a-camping we went

This year our ward finally had a ward campout (this has not happened since before we moved here five years ago). We had a fun time. Dinner was hot dogs and assorted side dishes. After eating, Kevin and Ryan had some adventures (including Kevin getting wet at the lake) and Heidi and I chatted with friends by the fire. When it was dark most of us sat around the fire and sang campfire songs and primary songs. Somebody brought some marshmallows and Kevin did a great job roasting one all by himself. The Empeys had some glow sticks that they let Kevin and Heidi play with, which is always fun when you're a little kid.

We went and got ready for bed, including a trip to the bathroom, and then tried getting the kids to go to sleep. We also had to kick some daddy long-legs out of the tent. Ryan left again and I kept working on getting the kids in bed. Kevin probably would have settled down okay, except Heidi could not comprehend that we were sleeping in the tent. After I tried to explain that we were sleeping in the tent, she kept saying, "No, I don't like this tent!" I finally let the kids have the flashlights for a while and search for spiders. It was fun to listen to their chatter and watch them explore the shadows. After a while I took the flashlights away and Heidi laid down on Ryan's sleeping bag right next to me. She settled down a little better there, and the kids finally fell asleep.

By this point Ryan had been gone for quite a while. I suspected that he had stopped by the fire and was talking to some friends, but I figured I should make sure so I wouldn't be sitting there worrying that he was lost in the woods somewhere. So after I was satisfied that the kids were sleeping pretty deeply, I went back to the fire, and Ryan was there talking with two friends. I ended up getting slightly disoriented and couldn't find our tent, so I went back to the fire pit and Ryan pointed me in the right direction. I fell asleep pretty quick. Ryan ended up talking for three hours, which was nice because he doesn't get to chat with friends at church very often. He shifted Heidi over to the sleeping bag that the kids were sharing (opened up and covered with blankets).

A few hours later Heidi woke up and kept yelling "I need space!!" at Kevin because whenever he moved the blanket shifted. It took a bit of work to get her to calm down. In the midst of this, Kevin sat straight up and said, "Oh! Are all of my friends sleeping in their sleeping bags?"

Overall the kids did pretty well. Kevin knew what was going on and did a great job going to sleep.

In the morning Ryan helped make breakfast (pancakes, bacon, and eggs). We didn't get a lot of sleep, so we were pretty ready to be done after that, so we packed everything up and left. We were asked to clean the church, so we went and did that before coming home really tired.