First Camping Trip

Last weekend Kevin, Abi and Myself along with my parents and siblings (and their families) went camping. My grandparents own property in Central Utah and there is a campground on that property, so that's where we went.

This is what is looks like.


It looks a little hot and dry, I know, but the weather was actually pretty nice the whole time we were there. Plus, the campground area is green and grassy. My grandparents have done a lot of work to take care of it so the rest of us can enjoy it. We wanted it to be a real camping trip (sometimes, it doesn't always work out that way, since my grandparent's house is right across the field from the campground) so we all brought all of our camping gear, tents, sleeping bags, camp stoves, etc. and set up camp.

Here's where Kevin and I decided to make our campsite.


My mom told us that we could do anything that we wanted, but she didn't want to fill every minute with some kind of organized activity. She just wanted to relax, and I could deal with that. There was lots of fire building, cooking and eating, some of us went on a hike (not me, but some), we shot guns one day, but most of the time we just visited and enjoyed to nice weather and enjoying each others company.

Abi has never been camping before this, so I was excited about taking her, but unsure how she would react to everything while we were there. She loved it. She was happy just to wander around the campground or play with her cousins.

I was also a little worried about her sleeping in the tent at night, not that she's not a good sleeper, but we watched the weather before we left and the first night we were to spent outside the temperature was supposed to get down to 37 degrees. The next night wasn't so bad, but that first night was COLD! We just had to bundle Abi up really good.


Because we camped at the campground and not at Grandma and Grandpa's, we were able to take Oakley, our Yellow Lab, with us.

Between Oakley and Abi, I'm not sure who had more fun. Oakley loved every minute of her time there. She spent all day sniffing something or playing with Mel and Tim's dog, Penny, or chasing Kevin around on the three-wheeler. She slept for two whole days once we got home.

Abi even rode the three-wheeler with her daddy.







And that's not the only thing Abi drove while we were down there.

Look! No hands!

It was so much fun spending time with our family in the great outdoors and we are excited to do it again!



Here are some tips for a great camping trip:

1. It's very important to keep hydrated.


2. Make sure that there is plenty of good food to eat.

(Especially corn-on-the-cob)




3. Always get plenty of sleep.

4. When going on a hike, be sure to use the "buddy system."

5. Be sensitive. Camping is hard for some people.


6. Always camp with those you love.


7. And finally, SMILE, you're camping!

Day at the Zoo

I have been a real slacker lately and haven't posted in a while, though I have had plenty to post about. On Labor Day (that was, oh, two Mondays ago) Kevin's mom thought that it would be fun if we all went to Hogle Zoo as a family. While we did have a lot of fun, I do want to make one suggestion: if you don't like crowds, don't go to the zoo on Labor Day. If you do, then by all means... who wants to be able to get up close enough to see the animals anyway?

No, really we had a great time and Abi has never been before, so it was fun to show her all the animals and everything. The weather was also really nice, which I was glad for. I was worried we'd have to be out in the heat all day with the babies, but it was nice an cool while it was still sunny.

Most everyone's been to a zoo at one time or another, so everyone knows how they operate. Having said that, I won't give a play-by-play and let the pictures speak for themselves.

Abi and Savannah in their cool shades (not that they kept them on or anything)

Here's a sampling of the animals we saw:

Rhinos


Giraffes


Tigers


Lots of birds (this one's called a spoonbill)


Some house cat sniffing a piece of meat (just kidding, this was some desert cat that I can't remember the name of, but isn't it cute and fluffy?)


And of course the main attraction this year, Zuri the baby elephant...


and Zuri's mommy...


and some other elephant. (Kevin thought this picture was awesome because he got her with her ears open. All the elephants at Hogle Zoo are female by the way. Did you know that?)

Abi had lots of fun looking at the animals, even though she sort of looks clueless in most of the pictures. It's a lot to take in for a one-year-old.

Of course, if you've been to the zoo and haven't stood up next to one of these with your arms spread-eagle, well, you just haven't had the full experience.



Then there's the carousel ride.

Waiting in line with Uncle Jon and cousin Savannah

Abi on her animal. We picked the polar bear.

Around...

and around.

Savannah fell asleep in line and slept the whole ride.

And then the train ride. This time, Abi fell asleep and we woke her up right as we got on board. I'm not so sure if she was happy about that.

Then, of course, we had to visit the gift shop to get Abi a souvenir.

Cool chicks!

Abi's very favorite things were all the stuffed animals...

Every one the she got her hands on she gave a kiss.

We ended up taking home that purple hat on her head, a giraffe magnet and a red panda stuffed animal toy, not this cute penguin.

I haven't personally been to the zoo in a handful of years so it was fun for me to go back and see all of the changes they have made so far. They are planning some new exhibits, so it will be exciting to see those as well.