First camping trip of Summer

We bought a new tent this year and have only set it up once and that was in the back yard. Ben was really excited to use it when we got invited to go camping with the Long family. They went up Friday morning to reserve us a spot at North fork. We planned to leave Friday afternoon and stay til Saturday night. Ben finished up with his A.T. that morning at 11 and we packed up the car and then headed to get some lunch. After we ate lunch we picked up our last remaining items and headed up to the camp ground. It took us a second to figure out where we were at, but after a quick phone call, we got directions and found our camp spot. We walked around for a little bit to see what all was at the camp ground and then we set up our tent. When we were all settled in we went for a walk while waiting for the Long's to get there. We started our little walk and ran into them on the road. So we headed to back to help them get things set up. When we were all set up and ready, we went for a little hike to the pond that was near our camp spot. It was a nice pond and the kids had a blast tossing things into the water. We headed back after a bit to go and get dinner ready. They were cooking a dutch oven dinner. I love dutch oven. We had bar b-que chicken and very cheesy yummy potatoes. Then of course the best part was dessert. The Longs had an awesome way of doing smores. You put mini marshmallows and bit size pieces of candy bars into waffle cones, wrap them in tin foil, and then cook them on the coals. It was so yummy. After the kids had finished their treats, I was done with them, it was time for bed. After putting them in bed, we tried to enjoy sitting in front of the fire. There wasn't much enjoyment with Owen and Gabbi screaming and playing in the tent. So I decided to separate them and put Owen in his car seat in the car. He fell right asleep. Ben was pretty much done so we called it a night as well. We ended up putting Gabbi in Owen's play pin to see if she would sleep easier. She did which was nice, but Owen woke around 2 in the morning crying. So I pulled him out of his seat and because Gabbi was in his bed, he laid with us. Man that kid moves around a lot. I didn't sleep much after that. In the morning the boys left to go fishing and the rest of us stayed at camp to cook breakfast. We had breakfast burritos, which again was very yummy. After eating and cleaning up, we just relaxed and let the kids play. We had planned on going on a hike, so after a while of resting we packed up the kids and headed for the hike. The kids did a great job. There were some parts that were pretty hard, but they were all troopers. The prize at the end, getting to play in the cold stream. Luckily going down is easier then going up, so it flew by fast. Owen fell asleep in the back pack, very cute. We were lucky enough that he stayed asleep while we cleaned up camp. When we got back to camp we packed up everything that wasn't being used. When everything was ready to go, we cooked brawts and hot dogs for dinner with grilled corn on the cob. I have never had or seen corn cooked that way, I was kind of surprised that it tasted so good. Once everyone was done eating, we put the last remaining items in the car, gave the kids their smores in a cup so they could eat it on the way home, and we headed for home. I forget how much goes into a camping trip. It was blast, to bad we couldn't have stayed longer.

I love how he puts his hands in the pockets of the carrier.

The Sagez Family

The Long Family

Drive In

If you haven't noticed, we really love the drive in. We go when ever there's a movie worth seeing. This time it was Brave. The kids loved the movie. Gabbi was a little scared at first with the bear, but she really loved the movie. We put Owen in his play pin to watch the movie, he liked it for a little bit. Then he wanted out and I held him for the rest of the movie. He feel asleep on my lap. After Brave was over, we put the kids in the car and they slept while we watched the Avengers. We love our nights at the Drive in.

Splash pad with the Long's

On Thursday's the kids and I like to get together with friends of ours and play. We like to go to the park, or just whatever. The kids love it. This time we went to the Riverdale splash pad. We have only been there one other time and it was really cold. It didn't help that it was at the end of season. This time, it was hot out side, so the cold water was nice. It was very crowded and the kids weren't as into as I would have hoped, but they still had fun. I was surprised when Owen walked away and didn't want anything to do with it anymore. He's a water bug. Once he was done, Gabbi didn't want to play in the water anymore either. So all the kids got out, dried off and headed to the play ground. It was really hot and all the toys were on fire, so we decided to go to McDonald's to get some ice cream. The kids loved the ice cream and even better they had toys to play on that were burning in the sun. It was a lot of fun. Once we were done with the fun, we went and did our grocery shopping for the camping trip we were going on that weekend.

Swim Lessons

I was very excited for the kids to start swimming lessons. We had signed Gabbi up last year, but she broke her leg and was unable to take the class. When Jenny asked if we were interested this year, I jumped fast.

Gabbi was very excited for class. We signed her up for the preschool level 1 class. She had three other kids in her class and one teacher. She had a problem every once in a while paying attention. Her teacher had to yell her name quite a few times to bring her attention back to the class. She just wanted to play in the water. When she did pay attention, she loved it. After class she would come and excitedly explain to me what she did in class that day. Class lasted 2 weeks, 4 days a week. At the conclusion of class the kids were given a progress report. Gabbi did a great job. They told us that she really needed to work on her floating, both on her back and belly. Ben blames himself for that one. He scared her once when he was trying to get her to float. But they did say she was ready to go to the next level. She's already talking about it. She wants to go now.

We signed Owen up for the ducky dippers class. A class where the little ones get to play in the water on their own. Next year I think I will sign him up for the mommy and me class in order to get him ready to do the other levels. He did enjoy his class, every once in a while. At first he seemed like he was afraid. Then it just seemed like he didn't want to stay in the water. I had to play in the water with him to get him interested in it. By dang he was going to play in the water, ex specially since I had paid for the class. He was very cute once he started enjoying himself. He eventually warmed up to the slide. He went down so many times. Very cute.

The last day of class they turned on all the water toys. That was the best part for Gabbi. she got to play around with no one telling her what to do. The really fun part was that she got to play with a friend. Ron, Ben's buddy from work, his wife and kids where at swim lesson the same time we were. So when they got to play, Gabbi and Ryder had a blast. They chased each other up and down the slides. Owen stayed on the toddler side and went down the froggy slide. He got a little scared when we went to the deeper waters. He couldn't balance very well.

Hot Sauce

We went out to dinner one night at Wing Wah and while we were eating, Ben thought it would be fun to give Gabbi some hot sauce. The following pictures are some of the results of that hot sauce. Needless to say, she will never try that again.

Vacuum

We were over at Jenny and Brian's for family dinner. Owen had found Cameron's toy vacuum and went to town. It was so cute. He was making vacuum sounds and everything. Cameron was so nice, he gave Owen the vacuum to keep. So cute

Annie's Birthday

After leaving Crystal Hot Springs, we hurried home because we were having a birthday dinner for Annie at our place. We were doing a special Gluten free dinner for her. Annie loves noodles and its not something that she can have, so we decided to do a spaghetti dinner. It turned out really nice. We had gluten free noodles and bread for Annie and and regular noodles for everyone else. We even had a Gluten free cake. Everyone shared in bringing an item for the meal, the whole dinner went off without a hitch. When everyone was done eating dinner we started playing games. Ben and I had set up the volleyball net in the back yard so we could play. It had been a long time since any of us had played volleyball. We had a blast. The kids had fun too, they played in the toy room downstairs. It was a lot of fun and the best part was that everyone was able to make it. Happy Birthday Annie!

Crystal Hot Springs

While Ben was still at A.T., Nelson and Deann invited us to go to Crystal Hot Springs. Even though Ben couldn't go, the kids and I headed for the pool. When we got there we met Nelson and Deann at their campsite, then we walked over to the pool. The kids had a lot of fun playing in the different pools. I liked the cool water pool the best, but I have never been a real fan of the hot pools. Gabbi loved it. She played on the stairs the whole time. I forgot to bring her life jacket so she couldn't go too far, but she still had a blast. After a little while we headed back to the campsite to have lunch. After lunch we headed back to the pool for more swimming. Owen was pretty much done once we got there, but Gabbi jumped right back in. Before we left, Nelson asked Gabbi if she wanted to go down the slide with him. She agreed, but wasn't very happy about it. When they hit the bottom she was crying. Owen wanted to get into the pool at the bottom of the slide so bad, so Nelson took him down too. He was laughing so hard, it was cute. Gabbi became jealous and asked Nelson to take her down again. She laughed and had a big smile. Then he took Owen one more time and he cried the whole time down. They switched places, it was hilarious.

First time down

Second time down