Camping At Lost Creek

We spent the weekend camping at Lost Creek Campground in the Mt. Hood area.  It was a GREAT weekend just relaxing and spending time as a family.  We did a lot of hiking, playing board games and playing catch with the baseball and football.  The kids found a fallen tree that they made into a teeter-totter and another for a balance beam.  They both helped with dish clean up and camp set up and take down.  Aiden would go to the pump to get the water, and Ava loved washing the dishes.  In true Ava fashion, she was singing away as she washed.  It felt like we were miles away from our "world" but truly at only driven 54 min drive to the mountain.  I truly enjoy the simple life that camping brings to remove us from everyday stresses and allow us to focus on spending quality time together.    (I'll blog about our bike hike separately!)

A quick story:  Ava LOVES to get up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.  I have to admit that when I'm in my warm sleeping bag, I've thought, "Please, don't wake up!  Please, don't wake up!" as I cannot imagine climbing out into the cold.   She doesn't always even go, but I think she just wants to see the stars.  She's full of awe to be out in the night!   When asked, despite all the fun things, this is usually her favorite part of the trip..."...when we got up in the middle of the night and saw all the stars."  She hums the whole way with a smile on her face.  It is IMPOSSIBLE for that NOT to rub off on me, and as I write this it brings a smile to my face and tears to my eyes.  This time, she looked up and said, "Mom, isn't it just glorious?"  Yes, Ava, and thank you for taking me along and giving me the opportunity to do this with you.  :)



Amazing Mt. Hood! 





Throwing rocks into Lost Creek at the campground



Nature's teeter-totter!  The kids had a blast with this fallen tree!



Our boy is almost 9 and going into 4th grade!  Where does the time go?  He
still loves to hang out with his parents, and I'm hanging on to EVERY single
moment of that time.



Breakfast time! What is better than oatmeal and hot chocolate for breakfast when it's
a chilly morning?  Yes, Ava is THIS happy in the morning. :)



"Chef" Brien.  He can heat with the best of them! :)  We're low
maintenance camp cooks. 



Sorry and Apples to Apples were our big games this weekend.  Ava won
the game you see in the picture, Brien was 2nd place, Aiden was 3rd place and I was the
big loser. :)  Happy to lose if I get to play with these 3.