Camping, Birthday, and more!

A couple weeks ago I took the kids camping on the annual Mitchell campout!  This year we went to Downata Hot Springs, which is nice because the campsite is right next to the pool with slides.  David was still having some pain from when he got his appendix out so he stayed home with Millie.

The first night David came to help set up the tent and then he went home.  We got out glow sticks and had treats and the kids ran all over the campsite until about 10pm.  The next day we went swimming for about 8 hours!  The kids were exhausted and I got sunburned so bad on my back.  That night we had s'mores and hot chocolate and Ava was so tired she fell asleep at 7pm (which for a camping trip is super early).  

That night she kept waking up because she was hot and at about 4am she said she needed to throw up.  I managed to get her out of the tent and she spit up some stomach acid (she didn't have any food in her stomach).  I figured it was just the heat exhaustion and dehydration so I had her drink some water and she feel back asleep.  But while I was lying there after getting her asleep I started hearing a scratching on the tent.  I thought it was Ava playing with the side of the tent while trying to fall asleep, but then I realized she was already asleep.  Then I thought it was an animal outside of our tent so I got up to scare it away, but when I stood up I realized it wasn't coming from outside the tent!  I started panicking a little bit and lifting everything up to try to find whatever was in the tent.  But the spot I could hear the scratching, there was nothing there, just bare tent floor.  And I realized it was under the tent!  I thought it was a mouse or salamander (we knew those were at the campsite from previous years) and I tried stomping on the ground next to it to scare it away.  The scratching stopped and I laid back down.  And then it started up again!  So I got up and stomped on the ground next to it, it stopped, I laid down, and it started again!  At this point I was worried it might scratch a hole in the tent and get inside, so I was worried about that as well as dealing with a fair amount of sleep deprivation, and I started to get a little frantic...Asher had brought a book with him so I picked that up and just started slamming the ground with it trying as hard as I could to get the stupid scratching to stop!  Eventually it did and I laid back down to get at least one more hour of sleep.  I couldn't find anything that morning so I did my best to pretend it never happened.

That morning Ava kept throwing up so I had her drink more water and my sister gave her some Dramamine to help calm her stomach.  She slept the entire morning while Mia, Asher, and I went swimming more.  By that afternoon she was feeling much better and all of us went swimming until closing!  That night the campsite showed the Mario Movie outside so we all set up chairs and blankets to go watch.  After the movie, while we were walking back to our campsite my sister almost stepped on a giant gopher snake!  That night we all tried not think about snakes and creatures under our tents...

The next morning we all packed up and got ready to leave.  I was very nervous to lift up the tarp that was under our tent and find what was making that scratching sound.  But I did and found a flat salamander under it...oops...but I was so desperate that night that I would probably do it again for self preservation!  My nephews thought it was hilarious and had their pictures taken next to the flat lizard.

So we survived camping and had lots of fun tales to come home with!

So excited to stay up late!

I set up our hammock and almost never saw it empty.  The kids loved it!

What a cute girl!

My mom set up this diamond painting table that all the kids loved.

My kids love their cousins!

Mia!

Asher!

Ava!

Asher was so distraught the last night because we were going to leave the next day, so I took his picture next to the big slide.

Lots of fun!

More diamond painting

The kids (and adults) loved it!

The last day my sister found a couple of baby birds on the ground by her tent. 
The kids loved watching them.

My kids do the summer reading program at the library every summer so we make lots of trips there.  We just happened to show up on Harry Potter's birthday!

Our ward does a neighborhood picnic every year.  It's usually at the park in the neighborhood, but there was a lot of rain so they moved it to the church.  This year some of the YW/YM were doing face painting and it was a real hit!

One day David wanted to take the kids to Cress Creek Trail, a small hike we usually do at least once a year.  It was actually pretty nice weather and not hot at all!  

Then we went down to the river bank so the kids could dip their toes in the water.

I think Millie thought this was the best day of the whole summer!

Asher turned 10!  He always gets so excited for his birthday.  The past few years he has wanted donuts instead of cake which I am all for because it takes the pressure off me!  But he decided he wanted cake this year.  And not just any cake, a SpongeBob cake.  It took me about 2 hours, but I did it!  I am actually pretty proud of it!  I thought it would turn into a cake fail, and apparently Asher had the same expectations because when he saw it he said "That's looks much better than I thought it was going to look like!"  Happy birthday Asher!

Since the girls have learned to ride their bikes without training wheels we have gone on a lot of bike rides around our neighborhood.  We usually stop at this house that has a huge tree with swings on it.  The couple that lives there are in our ward and set the swings up just so neighborhood kids could use them.  And my kids take full advantage!  Next week I want to take the kids on a bike ride next to the river which should be a lot of fun.

One of the last pool days of the summer!  And I finally got a picture of the big pool at my parents house!  My mom also found some flippers for cheap and the kids have had fun trying to use those.

So much swimming this summer!

 School start in 2.5 weeks and I am so ready for it.  It has just been one thing after another this summer.  Some good, some less good.  I told Millie that we are going to have the best nap that first day!  I will leave you with a video of Ava and Mia at their last ballet class.  (it's so loud because I was right next to a giant fan...)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFalKRClv7s