Camping at Blue Ridge

• Day 1 - We went camping this year up at Blue Ridge again.  It's such a beautiful area with well kept campgrounds.  Lisa and her kids came along for the day.  We found a great campsite and went exploring.    The kids set up a hammock and playing with that until it broke.   We brought up a wagon and the kids went on numerous wagon rides.   Brittany and Danni went on a photo shoot and practiced their flags.  The Clawsons were  very helpful in setting up camp.  We were sad to see them go and they were too.  That night, Jim and I  played Phase 10 under the canopy with Josh and Danni while it drizzled.  It was so fun to play and laugh together.

The younger girls

The boys

Opps!!  I think it broke!!

The wagon was well used

Britt and Danni

"We are top of the world"

Danni tossed her flag

We were right next to the rim 

The girls took a great shot of Josh

Lunch

Jim and Josh cooking dinner

I think dinner was a success

Emmy and I

• Day 2 - We went for a walk around our campsite until Emily fell and got hurt, so we turned back.  We went for a drive to view the lake and watched some cliff jumpers.  Before we headed back to our campsite, we found a local store and bought some goodies.  The girls bought huge suckers that might last forever.  We headed back and relaxed before dinner.  After dinner, a huge storm rolled in.  We found shade under the canopy, but that wasn't enough.  The storm got closer and was right above our head.  The thunder was so loud and the tents were blowing around in the wind.  Emily thought that we were going to die.  When the storm calmed down a bit, we headed toward the car while Jim and Josh checked out the tents.  The tents were staked down really good, so they were in good condition, but sleeping bags were wet.  After awhile, we took the kid into the tents and got as warm as possible and slept.  The girls were still very anxious that night.  It was hard to get a good night's sleep because it continued to rain and we had a hard time keeping dry.

Emily

Angela and Emily on hike

Danni carrying Emily after she fell

Josh, Danni, and Emiy near the lake

Yummy suckers

Happy Mom - loving this camping trip

Josh and Emily - they have a sweet relationship

Danni

Danni with a butterfly

• Day 3 - We woke up and cleaned up camp.  Everything was dirty and would need to be cleaned when we got home.  We stopped by Sonic in Payson for lunch.  We had an amazing trip and learned so much about this camping trip.  We learned that we can play and work together.  We like to be with each other and we can weather the storm together.  I love my family and this is a camping trip we will always remember fondly. I hope there are more camping trips in our future.



Sonic lunch is the best way to end our camping trip.