Camping at Jordanelle

This past weekend, Scott and I took the Crack Monkeys on our annual camping trip. In the past we've gone to Bear Lake, but last year Scott decided the drive was too long, and this year he didn't have any vacation time yet, so we've been going to Jordanelle State Park.

We always rent a UHaul because the kids like to bring their bikes and the cargo area in our Armada doesn't fit that much. Plus, this year Scot decided he wanted to take his grill because he didn't want to use the small portable one we have. Um, yeah. I don't know. Anyway, we ended up packing that, too, which turned out to be a really nice thing to have while camping, lol!

We had to wait until Scott got done with work, which turned out to be around 3pm, then started loading up the car and the trailer. By the time we got everything in, the asphalt from the re-paving had dried and we were able to leave.

It was after 6pm when we finally arrived at our campsite, but the sun was still out and boy, was it hot! Luckily this yeat I reserved a site that has a lot more shade than last year's. There was also two tent pads, so Ryan and Ethan's tent had an area all to itself. The kids helped unload everything without being asked (wow!), and eagerly helped pitch the tents so our campsite was up in less time than if it was just me and Scott.

Ta-dah! All done!

This little stream was right behind our tents; it helped put us to sleep after exciting, fun-filled days

We thought about going for a swim, but the kids wanted to roast marshmallows and make smores, so we were overruled. It mostly consisted of the kids having their marshmallows catch on fire more often than not, but there was fire to play with and smoke to cough on, so they were entertained.

Burning the 'mallows

Adding the chocolate and graham crackers

Burning even more gooey stuff

RAWR!

Mom, I think my mouth is glued shut!

SMORES!

Do you think I can fit this in my mouth, Mom?

Saturday we had a huge breakfast (thanks to Scott's grill!): pancakes, bacon, sausages, eggs and hot cocoa. It was only when I started to cook that we discovered the lighter we bought to replace our old ones was temperamental; it seemed to work only when it wanted to, which was definitely not when we needed it to! So Scott had to run to the campsite's general store to buy some matches. It worked out okay in the end: we got the grill lit and now have matches for our camping equipment.

Once breakfast was done and everything was cleaned up, we headed to the lake for some swimming! The kids were really excited....until we got down to the beach. Just some backstory: in January we went to Hawaii to celebrate my grandpa's 100th birthday. It was the first trip to Hawaii for both Vanessa and Jeff, and the first that Ryan and Ethan were old enough to remember. And what the four of them chose to remember was the beach.

So when we got to the shoreline of the lake, the Crack Monkeys were disappointed. I had to shush Ryan because he kept saying, "This isn't sand!" or Ethan from complaining that he had to walk through weeds to get down to the muddy water. Vanessa wanted the water to be warm "like in Hawaii!" and Jeff complained that he couldn't build a sand castle (he totally could!).

I think they got a bit spoiled. Or maybe were just brats that day, I dunno. At any rate, it took awhile for us to assure them that the lake was just as fun as a beach in Hawaii and that they should just have fun. They grumbled for a bit, but finally warmed up to the idea.

"Hmm, so how are we gonna do this?"

"It's not cold....It's not cold..."

"Hmm, the shallow water isn't that cold...I think I'll stay right here!"

Vanessa bossing Jeff around...as usual!

Watch out! He's armed!

Lunchtime rolled around and we drove to nearby Heber City for lunch at Wendy's (the Crack Monkeys' choice!) because in all the hubbub of packing and the kids driving me crazy, I forgot to pack the red Hawaiian hot dogs! Everyone was disappointed, but we made do with Wendy's....until I found something that looked like a vein in my chicken sandwich! Completely grossed me out, so I had to resort to stealing chicken nuggets from the kids. When that didn't work, I ate everyone's share of the french fires dipped in the kids' chocolate frosties. ^_^

Got back to the campsite, took naps, then headed back to the lake for more swimming. This time, the kids needed no cajoling and we had a hard time trying to get them out when the sun started to set. We managed to get back to our site, take showers, then make some smores before the first raindrops started to fall. We'd noticed the dark clouds headed our way, which made the need for the Crack Monkeys to stop swimming even more urgent.

Anyway, long story short, it stormed through the night, complete with thunder, lightning and a whole bunch of rain. The kids slept thru it all and by morning, it was sunny, blue skies again.

Just in time to pack up and go home, lol.