To celebrate Pioneer Day we went camping out at the church property in Nisqually Valley. Tate has been here with Todd on two father-son camp outs, but this was the first visit for the rest of us. We packed a picnic dinner on Friday evening and watched Todd as he played on our ward's team for the softball tournament. Unfortunately I didn't get any pictures from the game. I did, however, get lots of pictures when Todd was playing baseball with the kids...he's always making things fun for everyone.
Tyler actually hit a few of those balls!
We went home Friday evening and came back Saturday to enjoy more festivities. We enjoyed the bounce house, volleyball, baseball, and exploring as we enjoyed time with members from our ward and stake. We had snowcones during the heat of the day and a wonderful dinner sponsored by the stake that evening.
I must admit that I love the young men and women in our ward (there are some great ones in the stake also)! They were such good sports about letting the younger kids join in their game of volleyball. There was some serious playing...and some not so serious playing, but
playing nonetheless. Hopefully it was fun for everyone.
We even decided to camp for the night! Joseph did a great job for a two month old baby, though I didn't sleep well because the kids rolled towards the heaviest person on the air mattress...me.
Sunday morning we enjoyed the opportunity to attend church in the outdoor chapel. What a wonderful experience! Music from the Mormon Tabernacle Choir rang through the forest as we got ready for church that morning. As we sat in such a peaceful grove on our wooden benches and comfy lawn chairs, I thought of the early Saints. Even while we were "roughing it" we had running water and flushing toilets. We had clean, well pressed outfits and no holes in our shoes. No one threatened our peace as we sat and worshipped that morning or any other morning. We knew we would be home soon with all our modern day conveniences awaiting us. How grateful I am for the sacrifices of the early Saints. We are so blessed.
After church we finished packing up our camping gear and took a walk before heading home. The kids forged ahead to the creek where we stumbled upon this fun rope bridge.
Todd learned to walk on water...literally.
What a fun camping trip! I am happy to hear that this is a stake tradition on Pioneer Weekend, so we definitely plan to come again next year!
Tiff told me about his and was jealous and still am, thank you very much Jessica! Wish we could have been there!
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