Hat Creek 2010 - Day 5

Wild flowers are every where up at Hat Creek. I should have taken the camera when we went on our walks,I could have taken some really pretty pictures. I will have to remember to do that next year. We usually only go every two years but Nick and I decided that this needs to be an annual trip for our family while our children are young. When we let everyone know that we would be coming back next year, they all said that they wanted to try to come too!

We really just relaxed most of the day on Wednesday. It was perfect.

Christian had to pack up and leave though... that wasn't so perfect.

Desi must have asked me 10 times a day if she could play with my hair. Here is one of her styles.

We drove into Burney to grab some Italian Sodas and Snow Cones. The lady behind the counter seemed a bit overwhelmed and irritated by our crowd. I guess in a town with a population of 300 you don't get too many orders of 20+ drinks.

We didn't stay in town too long, we really just wanted to spend the day at camp.

Our campsite wasn't too far from the bathrooms so we would let the kids go by themselves while we watched them walk there and back. It was very cute and fun to let them do something I would never dream of letting them do back at home. They have so much more independence up there and it always makes me sad to come home again where life is so different.

Then there was more sleeping...

and whining...

and swimming...

then Lila found a bag of Cheetos down by the pond

and then when I took it away...

she got mad!

luckily she found her thumb...

and then her Grandpa. Soon she was happy again.

She really did not like the sand to be on her hands. Everytime, she would get mad about being dirty, then try to console herself with her thumb, then get mad again.

Here we (they) are playing some version of keep away with a greased watermelon.

I didn't get any campfire pictures (another thing to remember for next year) but almost every night we sat around the fire (wood provided by our trees) talking, singing, playing guitar (my dad) and roasting marshmallows, hot dogs and hot links. Great memories.

My kids (mostly Elsie) always seemed to be convincing someone to take them down to the swings. They spent tons of thime down there.

Here is Christian writing in the Family Camp Journal.

The sunset was so beautiful every night.

Hat Creek 2010 - day 4

On Wednesday we tie-dyed shirts and went to the subway cave. My kids were most excited about going to the cave and had been talking about it all week.



Above was our kitchen for the week and below Sarah and Bailey kept my girls entertained while waiting for breakfast.



After breakfast we started our shirts. First we soaked the clothing in an ash solution,



then we tied them up with rubber bands



then finally, we got to dye!



The shirts had to sit for a few hours so we left them and went to explore the cave.









Above and below are the same shot with and with out the flash. It is completely dark underground except for flashlights and the ground is really "bumpy" as my kids would say. It is hard to walk without tripping for little kids.















group shots, Emma and I took turns taking the picture so we could both be in one. I think it's funny that we both centered the picture on the kids rather than the whole group.



Then we headed back for more swimming.











Each night a different family is in charge of dinner and every night dinner was delicious! We had Ham, Tri-tip, Pulled Pork sandwiches, Carnitas, Indian fry bread tacos, Spaghetti, Chicken... it didn't feel like we were camping when it came time to eat! On most nights my dad and I made dessert in the dutch oven and we even made french bread in the dutch oven!







After dinner Nick and I went on a walk (down a street that I desperately want to buy a house on) and when we returned we fond everyone playing Wiffle Ball.