ward campout 2011

we were so excited to be a part of our ward's first annual campout. great food, great company, and fabulous scenery.  it may have made me slightly homesick for my mountain wilderness. why can't everywhere smell like fresh pine?

believe it or not, this was reese's first real campout.  as in, sleeping in a tent somewhere other than papa's backyard. i was intrigued to see how the whole sleeping thing would go since she was still sleeping in a crib at home {we've since made the transition to a big girl bed. hurray!}. my intrigue proved to be well deserved.  after finally getting to bed around 11:30pm, we were able to get her to fall asleep with minimal crying. victory!!

and then the rest of the night happened.

apparently, sleeping on a little backpacking roll up mattress isn't quite as comfortable when your 28 weeks pregnant. and then when your 2 year old somehow kicks you off of said mattress, the hard, slanted, rocky ground doesn't exactly scream cozy either. why did i not bring the blow up mattress? stupid rocks. a mistake not to be made again while i'm pregnant.

any way, between stolen mattresses, dogs barking in near bye campgrounds, and reese's rolling neither deek or i slept. part-ay! and then at 4 a.m. reese woke up. like really woke up for the day declaring, "no tent. no like tent." and that instead she'd prefer the company of our local 'fie-a-pace' {fire pit}. yes sweetheart, whatever your heart desires whenever it's the middle of the night and there are 20 other families within ear shot of your cries. we think it was because she was freezing since she refuses to let any blankets cover her while she sleeps. awesome. or maybe she was just so darn excited since it was her 2 year birthday and all.

deek being the totally sympathetic parent that he is granted her her wish and left me in peace to finally catch some sleep. guys, i have a lot of respect for my husband.  he could have been ornery or upset or grouchy toward reese for making him get up before the sun but he didn't. instead, he seized the moment and saw it as a chance for some quality father/daughter time.  he hauled her to the fire pit, started up a new fire and sat there for 3 hours with reese in his lap. she didn't want to sleep - our usual busy body little gal just wanted to chill by the fire and snuggle with her daddy. and deek loved every second of it. isn't he the greatest dad? i think so.

despite the crazy night, we still managed to have the greatest time.  in fact, we're actually really excited to try it again, this time with the air mattress and a few more clothing layers for reese in tow.

we have the greatest people in our ward and it was such a delight to get to know every one a bit better outside of church.

i really can't get enough of these two.

our abode for the evening

our little tree hugger

this moss covered almost every tree. isn't it gorgeous?

tired morning eyes after only 4 hours of sleep. and on her birthday no less!

 this dirt hill kept her entertained ALL morning. climbing up, then sliding down. she was in HEAVEN.

 

the girls chased her away, so the local tribe of lost boys adopted her into their club. it was seriously adorable. they let her decide everything to do. looks like she may be her mother's daughter, feeling more comfortable with the boys and all. eh. less drama that way any ways.

 

some day i hope she learns how to do a real smile.

can't wait til next year!