Life Within the Cuckoo's Nest: Annual Pine Valley Family Camping Trip 2019!!!

We had the most amazing camping trip this year! The weather was perfect, the kids were old enough for me to not worry much about them dying, and it was soooo good to see family that we don't see every day! I look forward to this trip every year as the single most stressful/exhausting and yet rewarding trip of the entire year! And it melts my heart that the kids look forward to it all year as well. It takes sooooo much preparation and planning on my part to make sure everything is packed/loaded from food, to clothing that will support all weather changes, to games and snacks for everyone during all the relaxing down time we relish in! So much work, but so so worth it :). And this year I was pregnant and still feeling terrible so it was even more challenging. But once we got up there and got camp all set up, it was completely worth it. I would live up in Pine Valley in a tent for the rest of my life if I could. All I need is my sweet family and and the beautiful scenery to make me one very happy Mama :).

Josh has had to work overtime every week since he took this new job so he was only able to come for the weekend. The rest of us, however, went 6 days of camping without showering and loved every minute of it ;). The kids loved being totally free to do whatever they wanted. They played in the river that was just right behind our tent, we went for hikes, I did yoga whenever the mood struck me, and we even did Austin's homework in the hammock every day WITHOUT ANY COMPLAINT! I can't tell you how abnormal that is. But I think it had a lot to do with him enjoying the one on one time with me, the relaxation of cuddling in a hammock, and the treats that we brought along with us ;).

In the mornings we all gathered around the fire and ate breakfast/drank hot cocoa or hot coffee, and enjoyed long, leisurely chats while we all slowly woke up. Then everyone would separate and do their own thing for the rest of the day. That's what I love most about camping. The possibilities are endless and you actually have the freedom of time to do whatever you want! We played card games, painted rocks, went fishing, walking, ate lots of food, read books in the hammocks, or took naps! The world is your oyster up in Pine Valley. (Yes, because of this, I was extremely depressed on the day we had to come home :(. Every time we go on a vacation, I realize how sad it is that my days are not truly my own. We are owned by jobs and responsibilities and very rarely do we get a whole week to just do whatever we want to do. Hence my living in a tent for the rest of my life idea.) Then at night, we would all gather around the fire for dinner, roasting marshmallows/S'mores, and playing Mafia! The kids absolutely love playing Mafia (mostly Austin because he's old enough to understand) and they looked forward to this every single night!

Family members came and went as fit their schedules back at home, which was slightly annoying because we planners (-aka- Me, Sadie, and Grandma W.) had to reserve all their camp sites while they took their time and decided whether they wanted to show up or not. This is the frustrating part about my Mom's family and I couldn't hold my tongue when they finally did show. I told them all exactly what I thought of them and how rude they were to tell us to save spots for them and then not show up until 2 or 3 days later!!! I mean, we had planned the food for extra large groups, Grandma had paid the reservation fees for those camp sites just for nobody to sleep in them, and it was all because those annoying people who shall not be named said they were coming and then either didn't come altogether (aka my Mom) or showed up at the very end of the trip. Okay, I'm done venting now. But I am never going to be played the fool like that again. It's every man for himself next time and that's THAT!! After I said my peace and argued a bit with the ones who dared to voice their stupidity (aka Heidi), we moved on and had a really great time! :) That is one thing I do love about my Mom's family.... fights never last long.

Anyways, I'll let the pictures do the talking from here. I can't even tell you how exhausted I was once we got back. Josh was only there for a couple days so I packed, loaded the car, set up camp, tore down camp, and loaded the car ALL BY MYSELF! And then once we got home I unloaded the car, put everything away, and washed EVERYTHING all by myself! Being pregnant made this extremely difficult but I had to keep reminding myself that it was an amazing trip and totally worth the struggle. As always, we stopped at the old pioneer cemetary on our way out to pick wildflowers and put them on Grandpa Robert Gardner's grave, along with his 3 wives. I owe everything to these people. EVERTHNG. And I hope that someday my kids will carry on this amazing family legacy with their own traditions inserted into the ones that they remember from their own childhoods. That's the goal anyway :).

My special "meditation rock" that I came to every day to meditate. It had the most beautiful view by the river!

Yoga in the most beautiful place = perfection!

Playing by the river with Daddy! We were so happy when he showed up for the weekend!

Hammock life = PERFECTION!

Hanging around the fire at breakfast time.

Sadie brought her dog, and my cousin Anna brought her puppy! The kids were in heaven!

Painting rocks is a time honored tradition that the kids love so much! We always did this when I was a kid and it was so fun to bring these fun creatures home and decorate our yard with them!

Roasting Marshmallows

Enjoying the view

Evie adores Uncle Joey (Sadie got married immediately after this trip in a courthouse hehe. I guess Pine Valley does that to you!)

Gone Fishing.

Playing games with Grandma.

Hanging out with Joey.

Sadie and Joey promised to take the kids fishing and they didn't let her forget it! hehe!

Sadly they didn't catch anything :(

Cuddling around the fire with my boy.

And of course there was our favorite baby cousin Gracelynn!!

Aunt Tammy brought her girls up for the weekend and it was so fun to see them! They live in Salt Lake so we don't see them often.

Oh Evie..... :)

Cousins playing in the dirt!

More campfire snuggles!

Grandma and her posterity. This is Jordyn, my cousin Lara's little girl.

The great family photo!

Grandpa Nate bought Austin this pocket knife over a year ago and I have been scared to let him have it. But I figured the mountains is the perfect place to start! He had so much fun whittling wood with it!

Doing homework and loving it! Austin missed three days of school on this trip and his teacher didn't disappoint in the homework department :(.

Making fairy rings down by the river (another favorite tradition that I started with my babies). They aren't babies anymore though and they asked me to just watch while they did it themselves! Austin scavenged for supplies while Evie built a giant fairy city! It was so fun to watch!

They were so funny to watch! Evie ordered Austin around like a little Mama, telling him exactly what she needed him to scavenge for and he came back proudly, running across the river, with all sorts of supplies to build their fairy village!