For my birthday, I usually ask to go camping. I really enjoy camping and hiking and things like that. We haven't been to many places around our house to camp, mainly because we didn't know a lot of places. We actually didn't go last year because I was too sick, but the year before that we went to the natural hot springs where our ward had the father/son camp out. Anyway, someone told us about Willard Bay (thank you Sharalee!). I'd never heard of it. Apparently it is the only freshwater bit of the Great Salt Lake. I didn't even know there was a freshwater bit. So we reserved a spot and got our things together. Then we were on our way to Willard Bay.
Actually getting to Willard Bay was a challenge thanks to darn google maps. It took on this back country road and up to a closed cattle gate. I kid you not. We headed down this dirt road. Pastor kept saying, "this can't be right," from the moment we turned off the freeway. We stuck to it because google maps has never lead us astray before. Some time later we found ourselves staring at a green cattle gate. We turned around and asked some locals for directions. Taking their advice, we followed the signs on the freeway (DUH!) and found Willard Bay. We drove another 20-30 minutes to find the entrance. There was this really nice young lady who kindly told us we were at the wrong entrance. For real? Do we need to go back to the cattle gate? She told us to turn around, get back on the freeway, and take the next exit. We did that and followed the signs and finally found ourselves in the right place. By this time we were starving. I didn't cook lunch because...reasons, and we were all feeling it by then. It was almost 5 if I remember right.
We were so hungry that we all kind of just dove into my cake. It was once a beautiful red, white and blue rose cake, but somehow it got smooshed to one side so I just spread the frosting back over the top of it. I have to admit that I was pretty bummed about it. The kids kept telling me it was ok and that the cake still tastes the same. "Don't worry, mama, it's still yummy," is what Adi said. And they were right, it was pretty darn good. Thank you Kent's!
After we warmed up and ate dinner, we did a little bit of everything we could think of. We went to find the bay, which got us lost a few more times, but it was a fun lost because we were just following nice cool trails. When we found the bay, we just waded a bit and threw rocks. It was getting late and too cold to really swim. So we went back to our campsite. It was #16, by the way and we will be requesting it every time we go back. Pastor set up the tent while the kids went down the beach to throw more rocks. They found shells as well.
Okay, so here is where things get ugly. By ugly I mean itchy. During the night, Dexter refused to sleep. I don't think he likes change very much. I asked him after we were home a few days if we should back camping. He said, "No," very firmly. We got ready for bed and changed into our sleeping clothes. We read a chapter out of Narnia and tried to watch scriptures on our phone. As everyone settled in, Dex wandered aimlessly around the tent. Every so often he would stop and jump on someone's sleeping bag, causing that someone to yell in protest and/or pain. I tried laying with him and counting stars. (We had the tent top cover off because I wanted it off and it was my birthday dang it, haha). We counted airplanes going by. I sang Twinkle Twinkle Little Star a billion times. Nothing worked. So I took him outside to sit in the camping chairs and watch the stars. When I went out, I forgot to re-spray myself with bug repellent. If you look at the picture above of Duane and Avan silhouetted against the lake, you can see how many dragonflies are flying around. That should tell you how many darn mosquitos there were. I have 8 bites just on my right foot. I haven't counted the others. The good news is that Dex did eventually fall asleep, but only after Pastor came out and held him. Duane stayed up with us too, not because he couldn't sleep really, just because he could get away with it while Dex was being naughty. Both Avan and Adi were out by then.
Waking up the next morning was nice. I think we slept in past 8. It might have even been 9. We warmed up breakfast and I took the kids back down the beach. They dug up shells and threw rocks. Pastor was putting the tent away during this time. Then it was time for the real fun! We tidied up the camp and made sure to puck up all our litter, then we piled into the car and drove over to the bay. We blew up the floaty devices we'd brought. Dexter really didn't want to try his, but we forced him and he ended up loving it! Stickers even got to swim in the lake, but he really didn't like it one bit. We had so, so much fun that we're already making plans to go back, although we have since heard of a place called Pineview that supposedly has a better beach.
When we thought the kids had soaked up enough sun, we pulled them out. They were reluctant to leave, but they were also extremely tired. We changed in the car or the bathroom and left Willard's Bay. Three of the four kids were out before we even made it to the freeway. Duane eventually fell asleep, but it was after we drove all the way out to Logan for heaven knows why. We're crazy.
I have arrived at two conclusions after this camping trip:
1-camping really makes you see your kids. I mean REALLY see them. You see past the repetitive nature of everyday life. You see them exploring our world. You see how happy and joyous they are. For me, it really reminds me of how much they need my love and patience.
2-Being 30 is awesome. I have been looking forward to turning 30 for a while. I remember 29 was a difficult age to turn for me for whatever weird reason. 28 and 29 were the hardest years of my entire life though, so that may have something to do with it. The main reason I love being 30 is because this is the year I have finally learned to love myself and that really is awesome!
