Night Time Camping Fun

These are the last images and stories I want to share with you from our recent camping trip. Are you tired of camping with us yet? If you are, that's good, because it's time to go to bed. But just before we do that, take a look at the glorious moon shining down on our tents.

Are you up for a few sparklers in the dark? Because a few of the kids were. Aidan did a great job.

 Bella framed nicely in sparkler.

And Regan got a perfect swirl.

There's always just enough time left for some flashlight fun by the campfire.

Then it's time to bed for all. I had to do some work with this image, but I wanted to really be able to see all of my kids, sprawled out in our tent. They all slept great after wearing themselves out on hikes, climbing and play with friends and filling up with good food.

Now that is good stuff.

Introductions and Comparisons

Okay, I'm really just putting this picture in here because Ella is so absolutely adorable. But to incorporate it.... Let us try.
One of the highlights of our recent camping adventure with the Carlsons was getting to meet little miss Ella for the first time! (see, I CAN do it) She was two months old at the time of our camping trip, and I was beside myself waiting to meet her.

Judy and I had speculated, over the phone, that the girls might be close to the same size, even with Ella being 3 months younger than Laini. Not surprising, really, because Judy makes some nice, healthy babies, and Laini is our petite little girl, just like Bella was. Now, if Laini had been another Kane, the story would have been quite different. But we had to get the new additions together to make some comparisons.

Besides the obvious difference in age (it's amazing what a few months can do at this young age), they were very near to the same size.

 Little hands together - yep, pretty close.

And of course, the feet. Yep, same size! I love Judy's face in this picture. I look at it and can hear the laugh that came with it.

The girls are both about 15 pounds here. Ella will probably outgrow Laini eventually, if Laini keeps up her petiteness and Ella keeps up with her siblings' legacies. No matter, though, the important thing is that they get to grow together. And that's what we love.

What The Toddlers Did

The toddlers and camping... What fun. They did a lot of mud hunting.

 They did some rock throwing in the run-off for the soon-to-be pond.

They got nice and dirty.

They rode their Papa's/Daddy's shoulders when their legs got tired of hiking. We have a picture of them on the guys backs in carriers from two winters ago. Love it.

Max did a whole lot of Ranger riding. They explored lots of woods on this thing, driving a bit, then turning it off to listen/watch. They found me a beautiful snipe. Shoulda' taken the camera for him, he was right in the trail when they took me back to look at him, strutting his stuff. Lovely.

And Aidan spent those times when mine were on the Ranger on the big blue tractor with Daddy. It's his favorite place to be, and at the end of a long day, it's the place where he just couldn't keep those eyes open any longer.

They might not remember this trip when they're older, but we have these pictures, and we're setting them up for a life time of memories just like these ones.

Kane, Catching Up

I have a picture of Kane from the first hike that we took with the Carlsons, 2 1/2 years ago, just like this one of Maxwell and Judy.

My boys are good judges of character, and they take to Judy. Kane spent a lot of that first hike holding Judy's hand, and yelling "Wait up!" to Bella and Regan as he ran after them.Things are a little different now. Maxwell was the one yelling "Wait up!" this trip, and while Kane still has a tendency to be chasing the girls...

...he has started to catch up and pass them. He is forging his way as a leader and finding out how to deal with being the odd man out when he's with the girls.

He likes being in front, being a leader, and I can't wait to see where it takes him in life. Right now, it is taking him to the top of the hill as quickly as he can get there, to look back and say, "Catch up!" instead of "Wait up!" and I think he had a pretty good time camping because of it. He's finding his place with the girls, and he was even the first to jump in and catch apples that Adam was dropping from the tree. 

He has come so far, and he really had a good time.

The Girls

Sooo, back to our camping trip, right? I am so behind on these posts, and now I'm going to be dealing with a lot of photo processing and canning/gardening that's backed up, so thanks for bearing with me. I'm going to be letting these pictures speak for themselves. I think you can tell without my words how happy Bella and Regan were to be back together again. Sure, they had their disagreements, but that's to be expected, and they were easily passed by for moments more worth their time. Like these...

 

One of the disagreements that they did have was that all of my kids, including Bella, were slightly obsessed with riding the Ranger with Papa. Bella really wanted Regan to go with them all the time, and Regan really didn't want to ride the Ranger. Which probably worked out for the best, because they could have a little time apart now and then. Plus, it gave Regan and Laini some time to bond while I was getting camp broke down.

I do have to say, that the big girls and the little girls of the bunch felt pretty much the same way. I guess if Judy and I were 6 we would have been running off together and holding hands all weekend too. Instead, we did a LOT of talking, smiling, laughing and just a little venting.

 

It's just what all the girls needed.

Setting Up Camp

It didn't take the boys long to get right down to business on our recent camping trip. We got ourselves a nice new tent, and while the ladies were getting lunch ready, the men were setting up camp. Max was just happy that our tent happened to be orange, which is his obsessively-favorite color.

Kane, my little man, did all of the set up with his Papa. He is my one who will stick out a project until the end. And he was all for winging it - what fun is reading directions, right?

He worked hard to get all of the rods in the right places for Papa, feeding them through and hooking them in.

And while the guys were setting up camp, and the Mamas were setting up food, the girls were reconnecting. Bella and Regan, finally together again, hanging out on the porch swing, snacking on chips. We love our friends, and I know this is a memory that she will hold onto for the rest of her life.

It was destined to be a super fun weekend. And that's exactly what it was. Which is exactly why it won't fit into one post. There was so much hiking, Ranger riding, apple picking and baby bonding that I couldn't possibly condense it. More to come!