Cultus Lake

Packing the truck for five is no easy task with the five sleeping bags, two queen size air mattresses, five pillows, five chairs, clothes for all of us, and all of the necessary kitchen supplies, camping garb, and toys to entertain not only the adults, but also the kids.  Like any trip there are always the last minute things that are forgotten in the initial pack like toothbrushes, life jackets . . . well you get the picture.  This year, HOWEVER, we were actually packing the truck for NINE!!!  Well . . . give me a second to explain, the family that we have been camping with for the past two years are only in their sophomore year and therefore, they don't have this camping thing down to a fine art form like us.  Lets just say that they are like our Padawan's or apprentices when it comes to camping as they have yet to be given their certificate of completion and therefore would still be a risk to themselves trying to survive in a Provincial Campground on their own . . . yes even a Provincial Campground!  If it wasn't for us, their idea of cooking would consist of ordering pizza and making daily trips to Starbucks to quench their thirst . . . this as all of you know is not camping, but merely a mirage of camping that would be passed onto their children . . .  and for all of us campers, we just can't let that happen . . .  lets just say that before we left, we received several phone calls from our Padawans asking if we could bring four extra pillows and matches . . .  sleeping on the ground for a couple of nights is bad enough, but without pillows!?  And who needs matches?  Campfire, s'mores, lighting the stove . . . not that important.  If it wasn't for us they would have had a cold night, stiff necks in the morning, and cold raw marshmallows on a stick.  What can I say, we Hikeats bring with us warmth, comfort, and good eats wherever we go!

Emma loved pumping each other up!

Captain Canada was helping Josh take some different pictures from unique angles.

The kids loved sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and throwing things into it . . . it is a good thing we had matches.

Sitt'n around the fire sharing their John stories with one another.  The main characters were John and The Pits!  Every story ended off with some sort of bodily sound.  We may have to do some explaining next year when the kids begin their creative writing unit in school.

This year we decided to let the kids stay up late and enjoy the evening together, rather than trying to get them to fall asleep in the tents by themselves at their usual bedtime.  Bed time this year went much easier than last year.  

I found this little car floaty amongst the stuff that my mom handed over to me as she has been slowly clearing out my stuff from her house.  I can remember floating in this car when I was about their age.  It certainly seemed a lot bigger to me when I first pulled it out.

Emma enjoyed being pulled around by her big brothers.

Emma managed to entertain herself in the lake by herself.

The boys didn't catch anything, but they enjoyed casting their lines and reeling it in.

Better luck next time, Jamie!

Going on nature hikes throwing rocks in the streams and of course playing ManTracker.  The kids also enjoyed geocaching and looking for their prizes.

Another fun time camping with our Padawans as we have rediscovered Cultus Lake as a place to camp with our families.  If this was a season of Survivor, I would feel pretty safe as my skills chopping wood and starting fires (with a little help from the "Magic Sauce") would keep me in the game . . . sorry Emma, but you are still the weakest link.  If you would like to read another perspective of our camping trip this year check out http://www.schwartzchronicles.com/.