funny, but after moving from idaho we went right back up the first chance we got! we needed to bring some boxes back up to our storage in IF and get zach's toddler bed and mattress that we didn't think we'd need here, but ended up needing due to space. our friends, aaron and tiffany and their kiddos met up with us at rigby lake for a weekend of camping adventure.
the lake wasn't filled yet, about 1/4 of the way, so we did do some splashing and playing by the water...we'd love to make this an annual trip, but will definitely go later in the season when there is less chance of high winds {hopefully} and a lake to swim in.
we brought brady's metal detector, hoping to find some great treasures left behind by beach-goers, but the boys found a lot of trash instead. oh well, we did our part to clean up the beach!
we arrived late on friday evening, and thankfully aaron and tiff already had camp and our borrowed tent set-up! what a huge help! we unloaded necessary items for the night, changed into p.j.'s and hit the sleeping bags. the kids and chris fell asleep right away...i was awake until sometime around 4:00 a.m. the high winds were causing our tent stakes to uproot, so i had to fix them and the tent fly several times. the flapping of the tent wall and fly was so loud i couldn't fall asleep, not to mention some very hard ground and a small mattress pad that i had been hopeful would provide more comfort than it did.
the next morning, although groggy and {slightly} cranky we aroused to crisp air and settled down winds, although still very breezy at camp. i had made up some tin-foil breakfast packets the day before so we got a small fire going and cooked those (which were delicious) with a side of bananas and strawberries. the only thing we were missing was some O.J.
lumberjack tin-foil breakfast packets:
pre-roasted or left-over potatoes, diced
eggs
breakfast sausage patties
chopped onion, peppers
shredded cheese
salt & pepper
lightly spray tin foil with oil. layer sausage on bottom, then potatoes, peppers and onions and cheese. right before adding on fire add in the number of eggs you'd like in each packet. (the eggs kind of ended up cooking to the foil and i didn't feel that they were completely necessary. the sausage, potatoes and veggies were delicious, so next time i think we'll omit the eggs from the packet and cook separately).
wrap in double-foil and mark for each person. cook on hot coals for about 30 minutes, turning halfway through.
the boys all enjoyed stoking the fire and kept it going with their continuous searches for sticks and branches. (please excuse picture quality on a lot of these...iphone pics...)
brady, max & ethan
after playing around for a bit and exploring our site and the lake we parted ways with our friends for the afternoon as they had family plans and so did we. we headed into town, stopped and said hi to some friends and neighbors and unloaded boxes at the house in IF and then met up with shawnae, tim and brielle and bryce at beautiful freeman park for a picnic. for memorial day there was a 1000 flag memorial and some free entertainment so we enjoyed hearing bagpipes, seeing live re-enactment soldiers and musket shooting as well as a local performing troupe of acrobats, aged 6-20 years old.
olivia was hooked. she's been doing "acrobats" ever since!
the guys went off and played disc golf with brady and shawnae and i took the littles on a walk around the beautiful park. i really love that place. i wish i had gotten pictures of the guys...
we threw stones into the creek...and blew "wishing lions"
olivia filled shawnae's stroller full of the "perfect" dandelions...
and our cute little niece, brielle slept the afternoon away!
we left freeman park and met up with our friends, rose and wes at their house for a quick visit and some ice cream cones! i even brought my camera in to remind me to take a picture....but forgot!
after we headed back to aaron and tiff's and cooked tin-foil chicken and stuffing dinners over their fire pit and a fruit salad. her brother and his girlfriend graciously accepted to watch ALL 7 of our combined kiddos while we adults snuck away for a double-date to the drive-in!
we were equipped with games, pillows, blankets, homemade caramel corn, drinks...but not enough cushions! our tushies were numb! we saw x-men and godzilla (could have passed on the latter, but the guys loved it). tiff and i had a hard time staying awake anyway and we rolled home at around 2:30 in the morning and crashed in their living room!
the next day was sunday, and despite our best efforts to get to church in IF to visit our friends we didn't make it. i had packed our sunday bag with us to aaron and tiff's but as we were getting kids bathed and trying to hop in showers i realized our underwear and toiletries were all still at camp, about 15 minutes away. chris tried to hurry over and get our stuff but by the time he got back we didn't have enough time to finish getting ready and make it to church. so we read our scriptures and church magazines instead and enjoyed a delicious pot roast lunch with our friends when they got back from their ward.
then we packed back up and headed back to camp!
the kids explored more, played in the sand/dirt, rode trikes and bikes and ate marshmallows before dinner.
then we cooked delicious steak, chicken, grilled veggies and corn on the cob over the fire with fruit salad and pasta salad on the side.
our awesome baby sitters! tiff's brother, justin and his flame courtney.
and after dinner....? more smores!
our last night was a much better night's sleep. i actually slept like a rock, seriously. so exhausted from the weekend. in the morning we had bacon, eggs, egg mcmuffins, pancakes, yogurt...played in the water, gathered up camp and went back to aaron and tiffs to play games and hang out until we had to head back home.
we are so grateful for such good friends and that our children play well and love spending time together. our kids were so excited for this weekend. it was a great time!
