our first local campout

this week was cody's fall break.  ryan used a week of vacation so we could do some fun stuff as a family.  the kids kind of got shorted when we went on a cruise without them and then spent the rest of the summer moving basically.  we started the week off with a campout at a little place some friends recommended called los burros.  we loved it and we'll definitely be heading back.  it was only about an hour away, so it was super convenient.

we got to the site with plenty of time to get things set up.  of course, we had to start with some snacks.

the boys were mostly sent to gather fire wood, but they liked watching what was going on 

like mom and dad setting up the tent and other supplies. 

cody found a big log he thought would go great by the fire pit.  it was like watching them practice for the world's strongest man contest! 

we cruised around the area on a little walk.  there's an old cabin and barn from the early 1900s to look at and a little creek to cross.  it was all close enough that bonnie could mostly just walk - which she loved. 

for some reason, this stump was the perfect picture spot and both boys insisted that i take their picture sitting on it.  

we had some time to kill before dinner, so we played a little 'guess who?' the version we have is great for travel, but i miss the old version i grew up with. 

we had dinner just before dark and roasted a few marshmallows.  as the sun was getting ready to set we saw an owl fly around a bit and heard lots of elk (which we continued to hear into the night).  it was a cold night so we got everyone bundled up and in bed shortly after it got dark and ryan and i got to enjoy the night sky for a few minutes before we were about freezing.  it was a bit of a long night with bonnie waking up once being cold and isaac getting up to go to the bathroom three or four times, but we all survived.

in the morning we got everything cleaned up and went for a little hike on a trail nearby.  our boys are such good hikers!  now we just have to wait for next spring to warm things up so we can go out again.  the last time we went camping was when cody was about 3 months old, so hopefully we don't take another 5 year hiatus.