Camping, Round 2

Our family embarked on a second camping trip of the summer with some friends (Eric's partner at work and his wife). We scoped out a new camping ground for this past trip, just outside Payson. The first day up there was beautiful, and we managed to find a nice (although rather muddy) swimming hole to pass the day away.

LOVE this picture!!

Evan's still not quite walking (although he could if he really tried!), but he found a new way to get around with all the dirt and rocks. And you wonder why we call him a little bug? :)

A friendly game of badminton

Just look at this face!!

As nice as the first day of camping was, things soon turned, um...interesting. After what we thought was a nice evening, we went to bed. Then came the lightning. And the thunder. And 1 1/2 inches of rain. Um, that's A LOT when you're in a tent, people! Before the night was over, Eric moved into the car (since his sleeping bag had leaked completely through) and I stayed with the kids in the tent, sharing Kristen's twin-sized air mattress with her. Evan was the only one completely unscathed. The next morning, our campsite looked like this:

Sleeping bags drying on the clothesline, pillows drying on the chairs, firewood drying around the fire pit. Everything was very wet. (Dad and Mom - this seriously reminded me of the "blinded" incident in Wyoming!)

So we took a trip to the local Wal-Mart and purchased a ginormous tarp, turning our campsite into this:

This actually was a complete lifesaver, because about 10 minutes after Eric finished stringing up the tarp, it poured rain again for about 3 hours. Needless to say this became our new kitchen/hang-out area for the remainder of the trip. Not bad, though! :)

Regardless of the weather, we had some rather large bugs that visited us each night. They loved the lamp or the fire, and they sounded like helicopters coming at you. Kristen was infatuated with them (well, them and the earthworms that came out after the rain). Anyone know what these suckers are?

Once the weather was nice enough to play again, we tried our luck at another swimming hole, this time a much clearer one.

Evan couldn't get enough splashing, that's for sure!

And remember that cute little face from before? Well, it's still cute, but this time just coated in animal crackers!

Fun was reportedly had by all. Maybe next time we'll stay a bit drier!