Summer of the TENT - Part 2

Just in case you were wondering, that is the inside of our tent, and the date is approximately four days after we returned home from the Mapleton Canyon camping trip I blogged about below. FOUR DAYS!!! BE REASONABLE PEOPLE!!! So basically we (and by "we" I mean "I") came home and unpacked, did laundry, left half the camping stuff packed in bins in the garage, packed up again, and left for Teasdale. Now, you should know that Teasdale and I have a complicated history, and it's less than my favorite place to go. Instead of staying in the "house," we opted for our tent in the front yard and that helped, but again, it's a tent. Good thing I put my foot down last year and insisted on an 11-man tent if I was EVER going camping again. We have already got our money's worth out of that tent ... great investment. It makes all the difference in the world to be in a nice big roomy tent ... but it's still a tent, and I had still already spent three days in my tent just the weekend before. So with that, along with the complicated history mentioned above, it's possible I started this trip out a little grouchy.

The good part is that the kids had a GREAT time. They love the tent. They love camping. They love sleeping on the porch at Teasdale. They love their new cots. And they LOVE their cousins! They had so much fun playing together. And I LOVE it when they have a good time. :)
They definitely LOVE the tire swing. Probably one of their favorite parts of Teasdale.




We almost didn't go to the waterfall in Capitol Reef, but I knew the kids would love it, so I insisted, and I'm glad we went. True to form, we had to drag the kids out after a few hours. My kids love the water. We've tested the theory, and yes they would literally swim ALL DAY if we let them ... they've done it. And since I love being in the sun, and sun and swimming generally go together - everybody's happy.

T.J. is just way too cute. Love this little guy. Can't believe my baby is this big already. Wow.



This tree is in the picnic area in Fruita. Coolest tree ever.

This is at the Goosenecks overlook. Austin and Jackson had hiked down in the creek-bed way at the bottom of the canyon behind us earlier in the week and wanted to see it from above.

Most of the grand-kids went on a hike to the caves behind the house. They loved climbing all over the mountain and of course .... playing together. I'm glad for the memories that were created and the fun the kids had there with each other. They have a better attitude than I do about most things ... don't think that's a big shock to anyone. We did have a nice time. It was nice to relax a bit, and it is beautiful down there. Capitol Reef is an amazing place to visit. There's just something about those red ledges.