Summer Staycation, part 1

When we got home from Shakespeare, there were just two little birds in the nest. I like to think that two just developed earlier because they hatched first and had already flown away, but we're not very certain of that. At least these little cuties were doing well! Here they are on the 15th,

and the 17th.

Here is how they freak out when we're in the back yard:

On the morning of the 17th we hooked up our rented tent trailer and headed up to the Uinta mountains. Because of the very cool, wet spring, our favorite campground at Butterfly Lake was still closed due to snow :(  We stayed lower down the mountain at Washington.

The kids couldn't wait to get into the giant Jet-Puffed marshmallows!

We got our beds set up and Crumpet immediately snuggled in and took a nap.

As soon as we could (which was NOT soon enough for two whiny kids) we packed up our fishing stuff and walked down to Washington Lake. We hiked around to the opposite side and the kids did really well crossing the rocky part.

It was a beautiful afternoon!

We didn't have any luck, but we did have a lot of fun.

The temperature was on the cool side, so I kept Crumpy Dump toasty in my now-too-big jacket.

Look at that sunset!

We went back to camp and it got a little sprinkly, but our hobo dinners cooked well and were delicious.

The morning of the 18th I made a blueberry pancake breakfast and then we drove over to try some fishing at Butterfly Lake. Still no luck.

Crumpet loved being with us and found comfortable spots to rest.

I wonder if she remembered all the camping trips of her youth with her mom, Dutchess, and our German Shepherd, Smokey? We told the kids all about how Crumpet so looked up to her big "brother" that when we tossed sticks into the lake for Smokey to fetch (his favorite thing on earth) she would follow him into the water just to be like him. You could just tell that she hated swimming, and Dutchess would stand on the shore looking at her like she was an idiot! :) Fun times back then. Once we even took our CRX camping, with Smokey crammed in that little hatchback!

For our next adventure, we stopped at the lookout by Bald Mountain Pass.

Then back to our trailer for a puppet show

and a nap.

For our last try at fishing, we drove up to Trial Lake, hiked up the dike, and still didn't catch anything there either!

At least it wasn't rainy that evening and we had a lot of fun with the campfire.

FIREBUGS!!

We roasted hot dogs and had chili cheese dogs with homemade coleslaw.

Then on to the reason for camping, the treats!

And games!

The next day it sprinkled or full out rained all morning. I made a big bacon and egg breakfast, then we packed up and came home. A bit of a wet trip and no fish to show for it, but we still had a great time! The kids had a ball and we really enjoyed the great outdoors and the cooler temperatures. We loved staying in a tent trailer and will probably rent one again. Tony and I are way too old to sleep on the ground again like the two years before.

Unfortunately, we came home to find out that Faith and Christian's best friend, Spencer, was immediately moving to Texas and we didn't have a chance to say goodbye. We had a tough time the rest of the summer missing him and his family :(  Luckily I got to talk to his mom, Christy, on the phone a few weeks later. The kids still talk about him all the time, Faith sends little messages through my facebook account, and Christian is constantly asking when summer will come so that Spencer will visit ❤

Here are our chicks on the 20th. Getting so big!