Camping in Laramie!

Before we headed to Bear Lake this year, we decided that we were going to take a few days and camp along the way!  It has been a long time since I have been able to camp for more than a night anywhere, so it was really fun to be able to set up shop and just hang for a bit!  We were planning on trying to meet some of my family in Flaming Gorge, but no one ended up being able to meet. Darn it!  We were still planning on going to Flaming Gorge, but we ended up leaving Denver too late.  So, we did what we always do- we improvised and winged it!  We got onto the road, and I used my phone to look for some place to camp.  We ended up deciding on a place just outside of Laramie called Snowy Range at a campground called Brooklyn Lake.  We didn't get there until dark, but we still found a great camp spot, and it is a good thing that we got there when we did, because the next day, the whole place filled up!  We had our pick when we got there though- so that was nice.  It was a great time!  Before the trip, Cole was able to take Lincoln to the store and he picked out a cool little paddle boat floatie-thingy.  He was SOOOO excited about it!  Since we camped right next to this awesome little lake- Brooklyn Lake- we were able to use the boat a little bit and break it in before we used it at Bear Lake.  The lake was FREEZING, but the kids still swam in it, and they had a great time!  It's at times like this that I am kind of glad that I have a baby to take care of. :)  Everyone had a great time though, and we only had a LITTLE bit of rain right when we were putting up our tent!  It was awesome!  Unprecedented for us actually.  But the wind during the night was CRAZY!  It totally kept Cole and I up it was so loud!  One of the nights poor little Morgan was having a hard time- she has a hard time at night a lot of nights and we can't figure out why! Poor little baby. Anyways...she cries a lot, I think because she is uncomfortable, but she was crying, and waking Stockton up so we ended up bringing her into bed with us.  That quieted her down for a little while, but then she cried for a minute again and she woke Stockton up!  Yikes!  So, we had to bring the little buddy into bed with us too.  So we were all sorts of snuggly warm- all 4 of us in a sleeping bag.  :)  The boys didn't budge through the WHOLE thing though- so there was a plus to it all.  All in all- it was a great time!  We did some makeshift Smith family Olympics complete with some hammer throw, javelin, and we were going to start up with the sprints, but we decided on a hike instead!  The hike we went on was VERY fun, and we got up to this beautiful little Glacial Lake (don't know what it was called!) and took some pictures.  We were even lucky enough to witness one of the BIGGEST BLOWOUTS in baby history!  There was poop ALL OVER Stockton!  And when I say all over, I mean ALL OVER!  Of course, we didn't bring any sort of wipes or diapers or a change of clothes up with us, so we just had to hike back down covered in poop.  Adds to the experience right?!  That's what I say!  We got there on Friday night, hung all day Saturday, and Sunday morning, we packed up our car again, and were on the road to Bear Lake!

Hangin out by the lake!  So cute down there.

This lake was cold.  And by cold, I mean FREEZING!

SHe wanted NOTHING to do with more than her little toesies in the water!

He was LOVING this paddle boat!  It was so cute...when they were at the store, he was so excited about it, that he even asked Cole if they could go home so that he could get his money out of his piggy bank so that he could pay for it.  How cute is that?!  Cole was nice enough to foot the bill for this one. 

Paytons legs were a little bit short, but he managed to tool around as much as he wanted to around the lake

Just hangin trying to get warm after swimin in the lake!

And lest you think this little dude wasn't there...Ta-Da! 

Proof that Cole braved the cold water and swam with the kids!  What a stud!

Stockton and I did a lot of this...

Payton did a lot of this!  Shocker...I know.

The 4 cutest kids on the pLANET!

He's into the "I'm gonna pull a funny face just to make mom mad" phase every time I pull out the camera.  Charming, I must say!

She's just starting to hike on her own, and she is fast!....NOT!  But she looks dang good though.

We love climbing trees

Cute in a field of wildflowers.  Such a sweetheart!

We found a log and the boys were SOOO excited to get some single shots of themselves up on this log.  So funny.

Into the ninja/warrior/hit anything that is in front of me- stuff

Best family shot we got....dang piece of grass that got in the way!

This little princess LOVES her Daddy!

Proof of the mega-blowout

He's happy now!

Morning sunshine!

July Randomness...

We've had a really fun July!  It's been EXTREMELY hot here in Denver, so we have been doing a lot of playing outside in the sprinklers, and also hangin out inside doing projects, and just being lazy!  It's all good though- that's what summers are about!  And I wonder why my kids don't ever feel like doing anything...I don't much either!  We have managed to do some really fun stuff though, and we have had a great time!  Here's a photo journal of some of the fun stuff that we have done...enjoy!

How can you resist a cute sleepy baby?!  Cole is VERY good at getting the kids to fall asleep- especially when they are supposed to be awake!

We went to the park one day and found a WHOLE BUNCH of crawdads- so later that week, Lincoln went with his friend Henry to the same park and they caught a bunch of them.  This is NOT Lincolns thing, but he was actually a really great sport.  He was only a little bit "freaked right out" as he said! :)

Did some painting...

Were really cute while sibs were painting- sorry for the blurry picture.  I dont' know what was wrong with the camera! (read: ME)

She thought it was "totally gross!" to have paint on her hands, and was giggling the whole time.  SO cute!  SUCH a girl.

We made SLIME!  The boys thought it was absolutely the coolest thing they have ever done!  I have to admit- it was pretty neat!

Payton chose Green slime- because "Hello!  Real slime is really green!"

Link chose blue- favorite color of the day

They thought squeezing it into the slime was pretty sweet

We are still enjoying this!

Morgan was LESS than thrilled to have to be in on this project, but once it got going, she was as into it as her brothers were! You can tell she is concentrating by how far out her tongue is. Cute little peanut.

Best shot of the 3 of them.  Sad.

Happy July!!!

FREE SLURPEES....

Don't mind if I do!  Thank heaven for 7-11!!

Campin'

This family loves to camp!  It's hard work getting up there- but we love to do it! We had been talking about going all week, but had never decided that we were going to go or not.  But on Friday at like 3:00, Cole called and made the executive decision that we were going!  So- I hustled my bustle and tried to get everything ready so that we could go in pretty good time.  The food is always the hardest thing for me to get ready, but luckily, I had just gone to the store, so I was somewhat prepared, and could just throw a few things together and call 'er good!
   The funny thing about Cole and I is that we never even know where we are going to GO before we head out the driveway!  Cole had talked to a few of his coworkers, and had an idea of where we wanted to head, so we headed that way and just winged it wen we saw some spots and stuff!  We found a great spot, and had the most fabulous time!  Of course, it wouldn't be a camping trip without a little rain!  But by a little rain, I actually mean TORRENTIAL!  Seriously!  The rain fell SO HARD!  I don't know what it is, but really, every time we go camping, it rains and it rains hard!  Good thing we have a fantastic tent that- for the most part- kept the water out!  We had to bring the stinky dog, and he was quite a mess- even escaping during the middle of the night and we didn't know it until we woke up that next morning!  Silly guy.  The night was RATHER long too!  Stockton- I believe- was a bit cold, so before long, he ended up in our bed snuggling with me.  But the hard thing with this was that before long, Payton got up and started THROWING UP!  Oh man!  There aren't many trips that we go on that the poor little guy doesn't get sick somehow or another.  So he alternated between the runs and some throwing up, and poor Cole had to take care of him because Stockton was asleep in my arms!  Oh what a night!  He felt a bit better in the morning, so we were able to have a delicious breakfast (the hot chocolate complete with whipped cream was the kids favorite!), go on a little hike, and hang around camp and shoot the sling shot!  We had a few competitions (all but one of which Cole won handily:(  ) and then headed home!  We had a great time, and we are SO glad that the kids love to camp as much as we do!  So- here's to leaving on a whim, and lovin every second of it!

Morgan wash out!

Can you see the walls of the tent just SOAKED?!

He was going stir crazy stuck in the tent!  Plus, he has crazy glowy eyes.  Creepy.

She thought she was SO awesome hiking all by herself.  And yes, she picked out her own outfit.  Only HER outfit comprised of black sunday shoes as well- those had to go.  Can't very well hike in church shoes.  Gotta draw the line somewhere.

Big boys doin a little bit of bouldering

Hello dirty mug!

Stockton is quite the trooper.  He's always on guard when his loving older brother is near!