and Brian's family brought along Cindy's sisters family. Uncle Brent also stopped in on his motorbike for a night. It was a LOT of people and a TON of fun!
Day 2 - Wednesday we got up and headed to Bayhorse with Boone, Krista and Carol and families. Dustin and Boone rode four wheelers from the lot to the lake. Dustin took Molly along with him.
And Boone took Chris.
Cindy and I drove the truck and pulled the trailer with a little boat on the back so we could paddle around and fish on the lake.
We love it! It is so beautiful there!
Molly and Isabella were sleepy so we put them in the stroller and put a bug cover over so they didn't get eaten by mosquitos. They had a nice big nap.
We had a picnic.
And the kids played.
They were mixing dirt with water in the rock and using their sticks as paint brushes to paint the trees. I love how creative they get when there are no toys or electronic devices.
They picked "flowers".
They waded in the water and entertained themselves very well.
I had never been up to the upper lake so Dustin and I did a quick drive up there. It looked really similar. We tried to do a cool jumping pose on the end of the dock... but this is what you get.
Then all the kids wanted to ride with grandma and Krista and Molly was asleep with Sindy so I got to ride again with Dustin and follow Boone and Jason back down the ATV trail back to the lot.
It was gorgeous! I loved it. Super way to spend the day! Because we were up high the weather was nice and warm but not too hot all day. Toward later afternoon we got a little rain which is why we left the lake and the mosquitos went crazy!
Day 3 - Thursday we went up Yankee Fork to ride some more ATV trails and have another picnic. The kids had fun playing with their cousins while we prepared our coolers. Ella has 2 cousins close to her age that both live in Boise and boy they sure have a great time when they are all together! They get along so well I don't recall having to get after them for not getting along even once.
Molly was a big grandma's girl this trip. She just kept wanting to go see grandma Carol and play in her trailer with her. Probably cause she plays cards and feeds her yummy snacks. :) She is a good grandma!
Up Yankee fork we found a bunch of wild strawberry plants and grazed on them for a while.
Went on about a 5 minute drive and both these girls fell asleep on me.
Alissa woke up after probably 1/2 hour and says, "Wow, I almost fell asleep."
The kids just hung out around the little spot we claimed and explored together.
With giant smiles pasted all over their faces.
Dustin was modeling how awesome he can ride this dinky motorcycle that Tyler had just previously crashed. I was grateful I had my first aid kit with me that day cause we sure needed a lot of supplies from it.
Alissa and Jordan hanging out.
My sister in law Cindy taught me how to make a willow whistle.
It was stinkin awesome! I made 3 after that.
Then we piled up with Alan and Pam's family and headed for a 20 or so mile ATV ride.
We crossed creeks
and the kids LOVED it!
We discovered an old mining building and old houses at the top of this mountain.
Andrew was crazy and got down on that wood which made me way too nervous. He discovered this old boot and pulled it out.
I love, love this family!
We did crazy faces, but apparently Alan, Ella and I were the only ones that caught that memo.
My little 4 wheeler buddy. She would scream when we went down hill like we were going on a roller coaster and beg me to ride quickly through the mud and was singing and laughing the whole way.
Right as we were coming back we saw this moose and a deer running up the other side of the mountain. I only cared to try to capture the moose though. He was impressive and a perfect ending to an amazing ride.
Because it was the 4th we sang America songs on the way back to camp and brought out our glow sticks and sparklers by the fire.
Day 4 - Friday we decided to take it easy and stick around camp. Dustin and his 3 brothers discussing important things I am sure. :)
Ella making her contribution to the fort as Chris fights off aliens.
She also learned to ride the little motorcycle while we waited for everybody to get their stuff together for floating.
Molly and Anita being bossy and playing house.
Alissa hanging out with Mason. She was a big fan of her teenage cousins. She always wanted to hold their hand or be by them.
We loaded everybody up and went to float the river.
Alissa, Ella, Pam and I took the raft while the rest of them were on tubes. I am glad we opted for this cause Alissa was freezing. She decided she doesn't want to float again until she is a teenager. :) She was a good sport about it though and we still had lots of fun.
Ella wanted to jump on the tube with her dad so she went about 1/2 way riding on his lap.
Molly insisted she stay with grandma so we let her stay.
That evening we went on a short ride to find a new hot spring.
Again, it was so beautiful out.
The hot spring looks pretty gross and actually smelled pretty gross like sulfer but I thought it was pretty neat and out of the whole 20 of us Alissa and I were the only ones that took off our shoes and got in. They had a pipe running hot water and a pipe running cold water.
Day 5- Saturday Dustin woke up and went to Challis with his brothers to get some items he needed for Scout camp on Monday. When he got back we went up Yankee Fork again to go fishing in the kiddy ponds. They had just loaded them so the fish were jumping every where!! The girls walked around and "caught" their own fish with their hands and a stick. About 7 dead fish that were floating around the bank. They felt pretty proud.
Dustin helped Alissa and Molly catch fish.
And he coached Ella until she did it on her own. She was done after about 4 or 5 fish.
Too easy I guess.
A deer wandered right into our picnic area.
And we ended with another ATV ride up the mountain. We rode all the way through the river, thankfully nobody got washed away. After fighting a bad feeling the whole 3 miles (seemed like a lot longer) I made everybody turn around. There were 8 machines and only 3 had an adult driving. I took a lot of grief over it, but I felt glad that the feeling went away when we got back. 3 of the teenagers and one of the other moms confirmed my feeling. I don't know... it's smarter to be safe and listen to the promptings than to feel regret for neglecting.
More fun playing with teenage cousins.
Day 6 - Sunday we packed up and headed for home. As we drove off the lot and saw our cousins waving and yelling bye I burst into tears. As we got out of the lot Alan waved Dustin down. When he got out I looked back to see he just wanted a hug. They ran at each other and hugged. These things make my heart so happy. I probably cried 15 minutes down the road. We had so much fun and made some seriously amazing memories with our family this week.
I am happy to have a good warm shower, sad to be away from 100% family and fun. Until next time.
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