camp cougar

Our first family camping trip
{August 19-22, 2009}


DOWN BY THE LAKE:

{Jack}

{Logan}

We went camping for three nights with my parents & nephew at Camp Cougar on Yale Lake outside of Cougar, Washington. I grew up camping at Cougar and was excited (albeit nervous) to take the boys there. It has a great swimming area & beach, as seen above, and also has a fun play set area, as seen below.


ON THE PLAY SET:

{Mommy & Logan}

{Mommy & Jack}


THE FIRST NIGHT:

Josh & I split the boys up for bath time each evening. The first night I took Jack, and he had Logan. After I finished showering Jack (which entailed bathing him, dressing him, putting him in the umbrella stroller, showering myself, dressing myself & wheeling us and all our shower crap back to camp...) we headed to the lake to see the sunset against the water & the trees.

It was so spectacular I had to head back to camp and get my camera. The second trip my mom came, too. She snapped this pic of us. He loved pointing at all the trees on the other side of the lake.

{Jack & Mommy}


THE SECOND NIGHT:

The next night we switched babies & I got to take Logan (& Nanny) to the water again to see the sunset. It was just as beautiful, and fun to spend some one-on-one time with Logan as well. He even signed "water" for the first time while we were down there!

{Mommy & Logan}

{Serenity}


SLEEPING ARRANGEMENTS:

Thankfully Josh's parents gave us their humongous tent that they no longer use. It is seriously mammoth! We slept on one side on our double air mattress, and the boys slept on the other side in their pack & plays. And we had all this room in the middle for luggage & playing.
I was shocked (!!!) at how well the boys slept. They took good naps (1 hour+) and slept awesome all night. We brought their CD player & their lullaby CD, which I think helped because on the third night (when it died) Logan woke up far more often than he had the nights previous.


BABY JAIL:

{Jack}

{Logan & Jack}
Jack is working the air pump. He's such a smarty pants!

{Jack's cheese face}
The boys did not love their "baby jail", but I did. It brought some much needed boundaries to our camping trip. For the most part we let the boys wander free, but only when we had a one-to-one ratio. They are not old enough to consistently listen when we say no, so it's necessary (I feel) to have one adult each. So when one of us ran to the bathroom, or to visit my parent site, it was helpful to have a play area for them.


PLAYING HARD:

{Jack}
The second day of our trip we swam all morning in the lake. It was gorgeous weather, and thanks to the boys swim lessons taken earlier this summer (totally worth every penny!) the boys LOVED the water and did not want to get out. This worked well as we wanted to be in the water, too (It was 97 degrees out!) and it wore them out which equated to good sleepers. On the way from the lake to our campsite for lunch, Jack fell asleep. Somehow Josh got him to eat his lunch and then we put him down for nap time. What a precious picture!


DAY THREE:
In The Water

{Logan}
The boys loved both playing on the shore, and swimming out deeper with us. (Although Logan did try to eat some rocks while playing in the shallower water.)

{L}

{Logan}
Do you want some rocks, dad?

{Logan}
Okay, then I'll eat it.

{Logan}
We met this girl with a son near the twins' age and she loaned us this swimmer seat. Logan loved it! Josh took him out and swam him around. Logan was kissing the water, licking the water, and blowing bubbles. Such a silly bub.

{Jack}
He preferred this stick to rocks. Although occasionally he would throw a rock in the water to watch it splash. That was pretty darn cute!

{Jack}
See my cool stick, mom?

{Jack}
Jack didn't love the seat as much as Logan, but he tolerated it. We are thinking of getting some for next summer because they would be fun & would free up a hand.


HANGING OUT:

{Jack & Logan}

{Isaiah, Jack & Logan}

{Daddy & Jack}
Jack found Isaiah's scooter irresistible. He could pick it up, stand it upright, and the hold on with one hand while he tried to get a foot on it. It was so cute. In this picture he is getting some much needed help from Daddy.

He is just getting so big!
(See all those pine needles? Well, I brought about 800 million of them home with me, and they keep popping up. Falling out of the stroller, the diaper bag, my luggage... It looks like I will have camping all year round!)


EATING:

{Logan}
I never realized it when we were at home,
but all these boys do is eat!
BREAKFAST
SNACK
LUNCH
SNACK
DINNER
SNACK
Good Lord! I'll be surprised if they stay under 50 pounds by age 2. It felt like we would feed them, play for 20 minutes, feed them some more, shower, feed them a bit, go on walk, feed them again! By the end Logan would get up in his high chair and sign "All Done" before we had even started! In this picture he is throwing spoons in the dirt.


MOMMY'S SPOT:

{The Spot}
This is where I would sit (in my $10 Walmart chair- great deal!) while the boys slept. Whether nap time or bed time, I could be found in this chair, reading my book and eating some kind of chocolate (cookies, Hershey bars, hot cocoa...) I was honestly surprised how much relaxing time I got.
Josh & I would take turns going to my parents' campsite to roast marshmallows. We got to visit with them and have some quiet time, too. It worked out surprisingly well.


BREAKFAST:

{twins in nature}

{Logan & Jack}
Josh & I both cracked up at how funny their high chairs looked amongst the dirt, leaves & trees.
In the mornings I would leave them in their jammies cause it was still cold. As it warmed up I would change them into their day clothes. For breakfast they had fruit & cheerios & milk. It was odd to not have a microwave or toaster. It's crazy how much I use both.


SHARING IS CARING:

{the boys}

Logan giving the truck to Jack...

...willingly!
(That never happens!)


DO-IT-ALL-MOMMA:

{Logan on my back: Jack in the stroller}
We spent $25 off Craigslist to get our baby backpacks, and it was the best money we have spent (or at least pretty close) on items for the boys. I wear it grocery shopping, I wore it ALL THE TIME while we were camping, and it's convenient in small stores where the behemoth double stroller doesn't fit. At camping I would strap one baby on my back, put the other in the stroller and go for walks. While they preferred being free, they aren't exactly expert walkers yet, so there was a lot of falling, bonks & bruises. So every once in a while we (read: mommy) needed a break from the trauma!


BABY BOYS, OSH KOSH OVERALLS & RADIO FLYERS:
{Some of the cutest pictures you will see}

Logan studying his shadow.
How cute is that?

{Jack}

{Logan}

{Jack}
This is the Radio Flyer that I grew up with. My mom is so resourceful that she actually repainted it just for this trip. She taped over the emblem, painted it and now it is the beautiful cherry red that's just perfect for pictures!

{Jack}
He has such a serious face when he's working!

I absolutely LOVE the look on his face in this one.
It makes me want to squish his face,
kiss his cheeks,
and cry.
Beyond precious!

{Jack}

{Jack}
More hard work

Put your back into it!

He did it!


ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL???
(Honestly? No, not really. But here it comes anyway...)

{Jack & Isaiah}
At camping, Jack fell in love with football. (Which is and will be the bane of my existence every Monday, Thursday, Saturday & Sunday from here to Superbowl Sunday-- I loathe football.)
Like I said, though, Jack LOVES it! Isaiah would throw it to Jack and he would actually catch it! I have never seen a one year old catch a football (or any ball). But Jack can. He's amazing. And he has this HUGE smile on his face. Even now that we are home, if we get out the football, he just beams and puts his arms out to catch it.

I'm ready, cousin!

Can you believe that stance?
Where does he get this stuff?

{Jack}
Disappointed that he doesn't have the ball.

Really upset.

Letting Isaiah know (with his fake crying) that he wants the ball! Now!

Happy as a clam with football in hand!

{Jack}
After Isaiah left, my dad & Josh threw the football around a bit and Jack wanted it!

This is when Logan got in on the action. He watched Papa throw it...

And Daddy catch it...

And Papa throw it...
(You get the picture.)

Then he thought he might like to try.


GOOD WEATHER:

{Sunny}
While camping we had HOT sun & playful Sunny.
It was perfect!


UP & DOWN, UP & DOWN, UP & DOWN:
(A tale of getting nowhere fast)

The boys' favorite place to walk/run/fall was the speed bump on the road near my parents campsite. They loved walking UP the speed bump, and DOWN the speed bump...

And UP the speed bump...

And ON the speed bump...

And DOWN the speed bump.
Doesn't take much to amuse these two!


ATTACHMENT PARENTING:

Somehow I don't think this is what they had in mind when they came up with that term. However, it worked rather well in keeping the kids safe, the mommy sane, and the laughter coming.

But seriously, this is the only reason we dress them in overalls. It's just so convenient!
(Well, that and they are super adorable in overalls.)


WE'RE OUTTA HERE!!!

Once we let them free from our overall grab maneuvers they were on the run!

Getting further

and further

and further away!


AFTERNOON DELIGHTS:
(What brings joy to my babies)

{Jack}
1. Playing with Isaiah

{Jack}
2. Playing with Papa's hat

{Jack}
3. Playing with Isaiah's scooter

{Jack}
4. A game of Peek-a-Boo

{Logan}
5. Petting Sunny girl

{Logan}
6. Drinking refreshing water

{Logan}
7. And doing it ALL BY HIMSELF!

{Jack}
8. Wandering free

{Jack & Logan}
9. Eating Nanny's crackers

{Jack & Logan}
10. Eating Nanny's crackers... off the grass

{Jack}
11. Wearing Nanny's cracker bag ON HIS HEAD!

{Jack}
12. Laughing with Papa about Nanny's cracker bag on his head!


HIT THE ROAD, JACK:

{Jack}
All cleaned up & ready to go back to camp.

{Logan & Nanny}
Mom & I took the boys, our wagon of stuff, Isaiah & the dog back to camp while Josh & my dad went fishing for a little while.

We had fun!


BACK AT CAMP:

{Logan}
I am loving those baby blues

Nanny climbed into "baby jail" (as Josh calls it) with the boys, which made it more like baby heaven! They were loving it!

Logan threw the ball just as I was taking a picture.
Cool!

I am telling you, Jack just loves to throw!
He has one for each hand!


OUR LAST DAY:

{Logan & Jack}
Josh & I packed up a lot of stuff the night before while the boys slept.
That way we were out of there by 9am.

{Jack}
But while daddy collapsed the tent & loaded the Pilot, we played with cousin Isaiah, sang songs, took some video & just enjoyed our last few hours in the great outdoors.

{Logan}
Isaiah kept coming & going from our campsite, and when he left I yelled "Isaiah", and the boys copied me. Logan had it almost exactly right, and Isaiah is not an easy name to say! I was so proud! And it sounded so adorable. Isaiah was thrilled to hear Logan say his name. He is really a great cousin to the boys.

~

While we were sad to see our GREAT camping trip come to an end, we were ready to say goodbye to all the yellow jackets, mosquitoes and dirt. And ready to say hello to our beds, our air conditioner & our bath tub!