Camping

Camping in Shenandoah was fun, especially for the kiddies.  We made tinfoil dinners, then I tried making peach cobbler but in all my packing and hurrying that morning didn't get all the ingredients, (sugar and cinnamon) pretty important ones.  The kiddies loved playing in the tent and sat around the fire a little.  They slept really well and are so excited to go camping again soon.  

Eating her S'more

Our fearless leader

This coyote was right in front of the Visitor center.  A lot of deer also and they would be right off the road and next to the trails.  They also have bears but we didn't see one.  

We just happened to be there during their wildflower weekend.  They had so many different wildflowers.  This particular one is call Trillium and is Craig's favorite.  It is also considered the flower of the park.  

One of the many views from Skyline drive.  You can really see a lot of the valley from up here.  Such pretty views.  We had a wonderful time camping at Shenandoah and will definitely be back for a different hike and more camping.  I do have a greater appreciation for my mother also.  Camping is a lot of packing and work to make sure you have what you need for cooking and preparing meals.  We made bacon, eggs, and pancakes in the morning and cooking on a camp stove is a little more interesting than at home.  Thanks Mom for all your hard work when we were younger to take us camping and make all our trips amazing with some very fond memories that I will always cherish.  Though it is work I can't wait to pass the camping tradition on to my children. 

Hiking

 For our anniversary this year we took the kiddies and went camping in Shenandoah National Park.  The kiddies were so excited and asked me for two days straight when we were finally going to go.  Luckily Craig is very good at packing because we barely fit it all into our trunk of our car.  The park is about a 2 hour drive from our house which is about the kiddies limit as far as really wanting to get there.  Shenandoah is different from the other National Parks I am used to going to.  Basically, it consists of a 105 mile drive at the very top of the Blue Ridge mountains, skyline drive and it really is right at the skyline.  The highest elevation is approx. 3500 feet above sea level, but it actually feels like you are in the mountains because it is higher than the surrounding area.  What you don't see is all the evergreen trees in our mountains at home, you see hickory and oak mostly. 

 These pictures are of our hike we did the first day. 
A 1 1/4 mile round trip hike down to Dark Hallows waterfall.  The kiddies did so well on the hike and really enjoyed hiking.  They walked the entire way.  The hikes start at skyline drive so the beginning is all downhill and then you have to hike your way back to the top at the end.  Something else a little different from our Utah hikes where we started at the base of a mountain and climbed to the top then back down. 

 The 70 foot waterfall was really pretty.  Liam wanted to go climb right into the water and did get his hands and feet wet a little. 

 Caitlyn really enjoyed drinking water from our camelbacks and the snacks.  Here they are taking a break eating some licorice. 

Some of the areas were pretty steep on the way back up the hill.  They had these log steps to make it a little easier both on the way up and down. 

More Soccer

ZOO Fun!!

Saturday we finally had a nice day with no rain so we headed to the National Zoo, downtown in Washington D.C..  

My favorite, the PANDAs!!

Caitlyn's silly face checking out the reptiles.  She like the turtles and was not a big fan of the snakes.

They have a crazy thing called the O-line where the orangutans can climb up and actually swing right above your head to a different area they can play in. 

Enjoying some ice cream

Really loved the tiger also. 

 

 

rolling down the hill

running down the hill

Licking the ice cream off his face

We had a wonderful day spending time as a family and enjoying the nice weather, exotic animals and ICE CREAM!!