This year we had three bummers when it came to the Hatch Camp Out. First: Pattie & Brian have moved which meant no pop-up trailer for us this year. Second: Tyler wasn't able to get off work Friday so we weren't able to go until Saturday morning. Third: Tyler's dad did not call and give us directions as promised so we took a good 30 minute detour as we drove around trying to find the camping spot. Besides those bummers, it was really the perfect camping trip.
Unlike most Hatch Camp Outs that include lots of competitive "fun." This camp out did not have such things which made the non-existent competitive side of me very happy. There was no water balloon volleyball and there was no horseshoe tournament for me to lose. There was, however, shooting guns, shooting arrows and some relaxed Frisbee Golf for Tyler. These things made the manly side of Tyler very happy despite the fact that he is not displaying that happiness in the picture below...
And what made me happy? The fact that Ben was so happy. He has been such a whiner lately but once he set foot of the outdoors dirt he was the most content (and messiest) kid ever. He had so much fun with the dirt! He shoveled it, threw it, pushed cars & trucks in it and occasionally ate it. He even, found a beetle in it once and grunted in delight as he showed me it's wriggly body. It was so much fun to see him enjoying the camp out and this meant that I could mostly relax, chat with family, and read. And even though it rained as it always did, it didn't bug me as much as it usually does. I think I simply & mostly felt blissful all of Saturday.
Steven was also a very happy camper. He and all his cousins had a blast stomping around the woods playing games of monster and tag. They also thoroughly enjoyed sitting on quads pretending that they could drive them. Another fun thing for them was to play in this "house" of sticks that some previous camper had created. It was so neat and I'm sad that I didn't take a picture of it. One time I found Steven and all his cousins sitting in a circle inside of the "house" with a bag of chips in the middle of them. Each one was taking a turn grabbing a handful. It was quite adorable and I know that all that junk food was definitely one of Steven's favorite things about this trip. Probably his second favorite thing was the whistle he was given. They were all taught what to do if they got lost in the woods. This was a good lesson but very noisy.
Saturday night we all sat around the fire and had people guess what family member we had interviewed. It was fun to get to know each other a bit better. Afterwards they decided to tell scary stories and that was a bad idea. I almost wet myself in fear, especially when Mariah told a creepy story about a midget clown that posed as a doll in someone's doll filled house. Thankfully, some of that fear dissipated as certain males in the family made some blue darts.
Afterwards, it was time for bed and the boys did surprisingly well. Steven only woke up once to go potty and besides that they slept beautifully.
Sunday we had a nice church service where people spoke about their missions and family that has passed on. Then we cleaned up (my least favorite part) and took pictures (Tyler & Steven's least favorite part). By the time we left at 2pm the children were cranky and exhausted. They thankfully passed out for part of the trip home. All & all it was good times had by all.
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