Camping in the Backyard

During the end of August, Brandon finally got a break from school for a week. We planned on going on a little vacation with the kids, but due to our van having some problems, all of our money that we had saved went towards fixing the van.

As a result, we decided to improvise and have a little camping trip in the backyard. The kids were so excited! We took all the kids to the store to help us buy the hot dogs, chips, pop, marshmallows, etc. and everything else that we might need to help make the camping experience a success. Hyrum was so cute, he remembered all the stuff that he used to make smores when he stayed in Lake Powell with my parents for that extra day and was telling me everything we needed. He was worried that we wouldn't have any fire to cook the smores, but I told him that we would be okay.

Hyrum was in heaven helping Brandon set up the tent. He couldn't get enough of being right beside his dad and helping where ever he could. Ben and Emily helped for a little while, but then decided that the castle toy in the yard was calling their names and headed over there to play for a little while.
Once the tent was set-up, the kids were thrilled to bring their sleeping bags in the tent and get them all ready for the night.After they got their beds ready for the night, the kids decided that they should go and check to see if there were any bears in our backyard. It was so cute! Hyrum took the flashlight and would march off with Ben and Emmy following behind. I am not exactly how sure how good of an idea that was because from then on Ben was worried that every little unfamiliar noise was a bear.
While the kids were on a bear hunt, my adorable Brandon was cooking a very delicious meal consisting of hot dogs and brats. The kids were in heaven with the meal. They loved the hot dogs, chips and having their own little can of pop.
After we were finished eating, Hyrum said that one of the things he wanted to do was play "Go Fish" in the tent. It was lots of fun. Ben was on mommy's team and Emmy was on daddy's team and Hyrum did great by himself.
Of course, we couldn't let the night end without having a yummy smore treat. We made delicious smores using the microwave, not quite the same as cooking them over the fire, but still quite tasty.After our smores, all of us headed out to the tent and soon realized that our yard has many little bumps in it. Although I didn't sleep very well that night, it was still a great time and a memory that I will remember.