Day At The Beach

Every year since I was about 5, my family has taken a week or two and gone camping up at the Payson Lake campground. I have so many fond memories of that place, and it's fun to be able to share them with Zuke and the kids now. My family was up there this past week, and my dad was nice enough to drive down the canyon to pick up me and the kids early Friday afternoon and take us up for a day at the lake. This was the perfect week to be up there. Since school started on Monday, the campground was pretty empty, which meant we had the lake and beach practically all to ourselves. The boys were so excited to be up in the mountains, and couldn't wait to get to the lake!

Once we got there, my mom, Cameron & Whitney took the boys around the lake in the boat. They both got to take turns helping to row the boat, and got to watch Cameron and Whitney jump off of the pier. When they were almost back to the beach, Whitney jumped into the water, and surprisingly Tyler jumped in right after her and swam with her back to the beach. He enjoyed playing a lot in the water, while Kaiden was a lot more content to just hang out on the beach eating licorice. All of the kids, including Addison, had a blast playing with Whitney and Cameron. It was a real treat for the boys when Grandma took the two of them out on the boat. Addison absolutely loves being outside, and loved getting showered with attention on the beach. Tyler ended up with a really funny looking sunburn on his nose and under his eyes, but luckily it looks worse than it is.

After a few hours at the lake, we headed back up to the campground to get ready for dinner. Zuke arrived from work not too long afterwards, and we played with puzzles with the boys until dinner. My mom made some of my absolute favorite foods for dinner.....barbecued marinated chicken, dutch oven potatoes, corn on the cob, and shrimp salad. It was amazing! Zuke and I ate way more than we should have, Tyler had seconds, and Kaiden.......well......let's just say that he didn't even swallow his first bite. That's another post all together.

We got a campfire going after dinner in preparation for my favorite camping activity - roasting marshmallows! I absolutely love roasted marshmallows, and nobody in the world makes them better than my brother. Like dinner, I ate a lot more marshmallows and s'mores than I probably should have. I figure that I only get them once or twice a year, so I'm entitled to eat as many as I want when I actually get them. Tyler and Whitney enjoyed just eating the untoasted marshmallows and chocolate, and Addison was perfectly content to cuddle on my lap staring at the fire.

We left once it got dark, and made the windy drive down the canyon. All 3 kids were asleep by the time we got home, and Zuke and I were about ready to crash as well. It was a really fun day, and I know that the boys had a blast. That always makes it worth it!