Camping in the Uintah's

The Uintah mountains are a happy place for us. We've gone camping there summer for the past few years. Each year we try a new place. We planned on camping at Lilly Lake, but not only was it full, but there was no way our camper would fit in any of the spots. We tried a few campgrounds before deciding to off road to BLM land. We're glad we did. We found the perfect spot! It was beautiful, peaceful and not crowded. The boys could run wild and make noise and we to just exist in nature rather than having to drive somewhere.

By the time we finally found a camping spot and got set up we were pretty tired. Rather than making food we drove into town to go to our favorite burger joint, Hi Mountain Drug Store. Audrey got her first taste of ice cream on brownies and was a fan. Adam drank his root beer float and some of Steven's. If you look at the size of them it shouldn't be a surprise that he felt sick after. Maybe he learned a lesson. Maybe. ;)

When we got back from dinner some people had parked to the left of us, but our little grove of trees has been claimed by our hammocks so it was a perfect play spot for the weekend.

I used the following "perfect" picture to teach Sarah a valuable lesson on social media. Audrey did NOT want to be in the hammock. She was super whiny and wanted out. Before taking her out I grabbed my camera and got her to smile real quick for the picture. She then recommenced whining so I saved her. 

When we camped at Mirror Lake in 2017 we attempted to go on a relatively short hike. There was a lot of whining and anger towards inanimate objects that sprung up and tripped my children. ;) We decided to try again and were rewarded for our efforts. We aren't sure if we made it to the third lake this time, but we are sure the sign is wrong with the distances. Still, it is a beautiful hike.

We didn't attempt to fish with Audrey, but we thoroughly enjoyed our weekend in the "wild".

First Day of School

On the 13th Steven had his first day of Junior High. They had all the new "sixlets" come a day early so it wasn't as overwhelming. After school we joined other parents to decorate the sidewalks with positive messages for the incoming students at all three schools.

The kids headed to school the next day. I remembered to grab a picture when we were almost to their schools. Oops. ;) Sarah is in 8th grade, Steven 6th and Adam 4th. Adam has Mrs. Henrie, which is fantastic, because she has sons that are as energetic as mine. Mike rode Adam's scooter back for him and even Mosey came to see them off on their first day. 

Happy Birthday Erik!

Six years. It has been six years since our sweet Erik was born and passed away. This is the year he would have entered kindergarten. That fact has been hard. He'd be an adorable kindergartner. To celebrate his life we went to visit him and had cheesecake. It still counts as cake. We didn't attend our usual movie theater since Audrey isn't that into movies yet. We took he and Lilly some flowers and just hung out. On the way there we listened to the CD the funeral home gave us from his service. I'm so glad we have it. It is always comforting to hear Bishop Pearce's words. The waiting sucks, but I'm grateful every single day knowing that he's ours. We love our sweet angel Erik!

Adam found a Swig gift card in the bushes. I figured it was useless, but checked for him. It had $20. I thought that was a little too much to just claim, so I contacted Swig and they told him to keep it. He was a happy boy!

Camping at Fish Lake

Mike has fond memories of staying in a cabin and fishing at Fish Lake with his family. The last time we'd gone was in 2008 for the first (and so far only) Stewart Family Reunion. We've wanted to go back and planned a trip in our trailer. We found out a very important truth babies don't like to fish. This might seem like a no brainer, but sitting in a boat...quiet...for a long period time isn't a great idea. ;)The fish weren't biting, so we got skunked (again) but it was still a nice weekend in nature. We'll try again at a different time of year and when Audrey is older.

The boys wanted to build a fort, so I bought them a Mylar emergency tent that did the trick. 

 Audrey and I came on the boat in the morning, but we learned that wasn't a great idea so they dropped us off. As you can see in the following pictures, they had an AMAZING time fishing. ;)

In the afternoon we decided to ditch fishing and head to the lodge farther down the river. The ice cream cheered everyone up. 

We went on an afternoon hike and the boys showed us a fort they'd discovered.

On Saturday we tried again, but without the boat. We originally planned on Staying until Sunday, but since we didn't catch anything we decided to sleep in our own beds. It was a fun trip and next time we WILL catch something. ;)