Camperrific

It's a whole month later, but I'm determined not to fall of the blogging train, if only the sake of my own future memory! So last month, we skipped off to our fourth annual church campout, where the men do the cooking and the children entertain each other [for the most part]. Peter ended up in charge this year, so it was a little more of an investment in terms of setup and cleanup - but just as fun as always.

It was a full three days, and this was our second year at the Wolford Reservoir location, a pituresque rugged little spot tucked between the big ranges in the Rockies.

We got out on the pontoon boat, got some fishing in (but still no fish - maybe one of these years), and splashed around in the swimming hole by the dock. In between, there was plenty of relaxing to be had. 

Ah, the joys of being uninhibited in nature when nature calls.

Cornholio Tournament

We had a Vespers service around the campfire one night, a movie night the next (projected on one of the campers), and of course there were s'mores til the cows came home. We also had the treat of optimal stargazing, and during the Perseid Meteor Shower no less - we saw tons of shooting stars, and I don't know that I've ever seen the Milky Way so vividly. It was breathtaking! The dorkish wannabe astronomer in me was over the moon (get it? heh...heh...). I attempted a photo, but I'll spare you the resultant black square of nothingness. 

There was ample sun and no rain the whole weekend, but also no real shade at the campsite, which makes for some scorchers when you're tent camping. So we escaped Saturday to Steamboat Springs, which is only about 45 minutes from the reservoir. I've never been and have always wanted to see it, but let's be real - the underlying motive was a nice long air-conditioned car ride and potential naps for the kids. When we got there we attempted a well-renowned waterfall hike, but it ended up being blazing hot and crowded and I was the only one into it - we made it to the first lookout but the kids weren't having it and ultimately sat down on the sidewalk in protest. So we turned around and left, and they all blessedly slept. 

Life didn't exactly slow down that much either during our time away...Erik lost a tooth, prompting us to get really creative and figure out a payment plan after Marie exclaimed "now you'll get money tonight!!!" before we could shush her and say that the tooth fairy didn't make wilderness calls. The last day of the campout also fell on Marie's 8th birthday, so even though we had celebrated previously, we celebrated on her real day as much as possible between packing up the campsite and road tripping home.

And lest you think I've morphed into some sort of camping superstar after three previous years whining about "roughing it," here's what three days of roasting in the sun interspersed with three long nights of freezing in a sleeping bag despite seven layers of clothing will do to you:

#iwokeuplikethis
[And then I got to go socialize].

C'mon, sun! Some of us need to thaw!

One of the biggest highlights, as always, was mass by the lake - where we got to appreciate both Jesus and some of his best work at the same time: 

We love that this tradition has become such an integral part of our summers, and it's one I know we will continue to enjoy for many years to come - gorgeous views, frigid nights, and all!