Soapstone Campground

This turned out to be another killer Stoddard "Easter" August camping trip! Oh man it was great. Despite the predicted, and present terrible weather...we were able to do all the things we wanted to and had so much fun. Tanner even got to join us...just a little later in the afternoon Wednesday because he had a big work meeting that day. It was sad and weird not to have the Wood's with us. So it was just our family, mom and dad and Heather. Ben joined with his kids for the afternoon on Thursday.

We stayed at Soapstone Campground up in the Uintas and it was glorious. Great group site, right by the river. Hardly any bugs. So wonderful.

After we got camp set up, we went and explored and played at the river. 

Lots of great skipping rocks. My dad is really good! We were trying to hop it over a log, which he did much better than me. And there was the ever trying to throw big rocks and splash. Heather hit my mom in the foot. Ha. Oops. I ended up walking across the river for some reason and then it felt good and I just can't help myself...

Heather made these to die for muddy buddies with cinnamon chex and cookie butter and white chocolate. Greta was a fan as well.

Harvey was in wood chopping and fire starting heaven the whole week.

Favorite camping meal of all time....

We had great weather Wednesday. I'm pretty sure we sat by the fire after dinner for a while. These pictures aren't perfectly in order but I spent WAY too much time getting them as organized as they are. It was a perfect first day. Pretty soon after breakfast on Thursday, Ben showed up. We thought he was coming Friday to stay the night but the girls had some school stuff and Julie was getting back into town. So, my parents rushed to put together the egg hunt so they could do it. We went and "fished" by the river. 

Then it was time for easter hunt. So fun! it was a little lower key but worked out perfect for the kids. They had a great time. They found all their eggs which had puzzle pieces with the location to find their baskets. 

The kids got some super fun art stuff, some treats and awesome solar lamps. They love them! Ben's kids got hammocks and were pretty excited about those!

Not long after the hunt and some playing and lunch - the sky got dark and we figured it was going to rain. So we started clearing the camp and it sprinkled for a few seconds, then a little harder for a few seconds and then just DELUGE...and hail, like crazy. It was insane. It rained HARD for a couple of hours. Ben packed up quick and left. Some made their way to the tents and cars. My mom and I played some games. 

Luckily it eventually cleared up before dinner and the ground sucked up the wetness so it wasn't a big muddy lake around the fire. Lottie and Tanner were resting in the tent. I don't remember what Harvey was doing but my parents and I and Greta went for a walk around the campground. Really pretty!

It really was great that the rain came when it did. We had a lot of fun in the morning and then still were able to make food and eat not in the rain, play games, sit by the fire, etc. 

And oh, the fire is always so glorious. Heather brought some fire things you throw in and it makes the fire burn different colors. I took a bunch of videos...not many great photos. But it was SUPER cool and they burned forever. 

The next morning was nice. Not much rain that night I don't think. Had a delicious breakfast and then went for a hike. We wanted to get to a lake and try out some more fishing. 

We stopped by Provo Falls...gorgeous.

Then went up by Trial and Crystal lake and hiked to Cliff lake. Not a lot of luck fishing but it was fun and super pretty and I had never been to that lake. Kids did awesome. I LOVE so much that they are good hikers and like it for the most part. As long as we don't push our luck...

Had to go in for a close up of this one. Oh my heck she kills me. 

Dark clouds were closing in and some hikers asked if we knew a thunder storm was supposed to start soon. We didn't really...except that we expected rain that afternoon. So we hiked down and drove around Mt Baldy and then back to camp and soon after that it started raining. Not quite as hard as the day before but steady and FOREVER. Man. I didn't think it was ever going to stop. But my mom and I both said prayers about the same time, unknowingly, and it really did clear up pretty fast after that. Not a coincidence. We made the most of it though, and played lots of games. 

And again cleared up in time for us to eat and enjoy another fire. 

Heather and I went for a little run, but Lottie was NOT happy about us leaving so she decided she was just going to make camp in the parking lot till we came back. She's hilarious.

Chair malfunction...

Another glorious fire night and some creepy photos with Heather's black light flashlight. 

I'm ready to go back. Camping is my favorite. With all the wetness, everything was damp and muddy and didn't really have time to dry out. So take down was a huge mess. Tanner took half a load home and managed that and I took the tent and all the wet stuff to my parents so we could set everything back up and hang things up. Without grass and a yard, it makes that hard at our house. So it took 3 times as long, but it's worth all the work...before and after. And I hope my kids grow up with the same love of camping and all the similar amazing memories that we got! Thanks mom and dad for a great trip!