Camping Trip

Every August Jon's family and extended family meet up to camp at this gorgeous lake in the Willamette Forest We always have such a great time and every year seems to offer something different. These are my highlights of our camping trip 2008.

1. Rob-This is Jon's dad and he's the one that puts on this camping trip every year. He cooks us yummy food and brings up the kayaks, bikes, water toys, and sailboats for the entertainment. He plans everything and even arrives early so he can be sure to snag the waterfront camping spot for everyone. He's the best.

2. Frog Hunts It's protocol every year to hunt for frogs. It's really a lot of fun and a family favorite thing to do. This year Jon, Isaac and I hunted down two snakes also. Have you ever seen a snake make his way across the water, slithering back and forth? It will definitely give you the CREEPS! Sorry no pics of the snakes.

3. Pizza Cook-Off

We had a dutch oven pizza cook-off. This is Isaac's pizza. A big brownie pizza with chocolate whipped cream, Reese's Pieces, and caramel on top. Yeah...he won.

4. Kayaking

LOVE kayaking every year.
5. Campfire Sing-alongs

No campfire is complete without Rob wailing on the guitar;)

6. Ninja Training

Isaac's new thing is to pretend to be a Ninja Turtle. He brought the swords and the masks to camp and recruited some fellow TMNT'ers. This night they had Ninja Training camp. Jon was Splinter and had his "sons" run through several ninja exercises to sharpen their fighting skills. Isaac was in heaven to have all these adults taking Ninja Turtles as seriously as he does. Aunt Jessica is in the blue mask and "Auntie Em" is in the red mask. You have some pretty cool aunts Isaac!

7. Glow Sticks I think glow sticks will have to be a new favorite for camping. One of the nights Jon's mom pulled out a glow stick sword and a ton of glow stick bracelets. Who knew glow sticks could be so fun? We had Star War fights, hooked all the bracelets together and played jumprope in the dark, and just messed around. Lots of fun.

8. Sunsets....do I really need to comment on this picture?

*Thanks Teresa for letting me use your pic. http://www.byteresa.com/

9. Just Playing Games and Hanging Out

10. Sailing

Okay, I'll admit it. I never go out sailing, but I appreciate that Jon's parents and his aunts do. One of these years I'll have to try to learn how. I just have a fear of capsizing in that cold water!

Here are Jon's parents on one of their sailboats. They leave for Mexico in one month to serve a mission. I don't know what we're going to do next year at the lake when they're not around :(

*picture courtesy of http://www.byteresa.com/

All in all, it was a great trip. Gotta love Oregon camping.