Ward Campout

Our ward (mostly Mindy Wheatley) put together a ward Campout/ pioneer celebration. Ja got back from his San Francisco trip just in time to take the girls Friday night. I waited until Friday afternoon to tell Macy she was going. I didn't want her to be disappointed if Ja's flight was delayed. She was ecstatic when I told her. She jumped around saying "we got to pack!! We have to get ready!" Her and Anna packed their clothes into their backpacks in record speed. Anna's clothes were a poorly matched outfit so I had to fix that. They were so excited to go real camping.

I stayed home with Owen so no one would have to hear him crying in the middle of the night. Turns out he wasn't the one we needed to be worried about. 

Friday night they had cobbler and a Bishop's fireside around, well, the fire. Ja said the girls were great and had a fun time playing with their flashlights in the dark. 

The girls fell asleep just fine. But at 4 a.m. Anna woke up because she had diarrhea. It got all over her pajamas. Ja put her in the van because she was screaming. He tried to change her and wipe her down but didn't have any wipes. Sadly, I told him there were some in the van but I was wrong. He was able to find a washcloth in the emergency backpack in the trunk and used that to clean her up. Thankfully, she went back to sleep. 

Owen got up at 6:30 so we headed over to meet Ja and the girls. We got there just in time for breakfast. 

Mindy put together handcarts and a trail for us to walk on pulling the handcarts. At one point Ja had all these kids in the handcart and was running around with them. It was so funny to hear the kids squeal with delight as they went over bumps and downhill. He is such a fun daddy. 

The girls were loving the pioneer bonnets. They are adorable!

There were 7 stations of crafts and activities for the kids to do. Macy and Anna loved the yarn dolls. Anna named hers Marsala then later changed it to Maya. Macy named hers Luciana. 

We received the family name of Kirwood. After we finished our little trek we found out our 11 year old son died. Those pioneers were amazing people and went through so much. 

And we are off!! I have Owen in the ergo walking behind the handcart. He eventually fell asleep in it. The Catawba river is on our left. 

At one point Ja made the girls pull. He said he broke his leg and can't walk. They pulled for maybe 50 feet. 

Back at the camp Ja taught the kids how to play the hoop and stick game. Macy caught on very quickly and could keep the hoop rolling. I was impressed. 

Macy loved these can stilts. He also caught on quickly and walked all over with them. 

Anna, on the other hand, didn't catch on. 

But she sure had fun on them. 

Anna loved this rope swing. 

The kids all had so much fun playing outside with sticks and dirt. Macy didn't want to go home because she was having so much fun.  I had a great time too and I'm so glad I went even though it was only for the morning. I hope the kids will remember the fun time they had. It gave us hope that we can go camping in the future.