Camping at Joshua Tree

We finally got to go camping!  We have been trying to get a campsite for months and in fact, we reserved this spot back in early July!  It was a perfect get-away during a pandemic.  The kids talk about Joshua Tree quite often, so we decided to go back to our favorite spot...Jumbo Rock.

The best part of camping is sitting under the stars and roasting marshmallows.

Ben got some really good shots the next morning...I'm not sure where Eli was...or where I was.

But I would say that this is a pretty fantastic way to wake up.

We went on a "short, easy" hike, as Ben always says. 

We aren't Yuman's anymore and we were pretty hot and tired by the time we got to the top, but we were SO proud of the kids and their hard work to make it up.

Ben loves camping for all of the exploring it allows him to do.  He did a little rock climbing from our campsite.

And took Colin on a little adventure.

While I napped, Ben took the kids off-roading to find some old mines.

And then they did a bunch of things that I would never have agreed to...

Playing Uno and eating some good ole' camping junk food was more up my alley.

(Colin is talking to Ben on the walkie-talkie; an activity that proved to be very entertaining)

We may have been roughin' it, but we still eat pretty good food when we're camping. 

  

 

And because blogger is a booger, here are the videos that should have been put throughout the blog.

Trip to the San Diego Zoo

The kids and I made the trek down to San Diego to go to the zoo!  This is our third trip to the zoo in October to capitalize on their "kids get in free" month.  We got there a little later than I hoped, but thankfully the line to get in moved fairly quickly and we were able to get in (they were limiting the number of people in the zoo at one time).

AND the White's met us there!!!  It's a three hour drive for both of us and I will forever love that Laurel is always ready for any adventure we come up with. 

We were all so excited to be together, but I think Tolson was the most excited.  He walked with his arm around Colin pretty much the entire time and I lost count how many times he said, "I'm just so glad we get to be here with you." 💕

 These two did not leave each others side all day and took their job of taking pictures very seriously.

 

 

 

 

I brought the wagon to haul all of our food and drinks for the day.  I was not prepared for Eli to also ride in it most of the day, but it sure did give mea  good workout!

 

My favorite zoo crew!

It was the perfect day to spend at the zoo.  I'm pretty sure we saw more animals than we ever have.

The San Diego Zoo is so big that after 3 visits, we have yet to see the entire place...and that's after 5 hours of walking!

 

We could all barely walk by late afternoon, but somehow the kids found enough energy to play at the park before dinner.

 

We ate at our traditional Smashburger and guess what?!?!  We ATE INSIDE!  

(Please ignore my crazy face...just think, "Wow!  She is just crazy excited to be with friends!")

 

The White's drove home that night, but we stayed at a hotel for some extra fun.  We said hello to the fish while we waited our turn for the pool.  How they still had energy, I have no idea.

Even with all the fun, I'm pretty sure that the kids' favorite part of the trip was the hotel breakfast the next morning.

Alison's tie-dye

Grandma sent Alison a tie-dye kit, for a fun activity to do while her wrist was broken.  It turned into a family afternoon of making shirts.  Alison bought a package of men's undershirts to dye and the boys each used one of their extra undershirts...wouldn't it be fun to get a family picture all in tie-dye?!?!

They all turned out great and now Alison has a tie-dye shirt for every day of the week :)