Thursday, August 20, 2015

End of School Fun and Back to School!

This little boy's favorite Sunday activity is to pile all the pillows on the floor and jump into them.  He cracks me up. 
Doug wanted to take all the girls on a date before school started.  Here he is with Lilly at her favorite place Parley's Place in Salem.  She was excited about getting her own shake!
There were a lot of feelings in our house toward the end of summer.  I think everyone was ready for school to start.  Unfortunately there were a few more signs like this all around Sophia's room.
 We also have enjoyed playing in the yard on Sunday night.  Here's Lewis getting ready to catch a football.
 Good catch bud!
 We been doing a few more house things.  I made a cushion to cover this cute bench/table thing Doug's mom gave us.
 And Doug built a bench for our living room.  I totally love it!!
 The night before our campout we took the girls to "Into the Woods".  It was hilarious and we all loved it.
 Yesterday school started!! The night before we went to Meet the Teacher. Lilly has Mrs. Cope this year and is excited to be one of her cowpokes!
 First day pictures.
Lilly with Mrs. Cope
 And Sophia with Ms. Orton who she discovered is our cousin Josh's aunts cousin (did you catch all that?). She was excited to make a connection!
 The bus stop is at our mailbox which I'm so excited about!
 We had first day sundaes when the girls got home and it was fun to hear all about their first day.  We're excited about this school year!

Wilkins Family Campout

We had fun camping with our cousins last week. It was the perfect goodbye to summer and fun to be with family.  We got our car loaded up and really missed the space from the van!! We made it all fit somehow though!! And yes Mabel is there.  You can see her eye behind my head.
 This little boy loved the campsite and all the rocks it had to climb on.
 There was also plenty of critters.  A ground squirrel kept popping it's head up through this hole and the kids kept trying to watch it come out.
There was a sandbox at the site which was also a favorite. In case there wasn't enough dirt to play in.
 Grandma brought some fun Indian crafts for the kids to do.  They had fun making Ojo's de dios
and dream catchers.
 This little boy loved the fire
 and smores!! He couldn't get enough "mellows".
 Cute cousins around the campfire.
 Grandpa brought a few of his hammocks.  They were greatly enjoyed by all.
He also made some awesome pancakes!
 The first morning we were there we headed out to explore a few places in Millard county.  We went to the lava tubes which were pretty cool.  They were fun to climb around and play in.
 Panoramic view from the top courtesy of Doug.
 We also went to some sand dunes
 And were grateful for the shade we created.
and then we went to some hot springs.  I wasn't brave enough to get in but my kids enjoyed it!
 I love this picture.  This little boy loved sitting in his chair by the fire. He's a camping natural.
That nighy we had a play put on by the cousins that grandma arranged.  It was about the indians and pioneers who lived in that area.  It was great and everyone did a wonderful job.
 Here they are singing "There were 11 in the bed..."
Sophia was Chief Kanosh and Lilly and Mabel were eagles. Lilly had a horrible headache and did her best despite of it.  She totally fell apart after this and I felt so bad.  With the help of medicine and a blessing she finally fell asleep.
Here is one of the more unpleasant critters we encountered.  There was one a little bigger outside of our tent too.  My brother-in-law also found a dead squirrel in his tent.  Not the most pleasant parts of the trip but definitely memorable!
The next day we packed up and headed to Cove Fort before coming home.
 I love this place.  I love the history of it and it was fun to visit again.
The missionary who was giving us our tour said that President Hinckley rode in this carriage from Salt Lake to Cove Fort when he came to dedicate it. It was his grandfathers who helped settle the fort.  Pretty cool!
 The kids (and adults - Doug) loved trying their hands at games the pioneer children used to play.
After that and a yummy lunch in Fillmore we headed home. We were dirty and tired and grateful to be home but also had such a great time.  We are so lucky to live close to family and that we got to spend some time with them!