Camping in the Sun

These photos courtesy of the talented Ellen Patton. A few tidbits from the annual ward campout:

Ivy loved the handcarts and cried when anyone disappeared with one over the horizon. She also was "that baby" who cried too much during the dark hours and kept other campers awake. We tried everything to get her to go to sleep (rocking, walking, ipod movies, drugs), and finally around 4:30am she knocked off. And this coming from my best sleeper! What a crock. Good thing she's cute...

Calvin loved the space to run and being in the outdoors 24/7. He delighted in the seemingly unlimited supply of s'mores materials left unattended, and the kindness of "nice girls" like Sister Patton who gave him cookies and directions and such. He loved the mini back door escape hatch to our tent.

Bryn hit the ground running and spent her time racing from site to site visiting and rounding up friends. Over at the pond, she commandeered the canoe and taught herself how to paddle, and soon enough was zooming all over the pond, picking up swimming stragglers as she went. Our kids begged us to go to bed both nights from sheer exhaustion.

I enjoyed the company of friends, the soccer games, the Frisbee tosses, the lawn bowling, the fires, the testimony meeting on Sunday morning, the communal meals, the play put on by the kids, and the hammock. Peter took a hike with a couple of our kids and the Johnstons. We had a particularly fun evening where everyone sat around a humongous fire and shared stories of love, campouts past, and practical jokes.