Camping Priest Lake

Round 1

Well, we did it....we survived the first camping trip of the year. And it actually turned out to be one of the most relaxing camping trips since having kids!! Just as expected, the boys were in heaven. Surrounded by dirt and bugs, the beach and bike trails....they were thouroughly entertained. Only a few minor meltdowns, mainly due to lack of sleep. No naps, late bedtime, early wake time is  just a recipe for disaster....so I was honestly expecting more meltdowns than actually occurred.

We arrived late last Friday afternoon. Just enough time to set up camp, make (throw together) dinner, clean up, have a campfire and mallos, and then get ready for bed. The boys actually went to bed pretty good. We put Kohen in a pak n play which he is technically too big for. He is in a crib at home still, so I wanted to keep him contained. He climbed out of the thing the second I set him in there, which is when I panicked thinking we were going to have to play the 'in and out game' for 2 hours. Thankfully, after the second climb out, he stayed in there like a good little boy. Then the next night he didnt even attempt it! Dodged a bullet there....I want to keep Kohen in the crib for as long as possible!! Kason started climbing out well before the age of two which made for some rough times! Dont want to deal with that again please!!

 Here is our camp....once we were settled in

The next morning began rather early...6am. Could have been worse, so I wasnt complaining:) We had breakfast and then went exploring for firewood in our jammies

We then got our swim clothes on and headed to the beach.... The boys favorite place to be. They LOVE playing in the sand and water. Their favorite 'game' is playing with their toy trucks and boats and pretending to launch them or tie them up.

 

We then got the real boat launched spent the early afternoon on the boat where the boys took a mini nap and Nick and I enjoyed a peaceful and relaxing boat ride....for almost 30 mins!!  Since the boys were sleeping we decided to cruise up the lake to Lionhead to get a closer look at where we will be having our family reunion later this summer. The ride there was awesome. The boys woke up about half way there and we had a picnik along the way. The ride there was calm, nice and easy. After checking out Lionhead, we headed back to our camp. That is when the wind decided to pick up....and the waves began....I felt like I was in the ocean. It was the most horrible boat ride I have ever experienced. Each time we hit a wave, it felt as if the boat was going to break in half! Not to mention the water that was consistently spraying over the bow of the boat drenching poor Nick. And it was not warm....sun  was of course behind a cloud. We were freezing (forgot our sweatshirts!) hunkered down under towels for the longest 30 mins ever!! So, needless to say we then took the boat out of the water and went and spent more time on the beach. We learned that boating on Priest Lake IS NOT FUN if it is windy!! Yikes!!

Nicks parents joined us for the late afternoon and for dinner which was great. The boys were so excited to see them and we all had such a great time relaxing together and watching the boys play. It made us so excited for our camping trip with the Pintler Family next weekend. It has been years since thePintler family has camped together, and they used to do it all the time!! So we are all extremely excited!

After dinner we went on a little family hike that was so much fun! Its so funny to me because I absolutely LOVED the hike....and I used to hate when my parents tried to take us kids on one. What was I thinking....hiking is awesome!!! I want to do more of it, for sure.

Sunday was spent relaxing and packing up camp followed by another boat ride attempt. Again, the morning was calm and peaceful, and we got to take advantage of our own little private beach.

After lunch the wind picked up,the waves started, and the boys began to fade....so we called it a weekend and headed home. What a great trip, we are so excited to do more camping, we had a blast! I love being away from the daily life and just spending peaceful days with my little family. Life is so simple when you are camping....it was actually great not having access to our phones!!

Next weekend we are headed to Lake Roosevelt, and the forecast is GREAT. Expecting temps in the 90s, its about time!