Camping, 2013 Part Deux

Getting Ready for Bed... We debated whether we should break our family up between two tents, or all smoosh together into our 3-4 man tent this year. We chose that later, and it went very well. Next year, though, we're thinking that with growing girls, we'll need a bigger tent.

When Emily and Addison went on their first camping trip, they slept in a super insulated pack-n-play. That wasn't really an option for Elizabeth this year, so we bundled her up nice and cozy.

We put Emily and Addison to bed in the tent and went to sit by the fire with Doug and Kirstin and Elizabeth. We heard lots of giggling coming from the tent, and we kept seeing little blond heads poke out of the tent door. We assumed Emily and Addison were just doing a little spying, but we went to check on them after hearing a sleepy Addison yell, "Emmie dirt!" We found the entire tent floor and all the sleeping bags were covered with dirt! She'd been scooping dirt from outside and sprinkling it all over the tent! Emily's mission of turning the tent into a giant sandbox hadto come to an end when her sister just couldn't take it anymore and wanted to go to sleep! We emptied and cleaned the tent as best we could by flashlight, and laid the girls back down, and they were asleep within ten minutes.

Elizabeth got to cuddle between me and Emily.

Good Morning!

The morning started out with a little camping breakfast, a tiny morning fire (it was pretty chilly!), and some hammock time for Elizabeth.

 

 

 

 

 

Then it was off for another little hike.

 

There were lots of lean-tos and teepees along the trail, and we explored inside a lot of them. This one had an elaborate shelving system inside and there were different sized sticks on each of the shelves. Some creative outdoor play had been going on here for sure.

 

 

 

What a great camping trip. Kenosha Pass was a hit, I'm sure we'll be back!

Camping, 2013

Happy Campers!

We took our annual camping trip with Doug and Kirstin in August, and had a great time as usual! This year we stayed in the Kenosha Pass campground. A great little hiking trail, the Colorado Trail, runs right through the campground, so 2 year old sized hikes were readily available. The site was really pretty, with plenty of trees and flat spots for tents. Good find, Chris!

Doug and Kir show Elizabeth around the campsite

 Kirstin brought her hammock again, and this year, the girls got to help her set it up!

Em, the little mountain climber

Addie - she has her hammock rope, but hats and baby Anna are equally important!

Emily was super psyched to help Uncle Doug set up his tent. Doug and Kir both have lots of summer camp experience with kiddos and show endless patience to little ones. 

Addie was super psyched to spend some time in our tent after it was set up. 

Zippers!!

Elizabeth shouted out orders while chillin' in her bumbo.

Let's go for a little pre-dinner hike!

Riding high!

We found mushrooms! 

And flowers!

Campfire time!

Elizabeth got the good ol' wide-eyed fire stare going, and Addie was close by to offer cuddles.

Big smiles from our littlest camper.

And then...Emily found DIRT. And she found that she LOVED getting dirty. 

Oh yeah, I think you'd call this a dirt bath.

Silly messy girl!

Before heading to bed, Kirstin helped Addie and Emily re-toast some cheese quesadillas they'd been too excited to eat at dinner.

Lee Martinez Farm

We joined the Rices to visit one of their favorite Fort Collins spots, the Lee Martinez Farm.

It's a magical little place where kids can feed animals, explore old farm equipment, get dirty and HAVE FUN! We bought some goat feed for twenty-five cents a scoop and Emily and Addison fearlessly fed the little critters.

There's an awesome old red tractor that all the kids had a great time driving. 

 

 

We took a stroll down a path surrounded by old farm equipment. There were signs by each of the pieces telling all about what it had been used for. It's incredible to think about how very different life was like a hundred years ago.

At the end of the path there were gardens, some edible and some just plain beautiful. 

 

There is a little museum that you can walk through with more old farming tools. Here's a collection of husking gloves. 

And here's a milking stool. Used in the 1920s, "this ingenious device was strapped across the hips of a milker so they could move from one cow to the next." 

Three curious youngsters in the museum.

A pony!!!

 

Elizabeth did not sleep well on our drive up to Fort Collins, so she took a little nap while we walked around. 

We ended our trip to the Farm at the water well pump, taking turns pumping and splashing.  

 

 

Dance Party

Dance parties with dad can get a little wild!

Too Cute

We stopped by a friend's neighborhood park after a mom-baby yoga playdate, and my three beauties gave me some sweet pictures.