Camping Traditions

We went camping this weekend! Mr. Wonderful has been working seriously ridiculous hours lately- we hardly see him these days. So this was a much needed opportunity to reconnect and have some down-time as a family. It has become a family tradition to go camping together for General Conference. What's general conference? Well- the short answer- we believe we have a prophet and 12 apostles on the earth right now- just like Christ's original church. That's why we call our church the "restored" gospel of Jesus Christ. These inspired leaders give the entire church (over 14 million baptized members) timely and inspiring messages twice a year. The sessions are broadcast worldwide to anyone who wants to listen and learn. There are video an audio streams available online, so we cuddled up in the camper and got to learn together. Each session leaves me feeling so uplifted- and hopeful about life... hardships and all. So not only did we get to rejuvinate and have a little rest and relaxation this weekend- we also had the opportunity to grow spiritually as well.

Here are a few pics of our adventures- (and I'm excited to share a new camping treat idea with you below!)

The kids all decked out in our camo. One of our wacky family traditions!

This awesome campground had a trampoline-like bouncy thing, and the kids could not get enough of it. Notice little Jakey in the background flying a kite by himself...

They literally spent HOURS on this thing!

But the kids weren't the only ones having fun!

Daddy played this fun game with the kids. He'd jump as high as he could...

And send them all flying! They loved it!!

My camping cuties...

One advantage of going camping this time of year- we basically had the entire campground to ourselves! Usually I'm hyper concerned about the noise level- constantly shushing the kids so we don't disturb people. But this time- we could fully relax and just enjoy our time together. We played, and played, and played some more- soccer, ping-pong, playground games, tetherball, freeze tag, etc.

And here we are really roughin it... we actually ordered PIZZA for dinner! I know- aren't we the most pathetic campers ever?! Haha! But, I had a craving. (And I'm not a fan of hot dogs.)

And the kids weren't interested in s'more s'mores this time. I think they're getting sick of them. (And I'm sick of cleaning up sticky marshmallows all over their hands and clothes.) So the second night we tried something different- and started a new family camping tradition.

I'd love to share it with you! You only need a few ingredients:

Take a small (empty) can and put a roasting stick through it so it's secure. Then wrap 1/2 of the crescent roll dough around the bottom- making sure to seal the sides.

Then roast over the fire- it takes about 5 minutes to cook thoroughly.

Spoon- fill with whatever kind of pie filling flavor you prefer.

And finish it off with lots of whipped topping! (Each crescent roll tube makes about 5-6 treats).

Enjoy!

What a wonderful weekend away. The best part about playing hard- is crashing hard. We somehow all sleep better when we go camping.

Here's little Jarom... all camped out! Till next time.