July Camping Trip

As soon as we arrived at our spot, Lauren jumped out of the car screeching about the butterflies!!! The last time we were at this spot, it was still much too cold for any bugs - but this time, from 9AM to dark we had tons of Monarch butterflies for neighbors. They were all hanging out in this little run-off area full of daisies and sunflowers. Lauren called it the "Butterfly Forest", and it entertained her for many hours of our camping trip!

Here comes Kallie to join her!

The guys started right away with some "Cowboy Golf".

Paige was just content to practice getting as dirty as possible!

About halfway through the trip, Lauren learned how to catch the butterflies! I was referring to her as the butterfly whisperer because I was amazed that any four year old could be sneaky and quiet enough to catch them! She came up to me with at least a dozen - being ever so careful to only hold them byt the wings and never touch their body so they could "fly home to their families". =) You can see one that she captured at my Frame-A-Day.

Here is my method of "catching" them.

Doing a little sand art. I save the really messy crafts for when we are outside! LOL

Here is a better shot of what Justin used to call Paige's scarecrow stance:

I just think she was disappointed that Lauren wasn't handing over a chip... or the whole container!

Justin got some time to practice his archery, and Devin was fascinated by the whole thing! It was great to watch J be able to share all his know-how!

One of my favorite things about camping is how the smallest things will entertain children.

Hee hee!

But we really had a great time, and I was pleasantly surprised that the girls slept well (at night) and we were able to relax and just enjoy the cooler weather and mountain air!