4th of July

I was excited with the thought of Neil and Carter going camping for the weekend and Sydney and I would have a quiet weekend to play. So when I called my friend Dana to see if Neil could use there property she said they were going up and they so nicely invited us to join them. All the sudden going with the boys sounded a bit more appealing. So in 2 hours we rounded up our things and we were off. We headed up toward Heber Arizona. The first night was so fun, we did smores and the kids explored. Sydney went down great, but around 4:00am she was wide awake. Not wanting to wake the Shurtz I took her in the car. We sang, played an finally when Carter joined an hour later we turned to the signing time DVDs. It was sweet watching Carter with her!

A little after Carter joined us Neil popped his head in. We went on a couple long walks trying to not wake camp and finally went on a drive. They were having a parade later that day and it was crazy to see how many people had set up chairs and things the night before. So we set up the canopy and headed back to camp for a quick breakfast before heading back to the parade.

We waited for a couple hours, we got so bored we started yanking Carters teeth. But that was unsuccessful. The parade wasn't quite what we had expected, Carter was all excited about candy, but there wasn't any, lots of tractors and fire engines. It was fun, but I think we are good skipping it next time!

One of the first things Carter spotted when we got to camp was the little paint pellets on the ground. So when the girls pulled out the paint ball guns he had a hard time controlling his excitement.

Sydney joined in the fun!

Jackson is a natural!

Neil was probably as excited as Carter, but controlled it a little better!

Gary & Dana have a little trailer up there that was nice to be able to use when we needed. So making hobo dinners was easy. It was nice getting all the different tips on how to better the hobo dinner. Things like slicing the potatoes, and how to layer them. My advice thrown in was lots and lots of butter!

We have known Jackson since he was born. Claire was so excited to be an Aunt. On the first day of school it was a treat to get on the bus and Jackson was sitting there. So Sydney and Jackson are old friends.

One of the funnest things for me to watch was the sparklers. Lenea was so smart and brought them up. The kids loved them!

The view on the Shurtz property is perfect with the great fireworks show Heber puts on. It was a great show, the spot was perfect up on the hill! Sydney loved the fireworks. Before when we've gone she was too far away for the sound. They both loved watching them!

Gary and clan left after the fireworks, but we stayed for another night. The next morning was interesting watching Sydney explore, it was one of the first times I've noticed Sydney being interested in plants and flowers. She would lightly brush the plant with her fingers and watch it bounce back and forth. Little things like that are always fun to watch. After girls camp with Claire I felt like a negligent parent not having taken Carter crawdad hunting. I was determined and had even saved a hot dog for bate. But we couldn't find any! We tried.

We had a great weekend. It was so nice to go up with the Shurtz and clan. They are amazing, and so fun to be around!