Last Campout of the Year

This past Friday we were going to go camping with Jacqui and Jared. Bryce worked real hard to fix our trailer earlier in the week and we had everything ready to go...the last thing we needed to do was load our trailer and put it down. Well, the trailer wouldn't go down, so we bagged it and just did everything but sleep in our trailer.

It actually ended up being a lot of fun and I am glad we didn't have to freeze in our trailer at night. We went camping up to Mantua and while it was a bit cold, we enjoyed being in the outdoors and the kids had a blast.
The kids had a great time playing on the hill behind our camping spot. It is really steep and they spent most of their time sliding down on their bums and even Landon tried it out...but he only tried it once! We ate hamburgers and chips for lunch and then decided to have smores before the sun went down. Later that night, we played games in the trailer while the kids colored and played with their light sabers.
Clayton had a fun time crawling around on Jacqui's mat and trying to eat anything he could find on the ground....including rocks. He played with the dogs food, tried to knock the food off our table and of course, loved eating dinner with us. He and Cooper were so exhausted when we headed home that night. They fell asleep in the car and slept peacefully through the night, so they would be ready for another adventurous day!
On Saturday morning, we came back to camp at 9 and Jacqui had fixed a tasty "mountain man" breakfast in the dutch oven. It was freezing cold that morning because the wind was blowing hard. Bryce had the boys help him find firewood and drag it over to our camp. Then he acted like "Tim the toolman Taylor" and used his new chain saw. I had to tease him about it, but he actually provided lots of nice firewood for us!
At eleven, we took off on our 4 wheelers to Inspiration Point. It took us about an hour to get there but it was so beautiful along the way. Bryce took Cooper behind him and I had Landon behind me. We switched on the way back and Landon ended up falling asleep in Bryces arms.
Later that afternoon, Jacqu and Jared taught Reese and Jaxson how to ride their dirt bike. It was crazy to see these little ones be able to control the dirt bike. For the most part, they did a good job. Cooper decided that he wanted to drive the 4 wheeler by himself so we took turns riding with him as he drove us around the gravel pit.
It was fun to teach him how to be careful and responsible when he is driving a 4 wheeler. I thought he did a great job and he was very cautious (like his mom) and smart while driving around. He thought he was so big and he kept saying, "Aren't you proud of me, mom?"
Clayton had a fun time exploring everything while we were camping. He enjoyed watching the fire for a few seconds. He loved to crawl around in the dirt and rocks. I bet he spent a good two hours out in the gravel pit picking up rocks. He was very content and happy to just stay their and play.
He was having so much fun that he would not go down for a nap. Finally, around 4, Bryce decided to take him on a short bike ride and he crashed out. I guess there is something about the hum and bumping of a ATV that babies love! Either that, or Bryce has a way of putting people to sleep!We ate walking tacos on Saturday night along with corn on the cob. We let the kids play for a little longer while we packed things up. It was so much fun to be outside and enjoy the Fall weather that is starting to set in. But, once again, my favorite part of it all was watching my kids have fun and to see the smiles on their faces...nothing will ever beat that in my book!