Memorial Day Camping

We headed to the hills once again for our annual Blakely Family Memorial Day Weekend Camping Trip, whew! That's a mouthful.  Our destination this year was Indian Creek by the Palisades Reservoir. We were so lucky this year because the weather was gorgeous! Not to hot and not to cold. None of us dared say anything about it for fear a freak snow storm would hit. We did have some drunk, loud music blaring, gun shooting and firework blasting neighbors that we could have done without, but other than that it was great. (None of us dared go tell them to keep it down because honestly who wants to walk up to a strangers camp in the dark while they are drunk and packing heat?)

Here's a re-cap, in pictures of course!

Warning: Severe picture overload, prepare yourself

 We headed up Friday morning and while the boys got manly with their chainsaws and cut firewood and brought it to camp...

 ...us girls did this : )

 I took the kids for a ride to the lake

We found some pelicans

and a terrific view!

 While the kids threw rocks and sticks in the water

 I made this, a rock man.
 He was our mascot for the weekend

 Gavin, Mason, Me and Madisen

 Cody was practicing his archery skills and teaching Gavin how to do it

 They loved to see how far it would go and when it would land we would try to guess what the arrow hit by the sound. Rock, tree, kid (only kidding), dirt, etc. I was right almost every time.

 Megan brought me flowers...

..and then brought her mom a snotty dirty nose

LOVE this chair, it's my favorite along with everyone else!

 Chloe read some books...

 ...and cried for no reason.

Cody taught Gavin how to drive the four wheeler, still deciding if that is a good or a bad thing!
  Learning to Drive from Teri Fry on Vimeo.

Grandpa took the girlies for a ride

Madisen, Grandpa and Faith 

(with Gavin running from Big Foot?!? )

 It was Tayvri's FIRST camping trip and I gave her her very FIRST Mountain Dew, she LOVED it ; )

Uncle Cody held her for the FIRST time.
(he's scared to hold other people's babies because he doesn't want to "break" them)

 We spent a lot of time on the four wheelers.
Bailee, Brigham, me, Mason and Chloe

Gavin pulling the girls,what a stud!
Megan, Chloe, Madisen

 If Brigham was missing we always knew where to look

Bailiee, Tayvri and Paul in my awesome chair

Once Cody taught Gavin how to drive this was my view until Gavin's thumb was too sore to drive anymore

He has no fear, hence the rule he can only drive it with an adult (and no Taylor doesn't count!)

My boys played really well together!
Happy Mommy : )

 All the kids hanging out at the Hilton*
Chloe, Megan, Brigham, Bailee, Madisen, Gavin and Mason

*Karen's camper is the newest so we dubbed it the Hilton, my parent's camper is the Hampton Inn and Cody and I's camper as well as Paul and Erin's are the Motel 6

 These two would not hold still to go to take their naps so I put them in baby burritos and once they couldn't wiggle they fell right to sleep and I could unwrap them

 Brigham, Paul, Bailee, Tayvri and Erin

Bailee was trying to pull Brigham and Madisen and we sat their and cheered her on.

Then Uncle Chet had mercy on her and pulled all three of them

Chloe got a new wig

Gavin played in the creek

 He did take his shoes off AFTER he got them all wet and they were so covered in mud I barely recognized them.

 Cody took Gavin's legs for a dip in the creek to clean him off

 Chloe was suddenly terrified of 4 wheelers and would run for cover anytime someone would start one. By the end of the weekend Cody was able to get her on one without her screaming and take her for a ride.

 Games!! Playing Phase 10
Kenny, Chet and Karen

Cousins!

 It was so cute to watch them walk around camp holding hands

We had a dirtiest kid contest

and they all tied for first place.
You won't know that these kiddos got a bath every night we were up there. 

Gavin, Faith and Kenny

 Taylor, Gavin, Faith and Mason

 Chloe's new hair style, we call it the lightening rod

Gavin's Catch
Fishing with daddy, Uncle Chet and Madisen

 G&G's camper was the kids favorite place because she has suckers, cookies, candy, everything a grandma should have.
Mom had surgery on her thumb and is always giving everyone a thumb's up now : )

Every year I make everyone get together on the last day when we are our dirtiest and stinkiest for our Annual Blakely Family Memorial Day Camping Weekend Picture.
They sigh and grumble at me but I always win ;)

Take One
Dad, Mom, Teri, Cody, Taylor, Kenny, Karen, Megan, Chet, Bailee, Brigham, Erin
Front Row: Faith, Mason, Gavin, Chloe, Madisen
Photo Bomb: Buddy the Dog
(Tayvri is napping)

Take Two

Dad, Mom, Teri, Chloe, Cody, Faith, Taylor, Kenny, Karen, Megan, Chet, Paul, Bailee, Brigham, Erin
Front Row: Gavin, Mason and Madisen
Dog Bum: Buddy the Dog

(Tayvri is napping)
May 24 - May 27
Indian Creek

P.S. Cody lost the engine in this truck on the way home on Conant Valley Hill shortly after telling me "This is where Fords come to die" (he drives a GMC). Maybe I will go into detail later, but right now I'm skipping it because we are using my back patio fund to replace it. : (