{4th of July} Warm River Camping Trip

Ryan and I both love the outdoors.  We want our children to love and respect our Heavenly Father's Creations, and there's no better way to do that than to get out there and enjoy!!!

Usually my dad and mom plan the camping trips and we go together with all my siblings and parents.  We don't *do* campers in my family....we just have AWESOME tents and equipment to make living in the wild that much more fun.

Because Ryan was able to get time off of work, we decided (kindof last minute) to take advantage of the 2 1/2 days he had and make the most of it.  We planned our FIRST EVER SOLO camping trip!  No friends.  No family.  Just.Us.

Tuesday Morning, July 3rd

We packed up both our cars (because we don't yet have ONE vehicle that can take it all!  LOL!) and headed to Warm River, in Ashton, Idaho.  Brace yourself for pictures.  I only took 600, but I think I narrowed it down to less than 60.  Go me!

We got to our camp around noon...just in time to eat lunch and set up and explore.

As it got hotter and hotter (I did NOT feel good...Had just started an antibiotic for a nasty UTI that had kicked my butt for a month.... this atomic bomb, so to speak, landed....and it wasn't pretty.) we headed up the road to see Mesa Falls.  Thankfully, the sweet Forest Ranger Volunteer Lady let me charge my camera battery in the visitor's center while we 'explored' in the air conditioning...even after the trouble to have a charged battery, I got ZERO pictures of the falls.  I was just too tired and sick.

Putting water in hats to keep cool.

Scoring a drink!

After seeing the falls, we met Grandma and Grandpa Poulsen at our camp for a hot-dog roast.

It's always nice to cool off on a hot day...just not the way Kortlen did. We were all standing on the bank, near our camp, throwing rocks in. I turned so that my mother-in-law and I could talk without the sun in her eyes, and then Taylor told us that Kortlen was in the water.  (Nobody even heard him fall in!!!)  Luckily, it took only half a leap and I was in the river and scooped a surprised and wet little BREATHING boy into my arms...Both of us were soaked.  But calm.  I am so grateful!  It was the nightmare I tried to avoid as I was packing the night before.  I'm not sure I really "saw" what happened, but I "saw" what I had fallen asleep worrying about.

We were at a spot in the river that was fairly slow moving, only 18 inches deep (still, deep enough for a child to drown!), and about 2 yards down stream was a build up rock 'pool' where you can store watermelons, cans of pop, and other stuff to keep cold in the cold water.  The grass was fairly tall and thick, so my guess is that he stepped into it and tried to walk, but the current was just enough to tip him over.

Even now, when I talk to him about it, I will ask him, "Kortlen did you fall in?"  And he'll say a concerned ,"yeah".  I ask him what he did when he fell in, and he's quiet, but moves his arms like he's swimming.  It breaks my heart!  But at least he was trying!!!

We are so glad the incident wasn't worse!!!

Our smoky camp.

While Grandma and I did dishes, Grandpa and daddy took the older two upstream to throw BIG ROCKS in the river....and they came back soaking wet!  All four of them.  :)

This is how you get a toddler to sleep when he doesn't have his crib.
An umbrella stroller, then rocking on a sleeping bag
while singing primary songs when his brothers woke him up at 10 pm. 

Wednesday, July 4th

Happy Independence Day {2012}!!!

Katelyn is currently writing a paper for her English Class about leaving no trace.  We definitely left NO TRACE while on this camp trip!  We had minimal garbage, washed our dishes, and burned our fuel to ashes.  Doing dishes was a treat for me, because it meant my hands came out sparkly!  I honestly don't know how my hands got so dirty.  I didn't play in the dirt, and washed with water, then sanitizer after every bathroom run...maybe it's because I was holding onto little hands the whole time. :)

After breakfast, we drove to Rexburg for the parade and to celebrate such a wonderful day!

After the parade we made our way back to G & G's house for lunch, naps, and some play time.

Check out my festive Cool Whip Salad!  It's the best I could do.  LOL!

Since everybody had a well deserved nap, we rewarded the quiet break with the Rexburg Splash Park!  Our boys are at the perfect age for this, and clearly had a BLAST!!!

Grandpa and Grandma love to come watch!
We love having them, too.  :)

The best part about getting wet on a hot day, is drying on the hot sidewalk!!!  The boys thought they were so cool as they were "Sun Baving".

Grandma and I were wiped out (though I was feeling better, I just felt like being lazy...yay for meds starting to work!) so we decided to pick up some pizza, which proved to be harder than we thought! I grabbed some cupcakes, too....

By now, it was time for fireworks....We were already a few hours late getting started, as Ryan wanted to do them at 4 pm.

We were 'cheap' this year and bought 3 fireworks....lucky for the boys, G & G's neighbors did more, and let our kids watch. :)

After this excitement, we headed back to camp...and met the resident baby skunk and a fox.

Thursday, July 5th

We woke up with this crane looking for breakfast...

...and this fox...who scared me to death the night before when it was dark!  He/she kept going through our camp, around our fire, WHILE WE WERE SITTING THERE!!!  So crazy! (We were in "Bear Country", so we had to take food to the car each time we left camp, or at night...this fox thought we had left him a treat!)

We saw a TON of wildlife in the few days we were here....Deer, a baby skunk, Fox, Crane, Pelicans, Various Fish, Hawk with fish, Osprey with fish, and TONS of pretty little birdies. :) Luckily Bears didn't make the list. :)

Tanner was a big helper, getting water for our morning dishes.

For Christmas a few years ago, my dad made us this awesome camp kitchen! (see below)  The slots are perfect for every non-food item you need while camping. Behind the paper towels are the plates & a cutting board. Behind the bottle of water and syrup are the wash basins, soap, and towels for doing dishes. Above those are the utensils rolled in an awesome cloth organizer, and there's firestarters, nick-nacks, and bandaids there, too. The silverware is in the top left slot, with mugs and matches below that. The bottom left compartment is for our water bucket, teapot (to boil water for hot cocoa), and a canister for mixing pancake batter. The far right section is for our lanterns, flashlights, and crayons, and paper (go figure....we didn't even use them! Hooray!). The front of the camp kitchen folds down to be a counter top...totally awesome, if I don't say so myself!!!

 — 

Check out the Utensil Pockets. :) So when you're NOT in bear country, and can actually pull everything out, this hangs off the front of the kitchen, or in a nearby tree....it's got everything you need for cooking. :) Knives for cutting, serving spoons, spatulas and a wisk, pliers for handling hot lids from dutch ovens, paring knives, a cheese grater, and clothes pins. :) I'm telling you...my dad know's how to camp!!! Who needs a camper when you have THIS!

Upon finishing breakfast, we packed up, and drove to Bear Gulch.

I had fun taking pictures of weeds:

...while we made our way up the railroad grade to see this abandoned railroad tunnel. It's now completely closed off, but when Ryan and I were dating, we were able to go through it!  It isn't long, but it's dark!  Now there is an ATV trail around the tunnel...

Walking back down the grade....the same one we biked down (remember that 50 miler?!) last fall...

...and more pretty weeds...

All in all, we had an amazing time!!!  It was a HUGE success; when we got home, the boys spotted the cars I had unloaded from their suitcases while packing.  Tanner commented to Taylor, "Mom is so smart!  We didn't need our cars to have fun after all!"  So glad I could be of help, son!