Towards the end of August our ward hosted another campout at Ensign Ranch. The weather was better this year, but we ended up at a campsite appropriately named "Far West." It was a bit of a trek from our van to the camping spots. Being lazy car-campers, we weren't quite prepared to be lugging our stuff. Mark came a few hours after the rest of us because he wanted extra space in his car to bring ward supplies. That left the kids and I to do most of the transporting and setting up. Admittedly, we didn't have the best attitudes initially. At one point I asked the kids, "Should we just pack back up and go home?" Most of them said, "Yes!"
Thankfully we didn't give in to the grumpies, because we ended up having a fantastic time. I brought our now somewhat traditional (and easy) first night camping dinner of rolls with chicken salad or turkey and cheese. I like this meal because it doubles as lunch the next day.
As more people arrived, our attitudes improved. S'mores around the (portable) campfire helped (no real campfires were allowed because of a burn ban).
The highlight of the evening was a ward talent show. The talent show was largely spontaneous, so it mostly consisted of lots of kids getting up and telling jokes or singing. Graham was quick to hop up on stage every time he remembered a joke. Later we learned that Thane was the puppet master; he would whisper jokes and ideas to Graham, and Graham would then go up to perform. That's often how things roll at home as well.
Aubree played "The Greatest Showman Medley" on violin, but mostly she enjoyed getting to spend time with her friends. Bryce had no desire to go on stage, but he liked hanging out with the older boys, especially when they were using knives.
Most of the kids went to bed in the tent fairly easily. It's pretty great to be out of the camping-with-babies-and-toddlers stage! Unfortunately, Bryce got a now-standard camping migraine. When the nausea hit, he and I sat outside in the cooler air until he felt well enough to try going back to bed. Thankfully he felt better in the morning.
The morning ended up being extra fun. Mark helped the bishopric make and serve breakfast for everyone. In the meantime, Thane went feral and ran around with his equally wild friends. A few of the kids (including Thane) brought their bow and arrows from Scripture Hero Camp. The others found themselves appropriate sticks and weapons in the woods. If you look closely at the picture, you might notice that they also found berries and painted their faces.
Even Nellie couldn't resist the allure of using berries to paint faces. They were all SO dirty!
All too soon it was time to clean up and head home. Clean up was much easier since Mark was around to help. It's also nice that the kids are big enough to help.
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