Labor Day Propiddy Trip

Due to the remodel and Finn our family wasn't able to do a whole lot of fun things this summer, so we made it a priority to get up to the propiddy for a final (and only) camping trip of 2012. And we were determined to make it fun, no matter what happened. Now saying something like, "No Matter What Happens", must be a call to the universe to dump a whole heap o' crap on your doorstep to try and impede your efforts at "fun".

Teag and I had planned to leave right after the two oldest girls got out of school on Friday, hopefully beat most of the holiday traffic, and be up to the property no later than 5:30. Then a faucet in the shower/tub combo broke in our trailer, so Teag said we had to stop at a trailer supply place on our way to buy a replacement part, or we couldn't use any water. Then it started to pour cats and dogs while Teag was furiously trying to crank down the top of the trailer, which suddenly didn't want to budge. The clock ticked, and we were lucky to be on the road by 4:45. A stop at the trailer store only delayed us further, and we were smack dab in the midst of horrible traffic. A trip that should have taken 2 hours took four, and we had to pull over somewhere in Orem so I could feed Finn. We arrived at 8:30, had to set up our trailer in the dark and wet (it had been raining there too), and try and get our kids settled into bed after eating a very late dinner.

But here's the thing: we laughed, we smiled, we joked about how ridiculous our situation was. And then after the kids were in bed, the adults all got together and had a mini hoe-down where my brother Kevin passed out a bunch of instruments and we improvised some songs from memory. It was great fun.

The next day, the men rigged up a zip line, and you would have thought the kids had died and gone to heaven.

Ready to Rock

The swing worked better than the harness for the little ones

Maisie on the downhill

Owen after his run

Even the tiny kids loved it, and kept begging for turns. We sent eight month old Millie down in the baby swing, but she seemed thoroughly unimpressed. Keep in mind that this zip line was probably a good 18 feet from the ground. Here's a video of Maisie on on of her turns.

Rory did surprisingly well throughout the weekend; no major potty accidents, and she was quite the ham. She made friends with just about everyone there.

Our kids never seemed to be at a loss for things to do. Especially with all their cousins nearby to keep them entertained.

Kid Hoe-Down

Coloring in the meadow

Even Finn seemed to have a good time, and was amazingly content for most of the weekend, as long as we kept him nice and bundled against the cold.

Even I got in on the zip line fun, though I felt bad that Teag had to tow me up to the top.

The point of this whole weekend was driven home pretty clearly; any situation like this will be what you make of it. We decided to have fun, so we did -- despite all the headaches and hassles that ensued. I need to remember this lesson more often. One thing I am disappointed about though; that we can't go again until next summer!