Pool Time for the Littles

I got this little inflatable pool for the little. And it was LITTLE. But enough that Colton could "go boom" and splash. Cooper seemed more entertained by the hose. Dad got his feet wet too. 

Camp & Beach ~ Pineview Family

We had a 4th of July getaway planned - had reserved a spot up at Anderson Cove at Pineview Reservoir. Tuesday, July 3, Grayson went into work and I got my workout in then took the younger kids to the store to pick up stuff for the camping trip. Did the packing... Keaton kept asking when we were leaving every 15 minutes. Gray got home a little after 5:00 and we got off shortly afterward. The boys were a little antsy during the drive, asking when we were going to get there. We made it there and got set up. Colton was quite a handful, running in and out of the camper, climbing up on the little concrete barrier, running into the road (Gray had to make a mad dash for him as a car was coming up). We roasted hot dogs and then marshmallows. Callahan almost had a meltdown about having to poop in the outhouse. Keaton was cute after his visit there, saying “there was NO flusher in there”. Cooper just sat and played his gameboy. Colton tried to throw his blanket into the fire twice (I caught it the first time, got it out fast the second, successful time). When the coals were glowing we roasted marshmallows. As night rolled around we played Uno and ate mini-chocolate donuts. Cooper wanted to go home and Colton was uneasy but we finally got everyone down and to sleep. Colton slept with Gray and I and the other boys slept on the other side. I don’t know if Colton is always so restless, but he really kept me awake all night.

In the morning, Maga and Olivia showed up and we headed down to the beach. Cooper was NOT happy about being close to the water but settled down in the shade of the canopy and played gameboy the whole time. The bigger boys played in the sand and in the water. Colton didn’t seem to like the water but after I got in, he came in and had some laughing, splashing fun. Cooper complained almost the entire time, and Callahan didn’t last all that long either (he had his cast on, and it was technically waterproof, but ... also had to make sure SAND didn't get in it. He got it removed the next day). We stayed a few hours then packed up. I had put sunscreen on the kids so no one got burned (Gray got so much sun last year it made him sick). 

Video quality isn't great - but still fun to look back on "live" ...

We had pretty much packed up everything before heading to the beach, so other than packing everything back up to the car from the beach, the cleanup wasn’t bad. We hit the road home around 2:00.  Got home, unpacked, got showered and such. I was wiped out, as was Gray. The kids played around and wanted to do fireworks. Gray picked up some KFC and we ate dinner then let the kids light fireworks. I had bought a $10 pack with some additional of their favorites (smoke bombs, snakes, sparklers) and that was enough to make the kids happy.

A Tent for Two

I always joked that a 10-man tent was really good for about a family of four or five. I like room to spread out, not walking all over each other. I don't even know if this smaller tent is considered a "two-man" tent or if it's supposed to sleep more. This camping trip it was just the two of us. It's the only time we ever did a camping get-away just us.  It's amazing the difference when you aren't chasing littles around. A different experience for sure! 

The beach without littles was more relaxing too.