We took the boys on their first camping trip and our first family camping trip since Summer 2020. Ya, it's been a minute. Camping with two little ones is really daunting, but I'm pleased to share the boys did really well! They slept great, which is kind of what matters most. No one was hurt by the evening fire. They liked the water. And obviously our older kids were super pleased to be outside camping - they love it! Priest Lake is so gorgeous and it's such a gem. I got lucky and snagged a campsite cancellation. Just wondering, what are our thoughts on saving beach space with 10x10 tents? Is that rude, entitled or totally okay? I'm mixed. The beach was basically a wall of reserved space. We just set up a little bit in front of a couple beach spots. Here's the kicker for me, only about half the beach set-ups were occupied on Saturday. So is that fair? Does it matter? I dunno! Just some thoughts and questions.

Our second day swimming was interesting. The boys were hanging off of me (see last pic) and Enoch surprisingly fell asleep on my lap for a good hour. In just a few days we discovered those yucky feelings were the beginnings of Hand Foot Mouth Disease. SO... that makes sense. Still, I'm calling this camping trip a win!

When we were in Calgary, I got to spend a lot of time with my sister's kids and man, do I love them! One morning I took them and and my youngest three to the park to play. My big kids make fun of my Auntie Persona but being an Aunt is one of my favorite jobs!

A stand-out part of our trip - the Calgary Stampede parade! It was fabulous and I love benefitting from my sister-in-law's wild tradition of sleeping downtown overnight to secure seats. The kids are really just happy to show up to anything that includes cousin time.

Now begins my summer of taking too few photos!

Whew! This river is so cold, or "refreshing." Haha. This was our one last summer hurrah (locally) before the start of school. José and Rey joined us and then we met our good friends YuYi and HT there. They live in Seattle, but they were on their way home from CDA. Maeve went on the paddle board with YuYi and then Ira brought his lifejacket to me and he wanted to go too. That was surprising!

Maeve loved throwing rocks into the river with an audience and lots of praise. And then Conor showed us what fitness in the wild looks like when he threw large rocks into the water chasing the biggest splash. A fun day!