Camping

It wasn't as anticipated or exciting as the boys trip to Catalina, but we did go camping up in Big Bear a few weekends ago.  We met up with some long time friends from Tim's college days and had a great time.  The Shumates have three boys and the middle boy is Trent's age and whenever they see eachother they have the best time.  The Stuarts joined us too for the weekend, but left their one year old little boy at home with Grandma.  

We made our way up the mountain on Saturday morning. We took the 38 up through Mentone, which was the preferred way to avoid the 18, which is a long, narrow, curvy mountain road. We only had to pull over once to give Trent some fresh air to avoid getting car sick.  
The weather was gorgeous and the lake was a beautiful shade of blue.  The mountain air felt so good to breathe in. Hanna Flat campground is located on the north shore of the lake.  It's about a mile and a half off the main road.  The prius did really well on the mile and a half dirt road.  The campground though is nicely paved, I guess the forestry department has a bigger budget than the county.

We found the others and set up camp.  Trent immediately found the boys and the hill to climb up. I think he was playing within minutes of us parking.  The camping spot could not have been better.  We were backed up against a hill where the boys could play and we could either hear or see them the whole time.

 So cute in all his hiking gear.

While Trent played we set up camp and enjoyed the company.

 The hill where the boys played the whole weekend.

 In the distance are the cleanest toilets ever at a campsite.

 My Mountain Man.

 Freddy was thrilled to be with us.

Every so often I would venture over to the hill to make sure the boys were doing ok.  They found a small stream to play in and make a mess with the mud. The boys found it fun to throw pine cones in the stream to see how big the splash would be.  Tim thought I would be upset that Trent was getting really dirty...he was pleasantly surprised that I wasn't upset and didn't make Trent change his shirt.  I figured Trent would survive two days with dirt under his nails, inbetween his toes and all over his face.  He did survive and had a lot fun getting dirty.  When we got home Trent's first stop was the shower. 

 Having fun making a mess.

 Trent loving the freedom of climbing up and down the hill 

and playing in the stream.

 The boys played right up until dinner.  They could not get enough of sword fights and whatever else boys do.

After dinner the fire was going strong and we roasted marshmallows for yummy smores. 

 I am trying to get the perfect roasted marshmallow.

The guys thought it would be a good idea to lift (they tried), but ended up rolling the log over to the campfire for more seating.  I guess they wanted to show us ladies how manly they were.

Discussing their plan...

 Trying to lift it...

 They ended up rolling it.

We had a nice time around the campfire.  Trent and the boys played War and Slap Jack for a bit before heading off to bed.

After a long day of fun, it was time to get to bed.  We made our way to our tent and got settled in for the night.  I wouldn't say I had a good night of sleep, but it wasn't too bad.  Tim finally got me snuggled into the sleeping bag (I hate sleeping bags) and I fell asleep listening to the people at the campsite below us talking way too loud late into the night.  I could clearly hear word for word their conversation and they weren't that close to us.  We woke up early the next morning, packed up camp, had a yummy breakfast, the kids played a bit more and then we headed down the mountain.

Trent enjoying chocolate chip pancakes and sausage.

 Best Buddies!

 The boys sliding down the hill.

Laurie summed it up best...we can't get our act together to meet up for dinner, but we can meet up for the weekend in Big Bear to camp.  Go figure!  We look forward to many more camping adventures, but my limited is one night of sleeping on the ground in a sleeping bag.