Spring in the Catskills

We took a quick weekend getaway to Uncle Jim's.  It's so neat to see the change of scenery compared to when we were last there in February.  I was telling Allison what a blessing it is for our family to be able to come visit.  It's so quiet and secluded.  It's truly family together time.  The kids explore nature.  It reminds me of growing up visiting my grandpa's cabin in Mt. Baldy....those are cherished memories, and I know our kids will always look back at trips to the Catskills and smile as well.

finding tadpoles and frogs

looking for more frogs

heading out for an adventure

Caroline picked these flowers with Allison

Wayne was glad to get fly fishing pointers from Jim

Can you spot the kids and Jim on their hike across the river?

Wesley found a nice spot to fish

Grace comforting Wesley who was NOT happy
that the fishing adventure had to end

I (heart) "early spring green."

Grace had a ball baking cookies with Allison

The deer in the meadow at the base of the driveway....
they were so close!

We had such a nice time, and left planning our next visit...
when the wildflowers are in bloom...

Weekend at Uncle Jim's...

Our longest sledding trail was up near the rock wall behind the house on the right.  Grace and I sled from there to the trees in the front of this photo.  Super Fun!

We played nearly every game in the house.... Connect Four (Wesley has a crazy fast version), Sorry!, Battleship, Monopoloy, Fishing, Jenga....

...and "Crash in the Walls" which is very similar to the XBox racing game.

We ate well.
Grace loved helping Allison in the kitchen.

Allison and her groupies.

I don't know why we don't have this spice in our pantry at home!

Grace munchin' on cookie dough while she tacked on more reading hours for her school's "Book Blizzard."  The 2 kids to read the most hours in February in each class get a free book, and the top reader in each grade gets a bowling party.

Wesley and Jim flying helicopters in the house.

chillin'

On our way to the Inn, we passed this herd of deer.

After everyone went ice skating, Wesley, Grace & I played at the Inn while the others went X-Country skiing.  Here's Wesley racing through our obstacle course.

A favorite destination- the Inn's ice-cream parlor

The kids left notes on the slate chalkboard wall for Jim & Allison.

We're so thankful that Jim & Allison let us come stay with them and have some fun in the beautiful Catskills.

We loved every minute.

Our Sledding Movie

*If you click on "YouTube" you can opt to watch it on You Tube full screen.


Some of the sledding was on ice, which made for fast sledding and brutal bumps on the way down....Examples: Thomas' 1st run (he's got the ski mask on), Grace & I catching air (my derrière was bruised after that ride, which I did in my pj's), and Caroline spinning on the orange saucer.  SO fun!
Missing from the footage:  I did spare the few brawls over sleds, and a few tears (see Caroline's face plant toward the end).
I didn't have my camera on when.... Wesley was ordering the other kids to carry his sled back up the hill and carry HIM as well, when Jim got Wesley to fly solo on the orange saucer...& I missed all of Wesley's rides somehow.  Hopefully we'll catch conditions like these at Jim's another time.  We all had hours and hours and hours of fun out there.

Sneak peak of our weekend at Uncle Jim's Cabin

From Drop Box

We spent hours & hours in the yard sledding; bum-bruising ice on day 1...crazy, fast, out of control, hilarious rides, followed by 2 days of fresh powdery snow for snow-flying-in-your-face sledding.  We had plenty of face plants, wipe outs, catching air, a run in with a tree, 360's, tandems, crashes, steering gone wrong, running starts, screaming (95% was the fun kind) and lots of laughing.  We sled until we were exhausted and soaked through our snow clothes.  More pics and a family movie to come.

Fun times!

Camp Joseph 2010

Memories to add to memories....this was our 12th trip to Sharon, VT. Our first trip was just for the day back in October 1997. Camp Joseph didn't exist. We went to the chapel on the Joseph Smith Memorial site and watched General Conference, and then spent some time walking around the visitor's center and the beautiful grounds. The leaves had all turned and it was just beautiful. The summer after they dedicated Camp Joseph, we helped build some of the cabins during our ward's campout. We've camped in rain and shine, and every year we have left with lots of smelly laundry, but with memories we'll treasure forever.

This year's Camp Joseph memories....

• Wesley and his 1st BFF, Garrett played and played and played....the best was their band performance (I must find a picture!) on the last day.  Garrett had sticks for drumsticks and banged on a garbage can for the drums.  Wesley had a long walking stick for his microphone and they sang their hearts out their version of "Yellow Submarine."  Eventually they recruited Leah for vocals because Wesley moved on to the guitar.  Leah didn't really get the no real music thing, "But I don't hear any music!"   Unfortunately the band broke up, but we're hoping for a reunion someday.  Sadly Garrett moved to Austin the day after the campout which will complicate the reunion, but  Camp Joseph is huge incentive.
• Games!  The 3 legged race was hilarious.  Christina and Lillian tore it up.  Thomas and Josh were impressive in practice, but not so much in the race (no offense, boys).  The kids had a blast doing the scavenger hunt.  Then there was the marshmallow race with the controversial finish- I still don't know who really won...and the gum contest (biggest bubble?) which I missed.
• More rockets!  This year Jim brought 2 rockets!  Caroline was right in the mix with set up and launching.  See if you can find the bottle rocket soaring in the photo just below the bottle rocket pre-launch photo.
• Amazing cuisine.  Again, Wayne's steak tips were the bomb-diggity.  Neal bought the meat this year and we grilled veggies with the meat again.  Divine.  For the marinade recipe, go HERE.
• S'mores.  There was plenty of Ghirdelli's chocolate/caramel squares to go around.  This treat brings me to VT!  We had so much fun around the campfire.
• Slip 'n Slide....I'll work on pictures for this too.  It was epic this year.  Again, Wesley was in tears when the fun ended, even though he was FREEZING.  This may honestly be a highlight of his childhood.
• Hammocks.  We had 3 this year.  Wayne slept in one, Thomas another, and the 3rd was the "hangout hammock."  I'm surprised it held up.  I heard lots of laughter coming from Grace, Caroline and pals in hammock #3.  At one point I came by hammock #3 to see how things were going.  Grace and her friend, Arianna were talking about the age of their parents.  Grace said, "My mom is 40, but DO NOT make fun of her!"
• Catching frogs.  The kids caught lots of frogs, and of course brought them to camp so they could have pets during the campout.  The kids thought that the water/muddy spot by the water spigot near the hammocks was a great habitat for the frogs, but I let the kids know that the frogs would be dead in the morning if they didn't get back to their home at the pond.  Thankfully, they returned the clueless frogs to the pond.
• The Joseph Smith Memorial.  We went as a ward group to the visitor's center on Sunday afternoon.  The missionaries were especially knowledgeable and informative this year.
• Golf Cart rides.  On our last day there, Caroline waited patiently for Sister Corcharan to come out of the bathroom so she could ask for one more ride on the missionary cart.  Such fun!
• Planning a mission.  I told Sister Corcharan that Wayne and I would love to serve a mission at Camp Joseph when our kids are grown.  She asked how long before we are empty nesters, and I said, "Our youngest is just 3."  We laughed knowing it will be a while, but agreed that Camp Joseph is a wonderful mission call.
• Exercise.  Those hills!  After 4 days at Camp Joseph I feel like I've had a huge workout.  Christina played some volleyball with the youth and Wayne got a football game going.  FUN!
• Friends.  Between late night campfires, potlucks, ward games, and down time in between, there was lots of time to visit, play, and laugh sometimes to tears with friends- our ward family.  We are so blessed to feel that closeness with our ward.  Fortunately our kids don't realize yet how unique that really is because they haven't known any different, but someday they will, and they will know from experience what to strive for.
• Food for the spirit.  We had a wonderful testimony meeting on Sunday, and an inspiring fireside by the Robisons as well.  The fireside was about using gratitude, service, and prayer to endure our trials well....something I'll think back on often.
• A dose of peace.  Often I stopped to take it all in.

Mom's favorite photo....

At one point I hustled Wesley up to the bathroom. I went to the stall next to his and could clearly hear that he had some explosive business going on.  I said, "Wesley, I am so proud of you!  You made it to the bathroom and kept your underwear dry!"  Without missing a beat, Wesley replied, "I'm proud of you too, mom."