More camping

I'd venture to say that half of the pictures we take are outdoors, in some national park, usually camping! For fourth of July weekend our family decided to beat the heat and head up to Kings' Canyon. This time we stayed 3 nights and were joined by the Wiens family and the Nolan family! Our kids played and got EXTREMELY dirty (I thought Isaac had grown out of that, but he was almost as dirty as Levi, age 2, each night), loving it the whole time! In order to make sure we could find 2 campsites together for our group of 12, Christa and I went up with the kids on Friday morning since Randy and Aaron were both working. We did a great job, if I must say so myself. Found 2 sites, set up our kitchens, our bear-boxes, our EZ-Up, our tents, even made dinner. The boys arrived in time to start our evening campfire, but I bet we could have even done that too! Randy and I took the kids to the campfire program to hear Ranger Frank give his John Muir talk, but the kids only lasted a bit past nine (it starts at 8:30 and last an hour). Audrey did enjoy being able to go on stage and lead a song along with all the other Jr. Rangers. She felt really special (too bad I didn't bring my camera). Saturday was spent relaxing (Auntie Christa painted the girls' nails), playing, taking a hike through the picnic area to pick up trash (to earn their Jr. Ranger badges), attending a "Budding Naturalist" ranger program (a fun, kid-centered program that played games to help kids learn how to identify the trees in the area) and earning their Jr. Ranger badges! Congratulations to all our Jr. Rangers! Goofy Vi! That's not how you play ladderball! On Sunday morning we started our Independence Day celebration with a parade! Every year in front of the Ranger Station the town of Wilsonia has a parade. Here the kids waiting for the parade to start. Isaac watching the parade go by. Vi caught some candy being thrown from one of the trucks! Smokey the Bear rode in the parade and then stopped by the Ranger Station for pictures! The Nolan family joined us that afternoon and we had a great time hiking to the Big Trees, enjoying a yummy dinner of spaghetti and meatballs, and then another hike at sundown. Christa and I bought a bunch of glow necklaces and bracelets for the kids to wear on the hike...kinda like their own fireworks! We got back to camp, started a campfire for some s'mores, then put the kids to bed with the glow-lights before sitting around the campfire for awhile longer! Monday we took our time packing up, playing with kids, exploring around our campsite, and walking down to the creek before heading back down to the heat. Thanks Wiens and Nolan families for such a great weekend! Happy Birthday USA! Kinnedy and Violet enjoying a snack of yogurt. Vi and Uncle Aaron watching things float in the creek. Isaac brought up his ship from VBS and it floated very well! Levi just wanted to throw rocks in...what a boy! Charlotte and Vi decided to take their shoes and socks off and put their toes in! My big girl! All of us. Front row, Charlotte, Levi, Violet, Audrey, Kinnedy, and Isaac. Back row, Jamie, Randy, Christa, Aaron, Kristina and Terron.