Dutch oven dinner, ghost stories, smores, and long hikes....Ahh, the great outdoors.

So last week was the annual family campout and we had a lots of fun. I have great memories of the campouts with my grandparents, aunt and uncles, and cousins when I was really young and it is usually the most random things I remember. Such as my mom telling us that trolls hid under the cattleguards and would jump into our engine and then eat our feet when we got out the the car if we didn't honk to scare them away when we drove over every cattleguard. Or hiking to the lake and waiting out a really bad storm. And my favorite has to be when my aunt's wood-paneled station wagon broke down up in the mountains and we had to push it up a hill and then it coasted all the way into town. Ahh, the memories!!
I am so glad that the tradition continues and even though my grandparents have passed away, my aunts and uncles still come as well as my cousins with their kids. Now my kiddos can create their own memories of our family campouts...and yes, I even told Claire about the trolls hiding under the cattleguards.
It is always great fun.

Independence Day 2011

The 4th of July was great!! I love how some things just stay the same. We watch the same small town parade in the same place with the same people and the kids all get lots of the same candy that they get every year. We go the the park where they pretty much have the same games and rides and food every year. And we go and get a ice cold drink at the same store just before we watch the fireworks at night. With all the is constantly changing I like how this stays the same.









The cousins born since last July.