Kara and I decided to take the kids camping at Rimrock after we picked up Jackson from camp. It was a fun trip, but I wouldn't say it was very relaxing. The trip got more strange (or humorous) as time went on.
These two are too stinkin' cute together. Jacob dotes on her like a man should!
Our peaceful trip was first interrupted with the multiple fly-bys of military jets. The first one was so low, Kara swore she could see the pilot. I was moving the car and thought we were about to be bombed! Let's just say the kids were displeased by the deafening noise.
Ben and Sierra clinging tight.
This pic was taken in '08 at the same camp ground
Then and Now
We had a few hours of fun playtime at the beach.
She has become accustomed to walking with her hands on her hips...Little Miss 'Tude!
Hands still on hips...checking on the boys' work.
Adventurous Ben
No Fear
The girls thought it would be more fun to be in their underwear while playing in the kid-made pool!
The next adventure came with dinner. We got the kids fed with hot dogs, but Kara and I were having camper's stew...meat and veggies wrapped in foil and cooked on the fire. First we ran out of foil and had to attempt to make it with the celephane-type foil Kara got at the camp store. Next, we discovered there were no grates over the fire and we had no utensils to help the issue. Using our nature skills we accomplished cooking our dinner and fishing it out using a board and a stick. We were very proud!
And now for the really interesting part of the trip. I had plugged in the pump to blow up the air mattress around dinner time. After a few hours, I realized that I had not disconnected it and, sure enough, the battery was dead. Since we were basically the only ones camping there on a week night, I felt the need to jump the car before bed. I asked the one couple we notice throughout the day, but being from Germany, they had a rental car with no cables. After thinking through different possiblities of who to contact, we were making progress talking to AAA.
Just then a man rides by on his motorcycle with a basket on the back. I asked him if he was the camp host, to which he said no, he was looking for Molly (see pic below). Feeling a little unsure of him, I decided not to get into our issues, but the problem came out. He (Mountain-man Jim... self-named) said he was overly certified in mechanics and had jumper cables up in his jeep. He drove away to return about 30 seconds later with Molly, the dog. He introduced us and then left Molly in our care as he rode away! Molly was a very ADHD dog, but I appreciated her wandering as she headed to the German couple so I could strike up a conversation and give them a heads-up of the mountain man who was going to be joining us.
Jim returns, looks at the battery and realized that he needed a special wrench to tighten the cable connected to our battery...back up the rode he goes! At this point, Kara and I are getting a little nervous about sleeping in 2 different tents. We quickly looked at the size of hers, pulled my kids off the mattress in mine and got it moved over. As we were moving Jackson, which is no easy feat, we hear his jeep coming. We pretty much toss him into Kara's tent, as we zip it up to keep the idea that we are sleeping separately!
An hour and a half later, after we know Jim's life story, his daughters' stories, and some other philosophies, we sit down by the fire with a charging Suburban and wonder what just happened!
Neither of us were keen about sleeping, so we felt better once we tucked steak knives under our pillows and I had my wine bottle by my head...just in case!
I feel a little bad about being so paranoid (Kara had a better attitude of thinking the whole thing was humorous), but thank God we are safe and that "Mountain-man Jim" may have been a gift from Him!
We were so exhausted the next morning we were pack (to the roof!) and headed back by lunch. We stopped at Major's, ordered 7 kid meals (which Kara would be holding), when Grandpa Bob, Kara's father-in-law, shows up in the window. And what is a grandpa to ask..."Who wants ice cream!". So, five little cones cram their way into our car as we are laughing in awe of our trip. We get to our house, dump out the kids, the food, and the melting cones, and have a picnic on the front lawn! Which happens to be the only pic I got of all 5 kids looking at me!
Kara, I love that I shared this adventure with you! Life would not be nearly as interesting!
