Unprecedented!

My dad grew up in Queens, New York, he's not what you would call an "outdoorsy guy" at all. So while I was growing up we didn't do ANY camping except maybe once-a-year while visiting relatives in Utah. (This doesn't add up to much of a camping resume for our family.)


The sight of my dad and Adam putting together the tent Adam borrowed for this event was a first for all of us!


My mom, Robyn and Lori surprised us all by using the dutch ovens and coal starter container my mom bought as part of her emergency preparedness stuff. They made beef stew and cornbread in these and they turned out great. Who knew this was even possible for our family?


Randy and Landon put together our ginormous tent for the 2nd time ever (the first was in June at the Father & Sons camp out for church). The only reason we even have a tent is because my mom thought it would make a good gift for Randy and Landon's birthdays (combined) last year.


We could not have anticipated the screaming, giddiness that playing in an empty tent would trigger in the girls. They were so thrilled with this new place to play, that their voices went ultrasonic on us.


Andrew made a brief appearance to hug my dad and get his glasses cleaned. He's definitely NOT a camper!


Ashley, Tess, Olivia and Megan parked their tiny selves on this bench (with room to spare) so they could watch Adam chop wood, how's that for homemade entertainment?


Having a fire in the backyard was definitely a first for our family. My mom bought this nice fire pit at Walmart this week for $99 (I've always wanted one of these). The kid grilled their hot dogs in it, and later we all sat around it talking. (That's the best part of camping right?)

Miss Lori served us the dutch oven beef stew.

The best part of the night was sitting around the fire talking, eating s'mores and looking up at the beautiful night sky (the stars really show up in freakin Eagle Mountain).


We made our big tent the kids' tent so they happily set up their sleeping bags and stuffed animals. They had a lantern in there at one point and weren't keen on the moths it attracted, so that was almost a deal breaker for a couple of the little ones.


The kids finally quieted down, after multiple threats from us, around 10:30. We really hadn't anticipated the noise-level they would produce, apparently we're rookies.


Randy and I slept in Lori's small tent (she slept with my mom and Ashley in Robyn's tent...Robyn slept in the house because she had to get up at 5:30 to go run 20 miles!). I brought the air mattress I had purchased a couple years ago for girl's camp, so I was pretty cozy! The only real issues I had were Randy's snoring (he was closer to me than usual) and the miscellaneous night noises (dogs barking, sprinklers going, and the rooster that started crowing at 4:30am!!! $#@!).


In the morning, Lori cooked pancakes on a griddle on the grill (it's a propane grill, that's camping!).


Cutie pie Ashley has been so clingy with Robyn lately that she won't acknowledge any of us if Robyn is around, so since Robyn was off running forever this morning Ashley was actually social and charming.


The screened in porch at my parents' house is the greatest thing ever. The boys ate their breakfast out there and then the adults did. We sat out there talking for over an hour, what a lovely way to spend the morning.


The kids gathered outside to eat their breakfast and all got their fill of pancakes, waffles, eggs, bacon and hot chocolate.

The only unpleasant part of the whole experience (other than the freakin rooster) was having to clean everything up! Randy, Adam and Amy took down the tents and rolled up the sleeping bags, I cleaned the very messy kitchen, Robyn continued to run her 20 miles, and Lori slept on my parents' bed. (Jared is in California climbing Mt. Whitney so he wasn't part of this gathering.) It was a good time and I think it should become a family tradition.

**Have you ever backyard camped
with your whole family?
Did you camp while growing up?
What's your favorite thing about it?**