August 2012 - Hermit Valley Part 3

Bailey got a lot of special attention from cousins and family members while we were camping. Her older cousin, Kade was helping her eat dinner.

Andrew and Shelby grab some corn on the cob to go. Cousin Lisa helps Bailey eat corn on the cob the correct way.

By Jove I think she's got it!

Dylan :)

Cousins! Dylan and Devin.

My brother, Davy. That was one good hunk of meat.

Bailey spent a lot of time closing the buckles on her booster chair. Then she would ask for help and someone would unbuckle them and she would do it again.

Just beyond the campsite is a little hill that the kids loved to play on. It was within sight of the camp so they could run up there and play and we could watch them. There was a tree stump that campers have used as target practice for bb's. The kids took empty water bottles and started collecting the different colored bb's and would shake them around as they walked. At first I thought it would be annoying, but then it was nice to know where the kids were by their shakers.

Andrew was the bb carrier. (I think his shirt might be a bit small. :)  )

The kids went over the mountain to see what they could see. In this case it was just a hill.

This was the other side of the hill. The kids explored for a while.

Bailey getting a better view on Danny's shoulders.

So pretty.

I must admit the kids were pretty good for their first time camping. There was only one area of major stress. Andrew was potty trained, but he wouldn't go standing up. I thought all boys liked that, but not mine. When we got to Hermit Valley we kept asking if he needed to go potty. He kept saying no. I didn't want to fight him because he was so happy but after 8 hours (yes, 8 hours) of holding it I knew I had to do something. We were getting the kids ready for bed and it's just part of the routine so I thought it would be ok. There is an outhouse a little walk away so Andrew and I went over there. The problem was he was too scared to sit on it because he was afraid he would fall in. I admit that is a valid reason. I would be scared too if I was his size. I told him he could go in the bushes or a tree (we are camping after all) but nothing worked. I spent a full hour doing everything I could to get him to go. Finally I found out someone had a little toilet seat with legs, but nothing under. So I borrowed that and found a little spot for Andrew and he sat down and finally went potty. Too much information? I don't know, but I wanted to cry for that hour. Meanwhile I didn't want to put Bailey to bed just to wake her up when Andrew went to bed so it was a bit of a crazy and stressful night. But, good news! He stands up now!

August 2012 - Hermit Valley Part 2

It was so nice to spend quality time with family. Camping has a way of making people bond together. Bailey had a bit of a hard time getting used to the dirt and lots of people around, but she was a trooper.

My mom took Bailey on a few walks around to explore the new surroundings.

I loved how little she looked compared to the huge trees and rocks. 

Andrew did great camping. He loved playing with his cousins and I'm pretty sure he liked the more easy going mom. Here he is waiting patiently for the bacon that Aunt Jane was cooking. He was too shy to go and ask her for some, so Danny was helping him.

No rest for the working man. After the bacon it was time to gather more wood. No wood means no fire and no fire means no food and Andrew likes food.

The kids have never been somewhere so...big! No fences, no houses, just Mother Nature. Everything was big and we live in Texas so we know big.  :)  It helps put things in perspective for me. I feel so small when I am surrounded by the beauty of the world. The forests, the rivers, the mountains and the earth are so much more impressive than I am, and yet we are loved infinitely more than we will know by the one who created us.

I told them to look all the way to the top of the tree. Bailey was trying so hard she almost fell backwards!

Andrew saw cousin Ben carrying wood so he rushed over to help him.

August 2012 - Hermit Valley part 1

As mentioned in the previous post, we had a great flight to California. We spent the day with my parents and started packing the next day for our family camping trip. I was so excited to be able to go to California the same time my family was going camping at our family camp site, Hermit Valley. I was very young the first time I went camping. I grew up going camping almost every year until I was in high school. Our family has some amazing (and scary) stories from Hermit Valley. Most stories involve some kind of wild animal, usually bears, or a choking child. I am so glad I grew up camping with my family. I have my own wonderful memories from reading Siddhartha on a rock, learning how to fish, hike, make a fire (or at least keep it alive), and I even have a bear story of my own.

My parents wouldn't have gone camping if I wasn't coming into town. I am so grateful they worked so hard to plan for all of us to go camping for such a short time. Whatever they didn't have for me my siblings and other family members brought to the campsite for me. I had a tent, an air mattress, a crib for Bailey, car seats, booster seats etc. Really everybody worked together to get everything we needed. Thanks family!

Driving to Hermit Valley

 There are a lot  of things I love about Hermit Valley. One thing is that it's hard to find. If you don't know to look for it, you can miss it. That just means more space for us and fewer "other" campers. Can you see the turn off here?

It looks like this when you drive by.

There are a handful of campsites once you drive down the rocky and bumpy path. The only names I can remember is First Camp, Far Camp and Sandy Beach. First Camp is, well, the first camp off the road. Far Camp is where I had my bear adventure with my brother Davy and sister-in-law, Maha. (Remember that?)

Sandy Beach is by far the best campsite. It is the largest site and has access to the creek/river.  We put our drink in bags in the water to keep our drinks cold. The kids can play in it and we wash our clothes, dishes, etc in it.

The "beach"

Andrew wasted no time and hurried in the water to play with his cousins and uncle Dan.

I love this little spot! So beautiful.

It had been almost a year since my kids saw my brother, but they had no problem playing with him.

But who couldn't love this goofy guy?!

This is a sneak peak of an upcoming post. This is a mountain we call Mt. Baldy. There are trees going up the mountain, but the top has less trees so it looks rather bald. The photo on the left is taken from camp so you can see how far away it is. The photo on the right is a little zoomed in to show the bald top.

Meet my niece, Shelby. I loved this photo so much that I photoshopped it a few times.

This is the main area of the campsite. The fire is going in the middle and chairs surround the fire with tables for food prep on the left and the beach is just behind me.

Bailey fell within the few few minutes of arriving to Hermit Valley and started crying because her hands were dirty. My kids usually don't like to be dirty. This was their first time camping and what better way to get initiated than to fall and play in the dirt. So that's what I told them to do.

Andrew had fun exploring and climbing on everything he could.

My brother, Davy, the Fire Master.

Andrew wanted to help and be a big boy so we sent him to gather wood. He took that job seriously!