Kingston Camping

Let me just start off by saying that those blueberry pancakes cooked over the open fire by my amazing hubby...simply divine. :)

blueberry pancake breakfast!

 And I also must say that it took our littlest camper only a matter of minutes to be friends with the dirt...literally...minutes. Like I've said all along, I love boys. :) 

Mason most certainly was a "happy camper"

There are so many different facets to camping--cooking, exploring, nightly campfires, hiking, and the list goes on and on. We Anderson's have a yearly tradition of camping in Kingston Campground which is in central NV and the boys love it because of it's variety of "jungle spots", a seemingly endless stream of water which allows for hours of creative fun, the founded mine we stumbled upon in years past, and all the variety of treasures that my boys somehow find in the midst of sticks, rocks, dirt, and the like. Believe it or not, this year, their very first "treasure" was a pair of dentures found hanging in a tree branch before we even parked the camper. Needless to say....we moved. ;) And no, I did not allow them to keep that particular "treasure." I'm sure those teeth are still hanging on that very same branch. 

Rather than give you the day-by-day play-by-play, I'll just allow the pictures to tell the stories of what our week looked like according to those varying facets of camping. I'll start with the cooking, which we did our share of and had a great time doing. I have to confess, that while camping, Andy easily becomes the cook of the family. I do my part--mainly my french toast part--but he has the knack and well, he can operate an open fire like it's nobody's business. I have a feeling over the years, the boys will soon learn and just maybe one day we can sit back and enjoy the smells of the food cooking without worrying about the smoke billowing in our faces while we squint to try and see if the meat is actually done in the middle. 

camp cook :)

steak fajitas!

french toast for bkfast

the "dump cake"

time to dig in!

soooooooo yummy!

simply deliciousness :)

   Before you wrinkle your noses at the thought of those words "dump cake", let me just say that it is pure goodness melting in your mouth...a little cake mix, add some butter, dump in a can of drunkin' apples, swirl in a swig of soda, and let the hot, fiery coals do the cooking. Is your mouth watering yet?? 

   A definite highlight to our camping adventures over the course of five days consisted of those outdoor explorations and hiking, a little picnic downstream, the boys building a bridge in our campsite, and we even happened upon a swing to the boys' delight during one of our drives.

mountain view

Last year, we hiked up the side of the mountain to find an old mine, literally in the side of the mountain. The boys claim it's a cave...so be it. AA & CJ insisted that we hike up there again to see if there were any treasures to be found...there were none. But Andy did venture in as far as he was able with his flashlight to the tune of Austin warning him in his rather concerning voice, "be careful daddy!" Even Mason made the little hike...hand in hand, smiles and all!

outside the cave/mine

exploring the inside

all my handsome Anderson boys!

hiking back down

bridge building

Austin and Carson on their little "island" as they like to call it

picnic lunch!

just us :)

Mason LOVED the water....even if it was freezing cold mountain water!

my handsome little CJ

just a-swingin'

The biggest part of our week-long camping expenditure was spending afternoon hours at the nearby reservoir, fishing, playing in the water, watching jets fly just above our heads, napping in the truck (that was Mason's daily routine at least), and basking in the vast openness of God's beauty surrounding us from every angle. It was peaceful, tranquil, hot :), and dare I even admit that I just might have experienced the bone-chilling mountain water from head to toe. It worked for a really quick semi-shower at least. It's the type of water where you just have to jump in and try to catch your breath when you come up for air...but somehow, you gasp, and it takes your mind a moment to realize that you are oddly used to the water but at the same time, just plain cold through and through with the permanency of goosebumps until you are in sun's heated rays again and you find yourself running out of the water as fast as you ran in. It's funny how when you're camping, "clean enough" is actually pretty clean. There may still have been dirt beneath my fingernails and even without shampoo my hair was somewhat comb-able, but it was water and it was refreshing. 

Austin found a wolly-worm

Mason's first reaction was to try and pull it apart....boys.

Carson loves to fish!

my fishermen

Mason was pretty content to just play in the water

going for a ride with daddy!

Mason checking out the fish daddy caught

Mason's afternoon nap spot...in the truck :)

Austin Alan

And last but not least is the nightly routine of campfires and some added camper fun now that we have that leisure. We were treated to Andy's renditions of western campfire stories, snuggles with the boys, lots of laughs, and more memories created. It's a definite summer highlight, this whole camping saga that we do each year...something that in the dead of winter, we find ourselves gazing outside looking forward to longer days and more fish tales to tell. For now, however, we relish in the amazing week we Anderson five had together, and praise God for allowing us to once again just...be....in His outdoor wonderment and beauty. 

Mason napping in the camper with daddy

doing a little coloring in the camper

Good morning!

Mason being super goofy one morning...we were all laughing super hard at him!

My boys ready to do some fishing

sitting around the campfire

snuggles!

story time with daddy

gotta have the glow bracelets!

getting creative...

my 3 camping boys :)