camping at knoll lake

A couple of weeks ago, we decided to get away from the heat and headed for the mountains. We went camping at Knoll lake. It was wonderful! The temps were in the 70's and the lake was great. The water was a little cold for me, but of course the kids had a great time swimming in it.

The campground we stayed at was really nice. All the camp sites had a graded spot for tents with little pathways that connected the parking space, picnic area and camping area. Unfortunately, we are in the middle of a dry summer, so we were not allowed to have a fire even in the fire pit.

Garrett and Richard tried a little fishing, but neither of them got a bite :( I am sure it had nothing to do with the kids splashing around in the water!

After they were done swimming, Grace and Jack bundled up and curled up on the hot rocks to warm up.

salt river - part 2

{salt river - part 1}

A couple of weeks ago, we went up to the Salt River for an afternoon BBQ. It was the perfect day, not too hot yet. The kids had a great time playing in the river, trying not to get washed away. It is hard to tell from the pictures, but out in the main part of the river the water is moving pretty fast!

hanging out

whew!

Well, it was a crazy morning, but we all survived. As usual, Santa got a little carried away and the kids got way more than was originally planned. It is hard to know when to stop when you keep seeing "just one more thing" that the kids have to have.

Grace's big gift this year was a Nintendo DS. She loves it, and now she doesn't have to borrow Garrett's DS. They have already figured out how to wirelessly connect to each other and play games against one another.

Jack's main gift was this John Deere tractor, and you can see that he is quite pleased to have it. Every time we were at Wal-Mart and we passed the toy aisle he reminded us how much he wanted this tractor.

And Garrett's main gift was an electric scooter. He didn't know he wanted it, but he can't get enough of it now. It is a little frightening to me to watch him cruising around on it, but he just loves it. I even got on it a couple of times, it is really fun.

The aftermath of too much Christmas joy! Thanks to all our family and friends who helped to make this a magical Christmas for all the kids!

It's a good thing Monday is garbage day!