A little bit of Heaven!

I am not a camper...or so I've been told my whole life. My mother hated camping and anything that has to do with it (which mostly means hunting). We had a few camping trips growing up. I remember driving to one with my sister's twin mattress strapped to the roof of our station wagon. Now, here I am 20 years later...three little boys later...saying that I like camping.

Our first trip this year was in July to Red Fish Lake. I had never been up there that I could remember. It was BEA-TI-FUL! I could not believe those mountains. And that lake nestled in them...it was breath taking. We went with some friends from Rupert and their families. There were lots of kids...mostly girls. I think our family doubled the number of boys that were there.

Our boys are always early risers. So to keep us from waking up the whole camp, the first morning we went for a walk next to the river that runs out of the lake.

Logan doesn't really love being in the back pack, but we have to do this to keep up with the other two.

They loved this little bridge. I loved this image.

Carson was running the whole time. He was ahead of us...leading the way. That is how he does life...leading...out in front. Hopefully we can keep him on the right path because whatever he chooses, he is going to have 3 little brothers follow.We did walk right up to a deer. Good thing Nate was crying because he tripped. It heard him and ran off. The kids loved that.

The beach is beautiful there. The kids had the time of their lives. It had nothing to do with boat, jet skis, the food...just pure and simple innocence playing in the sand and water.

So cute. We spent hours here doing just exactly what these pictures show. It didn't matter how much sand filled their little bum, when we left there were tears and tears. The day we left, Nate kept saying how he wanted to go back to the beach. He bawled and bawled. Everywhere we've gone this summer, he's asked, "Are we going to Red Fish?" or "Is there going to be a beach?" We were there 3 days and 2 nights. It was not enough. Next year we'll plan a third night. Then I am sure that won't be enough.

After we left, we headed to the fish hatchery. We weren't sure what to expect.

It was a fun one time stop. But something monumental took place there. As we were walking to see the fish in the spillways, a lady stopped and asked us if we wanted some fishing poles and worms. They had a stocked little lake there that the kids could fish in. Of course we wanted to do that!

Then she told Robbie that they had just put new fish in there and that we probably wouldn't catch anything.  It didn't matter. We were committed...even to fishing the spillways.

We put a quick stop to that and headed to the lake.

Carson was the only one with an attention span long enough to really try. Logan wanted to play in the "wody" running into the lake. Nate wanted to throw rocks. Robbie found a little spot where a fish was biting. He hooked a fish for Carson. Look at his determination. Then comes sheer pleasure.

We couldn't believe it. I am not sure what is more exciting hooking your own fish or watching your child...oh wait...It is watching your child. That is why my dad spent hours baiting hooks for me and I always caught more fish than him. I thought it was because I was a better fisher girl...nope. I had twice as much time to fish! Here is Carson's first catch.

Cute little guy. He was happy to throw him back.

 

This is one of my favorite pictures ever. At the end of the path, there was a huge spillway with giant fish in it. The boys insisted that they climb up the and stand on the ledge to see. This picture to me is a representation of our family. We have these darling little boys. Each is different, but each wants to be just like the other one and do just what the other is doing...even at 16 months old.

So, now that we know we are having our fourth boy, I am embracing the camping experience. My boys love this. I love being in nature, with no distractions, spending time with each other. This is what builds friendships and memories. To me, this is a little bit of Heaven!