We came, we camped, we conquered...

That's right sports fans, we camped. This was actually our second camping trip of the year, but it is the first one where there is photographic evidence. I remembered to bring the camera on our first camping trip, but I sort of forgot to charge the battery. Can't win 'em all.

Last night was our Ward's annual camp out. We drove up to the Church's property 'Aspen Crest' which is up near Kamas. We arrived just before dark, pitched our tent and got all set up. We spent a fun evening hanging out around the camp fire and making smores with some of our neighbors. Brynn was a little sensitive - she wasn't feeling very well and the dark was spooking her a little. It didn't take too long before she had just had enough and she asked to go to bed! Seriously, when does Brynn ever volunteer to go to bed? Um, that would be never. But I took her in and got her all snuggled in her sleeping bag. She was asleep in about 10 mins.

Before getting ready for bed, I walk Grace up the hill to the bathroom, where a little girl in the ward asks me if I know that Brother Mounteer saw a bear on his way here. "He's probably just teasing you," I say. But in my heart, I'm freaked. I have an irrational fear of bears. Well not totally irrational. Bears can kill you after all. If I had a fear of mosquitos, that would be irrational, but I think having a fear of bears is actually quite healthy. I probably would be fine if it weren't for that kid who was dragged out of his tent and mauled to death last year. "That's so rare," Chad has told me several times. "Bears don't usually go looking for people. It's fine." Yeah, rare, ok, sure, but wandering around in nature, in the dark - the mauling bear image is stuck in my head.

I ask Chad if he he knew Greg saw a bear and he got this funny look on his face.
"Greg was kidding right?" I ask.
"Um, well no. But it was up the road quite a ways, so its fine."

"He was a scared bear," Greg will later tell me. "He was hustling across the road and he was going that way." Pointing away from the camp. "It's fine."

Ok, men here are three words I never want to hear in the same sentence bear. its. fine. You think it is reassuring, but it's not.

We put the kids to bed and sat around the fire for a while longer. When we eventually went to bed, I was feeling pretty tense.
"Look at the stars," Chad says "Aren't the stars beautiful."
"Yep, awesome."
"Relax. It's fine."
"Oh, I'm relaxed. This is me relaxed. I'm just worried because there's no TV in the tent, so how will I watch Dog the Bounty Hunter before I go to bed?"
Chad laughs, "Its fine."
Seriously, stop saying that. I'm getting ticked.

Let's just say it was a llllloooonnngggg night. The kids did great. Brynn did wake up a couple of times and was a bit disoriented. She tends to cry in her sleep and she must have been having a bad dream because late in the night she yelled out "No, no a shark. A shark is eating me. No!" Then right back to sleep. Grace and Chad both slept like rocks - true to form.

Me... well it was very windy and turns out that the fly brushing against the tent sounds just like a bear sniffing. After about 4 and a half hours I finally convinced myself it was just the wind... a bear probably wouldn't keep smelling in that one spot for so many hours. So there I lay, hour after hour, flashlight clutched in my hand (so if anything tried to get in the tent I could beat it to death), trying hard not to smell to good...all in all, I slept about 3 hours and the rest of the time was an exercise in faith.

I was sure that I was the only one laying awake all night, but it turns out that the 4 other moms I visited with at breakfast were all wide awake most of the night. It was windy, we were keeping watch over our kids, you know mom stuff...We all agreed we should have just sat up all night around the fire. It would have been more fun!

The girls had a great time. They spent the morning playing with their friends, exploring, finding sticks, throwing rocks in the river, getting dirty - you know all the best kid stuff.

They didn't want to leave and Chad says "don't worry, we'll come again."
"Really?"
"Oh sure, stuff like this is a good experience for them. Don't worry, it'll get easier every time."

Goodie.


And now, a few camping pics...see how I'm smiling? It's called being a good sport! :)

Brynn in the mountains

Lisa lived to see the morning

Sweet Brynn

Dad and Grace. Grace is making her bear face. She had no bear related information about this trip, she just likes making this face.

Grace

Chad getting ready to 'skip ' a rock

Grace the hiker