A Successful Camping Trip

Our second attempt at camping this summer was a success! The girls and I were apprehensive because of our last experience earlier this month. I am happy to say that we had a great time! We did see a baby bear both days but we stayed far enough away and it didn't bother us. The campsite at Twin Lakes was so pretty. It makes me feel so grateful to our Heavenly Father for creating this beautiful place for us to enjoy.

Our first night at the campsite and the girls were exhausted....and scared of bears!

We went with our friends the Shattucks. The girls had a great time together.
We rode our bikes a lot, had ice cream, played at the lake and the creek next to our campsite.

We stayed at Mono Village in Twin Lakes and it was BEAUTIFUL!

Our crusty camping look

Bryanna went fishing with Daddy a couple times.

Beautiful Twin Lakes

Family picture taken on the last day.
Don't mind us, we haven't had showers in 2 days!

Maggie was loving the ride home:)

I was so grateful that we had a good time. This camping trip was for Derek's birthday and I really wanted it to work out and it did! I'm thankful that our Heavenly Father kept us safe and that we were able to make some fun family memories.

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Bryanna played Happy Birthday for Daddy. She just learned it that week for Piano.

Derek and his girls!

Seriously!

Derek turns 34 on July 22nd.
Happy Birthday to the best dad, husband and friend. We love you Derek!

Treat Thursday #3 and #4

Ice Cream Cookie Sandwiches. I made a batch of chocolate chip cookies, we scooped vanilla ice cream and smashed them together, then the girls rolled them in sprinkles! They look delicious!

While we were camping we tried a new take on the S'more. Instead of Graham crackers and chocolate we used the fudge striped cookies and put our roasted marshmallows in the middle. They tasted just as good!

We invited our friends over for a backyard camp-out and ice cream cookie sandwiches. The girls loved them and they were so excited to sleep in the tent. We also had a little fire pit and roasted marshmallows.
But, since the Marlatt family and tents/camping seem to not go well together, you might guess that the night didn't end so well. Bryanna got sick and threw up all night, then around 4am Gracie started. I had to call the girls mom to have her pick them up because I did not want them to have to deal with it and hopefully they don't get sick..I will feel horrible.

We appreciate our friends coming over and attempting this fun night. Who knows if we'll try again. I'm about done with trying to create fun "camping" memories with my kids! I think I'll stick to crafts:/

Our almost camping trip..can you say BEAR?

Our first camping trip in over 4 years and we were excited and prepared (except for a few things) and ready for this adventure. We had a great time riding bikes and playing at the lake with Maggie. We found some great rocks and driftwood ( my mom would be proud). The girls made friends with our neighbor campers and I taught Abby how to play Slap Jack!

There were a lot of these chubby caterpillars.

The girls in the tent all ready to camp out.

This was Maggie's first camping trip and she did really good. We took her on a bike ride to the lake and she was pooped after that. This was her chosen sleeping spot for the time we were there.

Derek tried to get a little fishing in. Fallen Leaf Lake is beautiful (unfortunately I didn't get pictures) but a little too windy for catching anything. Some day I will get a picture of him with his normal smile!

After dinner we started our fire and made some s'mores. We were having a great time.

Then.......the campers next to us announce that there is a BEAR IN OUR CAMP!! Yes you heard me...A BEAR!!!!!!! All I remember is Derek telling me to get in the car with the girls and they ran off screaming. Maggie was still tied up to her leash, not barking at all mind you. Derek and our neighbor camper scared the bear off finally. It was a 300 pound bear and it was trying to get food/garbage and wandered off down to the next camp. We decided that the girls would not sleep in the tent and knowing the bear would probably come back to our camp, we decided to go home. Derek and I picked up camp as fast as we could while the girls were crying in the car. I put on a movie to distract them but Gracie was pretty terrified. She still is today! To make matters worse as we were leaving I backed in to a tree and then Derek saw the bear again on top of the dumpster and he tried to scare it off while warning the campers along the way that the bear was coming towards them. SERIOUSLY!!! WHAT A NIGHTMARE ! Why do these things happen? We got home close to midnight and the girls slept in our bed. We all slept well but we were disappointed our camping trip didn't turn out the way we wanted. I had big plans!! We may attempt to go again but not to the same place. I'll let you know how that one goes:/

Putt Putt

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Another item marked off of our summer list. We took the girls putt putt golfing for their first time the day after our "fake camping trip". The course was okay. It was a little hard for their first time though. The girls did say that they had a lot of fun!
After putt putt we went out to lunch at a new little restaurant in Reno, Kimmie's Coffee Cup. It was a cute little place and the food was yummy!

Jumpin' in the Rain

We had a little summer storm and the girls decided it would be fun to put their bathing suits on and make the most of it. They don't remember the rain in Portland, so when we get rain here it's so much fun!