Family Camp 2009

Well, I am making good on my goal to blog more things :) So here are some photos of our second camping trip in 2 weeks!

You will notice that Eric is not in any of the photos. He had to work and stuff over the weekend so the three kids and I took off for Loomis Lake together! Loomis Lake is up near Long Beach, Wa only about a 2 hour drive from here.

We were able to tag along with our best buds the Salter Family. So Friday morning we all set off for camp! The drive there was great! We arrived at camp at around 2pm and there was a mix up in the camps scheduling, so we got to play for awhile while the other group finished up some different activities.

Here are a few photos of the trip courtesy of Rachel. I forgot my digital camera (at least it wasn't someones underwear) and the disposable cameras that I used haven't been developed yet.

Some fun at the beach! We had a sand sculpture contest.
Our sand sculpture. It was the Heavens and the Earth. The kids came up with the idea and I think they did a great job!
Me and my kiddos. They really were angels all weekend. I was so proud!And this is where I give a shout out to whoever invented the double jogging stroller. That thing is fabulous!
Little miss Julia hanging outJust some photos of the camp. We (all of us tent campers) slept in a meadow. There was a dining hall for all of our meals. The other pic is of the Loomis Lake. If you can imagine, The dining hall was in the "front yard" and the lake in the "back yard"Lunchtime!Having Fun!Best Friends!

Michael was super brave and took the older 5 to the beach while Rachel and I napped with the babies. They came home in the trunk cause they were all sandy:)In the process of getting sandy...
All and all it was a great trip, but we sure missed Eric! It may seem odd that we went to family camp with out a very important member of our family, but I can say I walked a way with a deeper appreciation for all that Eric does! I sure love that guy!

The Stifflers go camping.

Well, we have been busy. I need to get better at this whole blogging bit. It is such a great way of keeping up with family. So, here we go again :)

This is not necessarily in order, but I will start with the camping trip that we took up to Olympic National Park about a week ago.

Eric and I went on our honeymoon to Sol Duc Hotsprings and had not been able to make it back in the last 9 (can you believe it!!!!) years of our marriage. So, when some old friends offered to save us a spot at the campground we jumped at the opportunity to join them! Thank you Geoff and Jaime!!!

Here are a few photos of our trip there!

We spent 3 nights and were able to spend an afternoon at the Hot Springs resort. It was fantastic. It was a little crazy with three kids there so we did not end up getting any photos of the time swimming but here is a promotional photo that I pulled off the web.
The resort has 3 naturally heated mineral pools and a fresh water pool that is kept pretty warm too. This is one of our very favorite places in the whole world, so if you haven't been I would totally encourage you to go!!!

Here are some more photos of our trip :)


Blueberry faces!
Hiking near the Sol Duc River My Handsome little (or maybe not so little anymore) man!
Kids checking out the riverSol Duc River Salmon Cascade. In autumn you can see the Salmon running. They jump up this thing like crazy.Good Morning Mama!
Miss Reyna and I the morning we built the fire (Girl Power!) Reyna and I made this :)What do you mean I am dirty???I sure like this guy
Beautiful Lake Crescent
Learning to skip rocks with daddyThis is what miss Julia thought of the lake.
Going for a walk in the river
It was cold.
This is a stick
This is mossMaking smoresThe view from our campsite
Popcorn and Games a perfect way to end the day!So it was a long one I know. But I had too many great photos to share! I have several more to share of other fun things we have done this summer, but that will have to come later... The troops are restless :)

What we've been doing lately....

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Yes, Those are my kids playing Guitar Hero and yes they are pretty good at it... I can also proudly say that they (all three) know all the words to Living on a prayer and Eye of the Tiger. I am such a proud stage mom...... Well, it has been fun for our family, especially since we have been stuck in the house with sick kiddos for the past 10 days or so... We are finally all pretty much well again and I am so glad!
Here is a very necessary picture of miss Julia on roller skates.. I didn't know they even made them this small!!! We took all three kids to a skating party at skate world and it was a blast!! Surprisingly Julia was the best skater out of the three!!! Here are a few more photos of our adventure ( all courtesy of our dear friend Christina)

Noah was a little concerned about falling
Reyna and I skating , we both look a bit unsteady..

Eric and miss JuliaAll having a treat...