conference campout

One of our favorite traditions continues to be our Conference Campout. It isn't always at Grandma and Papa's, but the kids love when it is :)  Especially this year since they have their extra big backyard with the swing!  I was in the house making dinner preparations when Kevin and the kids started setting up camp, so I quickly ran out to snap some pictures.  I absolutely adore that Kevin involves the kids in every step of the process. They are not only learning great skills, but are making incredible memories with their Daddy. Oh, and we bought a new tent a few days prior (Thanks, Amazon!) since more than half of the poles on our last tent were busted, haha.

I loved seeing Brooke's determination to get those poles into place, even though it was a bit tricky!

Then ALL the kids wanted in on the action, haha.

Once camp was set up, Colby reminded me that we needed to get his new skateboard out of the car.  My parents sent him a Halloween card with a $5 bill inside, and he knew exactly what he wanted to spend it on.  This tiny skateboard he's been eyeing at Five Below. His obsession is pretty dang cute!  He thinks it's THE coolest thing, and that he is just like his Daddy. 

Papa grilled hamburgers for dinner, which are always yummy :)  Kevin wanted to do some sort of dessert in the dutch oven, so I bought all the supplies for an apple crisp. I was pretty stoked about the recipe and it smelled delicious, but ended up being overcooked.  Instead of chunks of apples, it was more like apple sauce consistency.  Lesson learned, haha! Things cook quickly in a dutch oven.

And in case apple crisp wasn't enough, we also brought supplies for s'mores!  It was a pretty hot night, which was less than ideal for camping, but it didn't stop the littles from wanting to roast a few marshmallows.

With all that sugar, the kids were NOT ready to go to bed.  They wanted to play flashlight tag in the  big backyard, but since it was after 10, we only played a few rounds :)  We gave the kids a quick bath, then climbed into our tents.  Brooke is a pro status camper and fell right to sleep, but Colby was having a hard time settling down.  He finally complained of being too hot and wanted to take off his pajamas, haha.  It really was warm, despite our tiny fans inside the tent, so I let him take them off.  He was able to fall asleep, but about 2 AM he woke me up to tell me he was cold.  His poor little body was covered in goose bumps, so I had him crawl into my sleeping bag to warm up.  When I woke up, he was sleeping peacefully next to me.

I took a thousand pictures of his sweet face because he looked like a little angel to me.  He plays hard, but when he was resting, I actually had the chance to admire each little feature on his precious face. 

Brookie was fast asleep as well, looking like a zombie with her arms out :)

The boys kept right on sleeping despite the bright sunlight coming through our tent, but Brooke woke up and kept me company.  She really wanted to go into the house to play with her cousins, but I knew that Colby would wake up with the noise and I wanted him to get some good rest.

So, Brooke and I chatted quietly and then did puzzles on my phone. It's not often that I get one-on-one time with her, so when I do, I try to make the most of it.

I eventually let Brooke go into the house, and sure enough, her cousins were awake.  They had slept outside in a tent as well, but woke up much earlier and were inside watching a show.  They quickly moved on to coloring in Grandma's craft room until breakfast was ready.

Then it was time for what the weekend was actually all about...General Conference.  We had listened to some of the talks on Saturday, but had missed a lot of it due to soccer. The speakers did a wonderful job, and I was pleasantly surprised with how well the kids did during the two long sessions.  I had printed off pictures of the First Presidency and Quorum of the Twelve Apostles for all the kids.  Each time one of them spoke, the kids were supposed to cut out the picture and past it on their colored sheet.  I also purchased a Conference Bingo set ($1 on Etsy) that I printed out for the kids.  They were supposed to listen closely and place a candy corn on the picture when that word was said.  Colby was cracking us all up because he was usually the first one to notice when one of the pictured words was said.

When they weren't doing their Bingo cards or cutting out pictures, they were coloring, drawing, and crafting.

I was so grateful for the powerful messages from Conference, that we have a living prophet today, and that we have the chance to spend quality time as a family!

Thanks Grandma and Papa for hosting a fun weekend :)