after a couple of years of looking, we finally found a cute little pop-up camper this spring! God was really sweet to us, the older couple that owned it used it just a handful of times and it was in immaculate condition. it was also 2,400 bucks under blue book, even more awesome! they also gave us all sorts of goodies like a free standing awning, all their pots, pans, utensils etc and even a travel horseshoe set! we had fun using it in the yard until we could do the real thing. we would pile into it with homemade coffee cake warm out of the oven, a cup of joe, and play crazy 8's with the kids. my favorite memory in the camper so far was when i tried to come up with a game on the fly when the kids were getting a little too wild, even for the great outdoors. i told them one of us would start with "last night i had a dream that..." and then each person would add to it until we'd come up with a great story. i decided it should be called "dream weaver" and when i said that out loud, charlie called out from the bed on the opposite end of the camper "green beaver? what's green beaver?" we laughed so hard and have called our little game "green beaver" ever since.
here is a re-cap of our favorite camping trips this summer.
our first official camp-out was to priest lake. we couldn't stand it any longer and took her on her maiden voyage in may. it was a stormy first night, but it was fun to listen to the thunder and see the lightning from our warm little camper, all bundled up and snuggled in together. listening to the {very loud} rain hit the canvas top. we swore we heard a rabid raccoon screeching all night, but other than that we slept great and woke up to a beautiful morning. the rufflings had a blast playing at the lake, ella was even brave enough to swim. more like a polar bear plunge when you're at priest lake in may. the pacific northwest is such a treasure. sitting on a white sandy beach while watching thunder clouds form around a bright blue sky beaming with sunshine, all topped off by the majesty of snow-covered mountains. beautiful. back at camp we played tic tac toe and pictionary in the dirt with sticks, sweeping away our pictures with pine branches before the next turn. i bought these flexible, light-up wands at the dollar store and the kids spent 2 hours each night battling each other in light saber wars and ninja fights that kept todd and i entertained while we sipped coffee and ate cake. best $4 i ever spent. i bring an old enamelware bowl with us and set it on the table as soon as we arrive at camp. this is our treasure bowl. any flower, pine cone, moss covered rock, mushroom...any thing deemed special by it's finder is placed in the bowl and investigated and enjoyed {and usually brought home}. ella found 2 frogs the first night we were there and after deciding they needed a break from living in the treasure bowl, the kids put them in the water basin for a swim. we got settled in around the campfire later, and i looked over to see ella, engrossed in a book by flashlight, bundled under a blanket, with those 2 little frogs resting on her collar bone by her hair. apparently they were cold and she wanted to snuggle with them. i will never forget that sight, those are the innocent moments that only happen when you're out in nature, and the perfect amount of boredom has set in leading you to make choices like cuddling with frogs.
we also took the kids to our favorite off-the-beaten-trail spot in july. it's one that todd camped at as a kid and he has been taking me to for over 20 years. great memories there with aaron and extended family that we wanted to continue with the littler rufflings. todd's parents joined us for the trip and his sis and family came out for a day trip. so grateful for the time all the cousins got to spend together in the woods. our favorite thing to do is stream fish, and this was our chance to introduce this mandatory skill to our children for first time. charlie and ella both caught fish the first time out! i caught the most. not that i'm keeping track;) we were accident prone the next day, which led to a few minor injuries which we appreciate after the fact. otherwise camping stories sound dull and no one has any scars, physical or emotional, to memorialize the trip. the first injury went to dawson, who slipped through his father's grip getting a hand up an embankment, so he slipped on the mossy rocks and landed on his back and got scraped up pretty good. charlie got stung by a wasp on the neck while fishing and flung his line, expertly hooking dear old me right in the cheek. it must've been quite a scene as i was attached to the other end of his pole as he ran around in circles trying to escape the persistent hornet. i of course mirrored his every move since my cheek was being ripped through every time his tugged! i was alone with all 4 kids while todd attempted to nap in his new hammock, so it was interesting trying to console charlie and perform hook-removal to my face while keeping an eye on mitch and ella at the same time. i think at this point all eyes were on me to be honest. we decided to head upstream back to camp to lick our wounds when ella accidentally hooked me in the shirt. the back of the shirt. i couldn't reach the hook on my back, and none of the kids could unhook me, so i had to rip through my favorite shirt that says "camping is in-tents." on this day it proved to be true. later that afternoon we gold panned with grandpa ruff, and collected enough gold specks to buy a candy bar in 2021.
all in all we made some great memories and although each little adventure had it's own highlights, there was one thing that each and every trip had in common. the day we went to leave for home our car battery was dead. every.single.time. go figure.
"may the forest be with you..." my sister is the best. she bought us the best camper warming gifts!
no surprise that the 1st "meal" in our camper was dessert:)
>>-----luby bay----->
wild and {a little too} free
football
our favorite first-nite-of-camping dinner, taco salad!
our favorite first-nite-of-camping dinner, taco salad!
dawson and daddy have to have their donuts
what is it with fire and poker sticks...
what happens at the campsite stays at the campsite. unless your mom is on social media
camper, sweet camper
patrick mcmanus is a must
good morning!
now it's really a good morning!
early morning campsite visitor
mosstache
i was so excited to find lady slippers on our hike!
mom's mosstache
best sand flingers in the west
cutest little green worm!
pictionary, pioneer style;)
the treasure bowl
another frog moment
this doesn't really show them off very well, but the light up ice cubes i bought were a big hit at night!
epic battles
not sure what they were talking about, but they were so cute chatting together
bedtime stories
what i wake up to every morning. he always finds a way next to me.
>>>----gypsy meadow---->
keeping the drinks cold in the icy stream. nature's cooler
i think i went a little over board with the ghost stories this night. the tale of pointy head is an old family classic. we had a few issues falling asleep...
ruff 'n' it with grandpa ruff
we could hardly get ella out of the stream!
charlie's first stream fish! woohoo! we catch and release
this stinker saw where i was casting and getting bites, so she climbed up onto this log and stole my spot
eureka! there's gold in them thar hills!
todd's hoping someone hits pay dirt so he can retire
wait! there's a speck of gold!
two peas in a pod. i think todd had a hammock for one in mind
cousin time!
found this peace sign in the stream
my camping buddy
>>>-----priest lake---->
back to priest lake, which means back in the rain!
we put the crazy in crazy 8's
this kid and his bones, he's going to be a surgeon, or a crazy scientist. maybe just plain crazy
i found the teeniest frog ever! i love tiny things!
more sword fights
the kids spent all afternoon building this fort. when i went over to check it out i saw that they'd all written their names on the logs, the date, and all sorts of stuff about Jesus. unfortunately our campsite neighbors may not have been convinced of their undying love for the Lord considering the obscene amount of arguing they did that day
they colored the tips of their sharpened sticks with red marker for blood. another beautiful witness
the high temp was 53 degrees this day. these kids are insane. you couldn't get me in that water for a hundred bucks. i would have gone in for a cheesecake though, i've really been craving one
nature's ombre. there aren't many things in the great outdoors that i love to gaze at more than this ~ when mountains give way to mountains that give way to mountains...
