We had a fun weekend celebrating the fabulous fathers in our lives!
The boys and I worked hard on some sweet writing & drawing projects for their Daddy, Grandpa, & Opa. We hung them on the railing in our front entry way.
Nolan drew a big brain in his Daddy's head and labeled it with an arrow pointing straight at it. Ha!
Heath's drawings are improving. He even added a CR for the Colorado Rockies, a blue and orange guy for a Bronco, and a the purple guy is "Nolan Arenado with a broken hand". Loved all his details.
He drew blueberries and strawberries.
And the brown blob is their bean bag.
Brooks chose to do a little more abstract work. Ha!
And I did a new chalk design for Mark on our entry chalk board.
We had planned to go camping with the Syers fam even before our trip to Illinois. They went up Thursday night, but we needed a little time to recover from our road trip before we headed out again. So we left Saturday morning for just one night of camping at Devil's Head.
All of this for one night. Crazy!
Here we are…ready to camp for the first time as a family!
Here is our new condo tent. We bought it at Costco the night before. It's hugely awesome!
The kids loved being outside all day and night.
They played with sticks...
and hatchets.
Wandered through the trees.
And hiked around! Heath was a master!
They threw rocks and sticks and leaves in this little creek running by our campsite.
And they loved hanging out in the tents with their cousins.
Mark and Wes went ATVing for awhile. They had a blast despite Mark getting pretty banged up- he wrecked a time or two.
Cara and I took the boys for a little hike.
We did some rock climbing.
They thought this "cave" was cool.
This crazy loves climbing and is so brave!
I turned around and he was up on top of this rock! He got up there all by himself!
We hiked up to the trailhead where Nolan took a digger. So we hung out there for awhile to recover and look for the perfect stick. This was the dilemma of the weekend. They were always in search of the perfect stick/gun/weapon. Boys will be boys.
Later that afternoon the Syers kids all decided to be "creatures". I only got a picture of Landon, but they were cracking us up in their funny creations.
It rained off and on throughout the late afternoon/early evening. And it even hailed for a minute. But it wasn't bad and we warmed up by the fire.
Uncle Wes has all sorts of fun camping stuff- sling shots and b.b. guns to name a few.
We made hotdogs on the fire and kept all the food easy and simple to grab and clean up.
I played Uno with the kids! I taught them all the little rules we used to play with my Grandma. Including what to do when you have UNO with a Wild in your hand.
We wrapped up the night with Smores! Yum!
The boys were VERY excited to sleep in their sleeping bags in the tent. They only chatted for a few minutes before they fell asleep. They were exhausted!
And they slept pretty well too! Nolan had a bad dream, which never happens, and ended up on our air mattress in the middle of the night. But Heath slept like a rock- better than he does at home. Brooks made a bunch of noises throughout the night, but slept the latest in the morning.
It was a bit chilly, so we all cuddled up together when they woke up. I didn't know Mark snapped this picture. I was OUT!
So was Brooks! Thank goodness for our big tent so that we could spread out. Heath and Nolan had their own room and we still had space for a Queen air mattress and a pack 'n play.
That morning we ate breakfast and the kids played some more while we cleaned up camp. And we were home by 11 o'clock. Despite a few injuries, a little rain, a little cold, and some whining here and there, our first camping trip was a success! I think we'd be able to handle 2 nights next time. But that's about all this Mama would want. I do it for my boys even though it's not my favorite thing in the world.
We got home, unpacked, and headed to the pool for a little relaxation in the sun.
We love it when Daddy can join us!
He took Heathy under the buckets!
Oma & Opa joined us!
We were happy we got to spend some time with one of our Dads.
We gave him his writing and cards before he left! We love you Opa!
We came home to spoil our Daddy too!
Oh, these boys! They are my heart!
The boys picked out this hat for Mark.
And it was Nolan's idea to give him "the chips with the mustache on the case. Daddy really likes those." Pringles! What a great idea Nolan!
And we got Mark some new Chucks too!
After gifts, we got to Skype Grandpa!
We love you Dad!
Then we put the boys to bed early after a busy WEEK! Mark and I were ready for some peace and quiet. We picked up Sushi and got caught up on shows and had a nice night together.
Mark…
We love you so much and are so thankful for the fantastic father you are. You are patient and fun. You are funny and hardworking. And you love the boys individually for the unique little ones that God has created them to be. That means the world to us! You're the best!
