Family Camp

I have not had a chance to write about our family camp yet. We went to Posey Lake, near Escalante, last week. We left on Monday morning and returned on Saturday night. Once again, a very fun camping trip, although I am still always going to push for showers. A week in the dirt is hard!

The highlight of the camp...the kids and I won the coveted cooking trophy!! This means no cooking next year! I am so excited about that. I worked really hard to come up with great food and my family must think so too, as they voted me the best this year. :)

I had this idea to theme the meals around holidays, kind of channeling Steph and Josh last year with their food from around the world. So we had an Easter breakfast of ham steaks, scrambled eggs, and "empty tombs". The empty tombs were croissants wrapped around a marshmallow that melted away during cooking, making it look like it was empty. They didn't work quite like I wanted them too, as I had to squash them all into one dutch oven, but they were still a hit and a good breakfast treat.

For lunch we celebrated Pioneer Day, having biscuits, corn bread muffins, beef jerky, and apples. I did this mainly because my day to cook was Tuesday, which is the guys' hike day. So I made sure it was food they could take with them. It was also easy, because I did all the baking on Sunday, so nothing to cook at camp.

We had Thanksgiving dinner that night. I was really worried about cooking a turkey in the dutch oven. But I did a lot of research on it and decided to take the risk. It worked well! The turkey was tender and juicy, we had green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, a relish tray with carrots, celery, and olives, rolls (which were not the best, but the rest made up for it,) and of course, pie for dessert. I brought a cherry, an apple, and 2 pumpkin pies. I think those pumpkin pies and the turkey was what won it for us. (I keep saying "I", but the kids helped me out a ton, especially Annee. Ty did a lot too, and Dessa pitched in when it was convenient for her.)

So, all that planning and cooking paid off. It was funny, because mom took Jess and I grocery shopping before we left, and we both boasted that our meals would win. Well, they both did. I got first place and Jess got second, so she only has to bring the stuff for S'mores next year. It worked out really well for both of us.

Anyway, beyond the great food, the week was a blast! Aaron and Wendee were in charge of the Olympics and planned an "Amazing Race" type game. It was so fun and creative. Of course, me being completely un-athletic, our team lost. (Actually, I was teamed with Jason and Dessa, and we did pretty well, until the last event where we had to guess every one's favorite books. That took SO much time and was so hard that we lost.) I am so proud of the winning team: Jenn, Dad, and Matthew. They totally rocked! Jenn was so great! She completed the hike, which was no small feat, let me tell you, and she even completed the food challenge.

Now let me say, this was the worst event, by far. The hike was hard, but for the food one, Wendee and Aaron had a small cup of these tiny, dried up fish to eat and a cup of wheat tea (it's something like "Mugucha" in Japanese) that we had to drink. Not knowing this was coming, Jason had done the first event, so I was supposed to do this one.

Um, no, wasn't going to happen. But some of our family did awesome! Wil ate the fish just fine, then lost his stomach after drinking the nasty tea. Then Jenn put the fishies in the tea and drank them all down. (They did come right back up, but at least she did it!) Jess tried the fish also, but couldn't get past the crunch of the bones and lost her stomach also. When it came down to it, our team and Jess's team (Jess, Mom, and Tyler) took a half penalty and Jess and I drank the nasty tea. Let me tell you, if I was a missionary in Japan and was offered this tea, I would just go thirsty and risk offending the locals. It was horrid! But "props!" to Aaron and Wendee for a very creative idea.

Steph and I were in charge of the showcase this year. I was really worried about it. I am not good at anything theatrical. I am not even good at faking it, like dad did last year. (Just kidding dad, you totally rocked! Both last year and this year.) So I was concerned it wouldn't go over very well. I have to hand it to my fabulous family, they sure know how to step up and make a great showcase.

The winner this year by far was Aaron and Wil's "Extraordinary Expedition". I think that is what we called it. Anyway, they were supposed to walk us through an adventure of some sort, like an African Safari, or crocodile hunting, something like that. But no, they decided to take us on a tour through time. It was a riot! They gave us straws to defend ourselves against attack, noise makers to scare off dinosaurs, and taught us to "disguise" ourselves with hand eyeglasses so no one in Hollywood recognized us. They were great! I have to say, seeing your brother do silly stuff like that really puts a new light on how you think about him.

So, they won the best group performance, and for the impromptu skits, our "Hoop Action" group won. This group was comprised of Dad, Wendee, Steph, Dessa, and Aaron. They were assigned different actions to do, all while staying inside the hula hoop on the ground. They did such a great job! None of us will ever forget dad portraying a rock star and slamming his guitar on the ground. Nor will we forget his fish out of water, gasping for air. (I hope the video worked well, cause that was the funniest thing I've seen in a long time!) They all did a great job at crawling like a baby, and surprised me by moving their hoops with them, so they didn't go outside the hoop. Wendee did really well, considering her hoop was a small one.

The best overall performer was...Wil! He did a fantastic job on both of his group assignments. That kid has a lot of talent. He is a great addition to this family, and I am very glad he and Jess got married. He definitely helped our showcase rock this year. Actually, he rocked last year too. It was just such a surprise that dad did so well that we overlooked Wil last year.

Ok, now I am rambling. But it is so slow at work today. So I will keep going.

Jenn had the craft this year. She had us create a camp pillow case for each person, so that we all have a pillow case for camp each year. It was so fun! The kids were able to do their own and show their creative sides. I really like doing stuff like that, and making something useful was great. I am in charge of next year's craft, and I hope I can do something half as great as Jenn. It is hard to come up with something that will be useful, fun, cost effective, and be something we can do while camping. She did a great job.

All in all, a great camp. It was unfortunate that Dessa still had lice at the time. (I am happy to announce that we seem to be lice free, finally! No sightings in 2 days so far.) I kept her off her medication because of her appetite problem, and together with the lice thing, she really struggled this year. I have decided though that next year, she will take her medication during vacations. It will make it more enjoyable not only for us adults, but for her as well. We won't be constantly having to tell her to settle down. It will make for a better trip for all of us.

Once again, I have to exclaim how great my kids are. They were so much help! It was great to be able to tell them to do something and they stepped up and did it. I didn't have much of a problem with any of them. (Ok, so Dessa struggled, but she usually came around and helped out.) My kids are growing up so fast. I love them so much and really appreciate all of the hard work and assistance with everything. I have the best family ever!