The Thomas family camping trip was planned for August 4th through the 7th. We decided that we would give it a try with our dear little Justin as we love to go on this annual camping trip. Nathan had Friday off and so we decided we would be up in Island Park by early afternoon and then come home late Saturday evening as my brother Kris was blessing his new daughter, Eva, on the 7th. After deciding that we didn't want to cook before we left home, we made the choice to go ahead and eat in Rexburg on our way through. We ate at McDonalds and it was so very busy! Justin would hardly eat a thing because there was too much happening around us. Driving the Mesa Falls byway to get there, we had a wonderful drive up and Justin was such a wonderful kiddo in the truck (I think he likes the truck because he can see more from the center of the back seat than he can in the car). After our arrival and a few short chats with family, we chose to set everything up very first thing. Justin was such a great kid while we set up the tent. He just stayed right in our little camp site and wandered around watching Dad and I set up our tent. In the afternoon we went down to the main camp to socialize where there is a volleyball court with sand. Justin had more fun in that sand than I think he has ever had anywhere. He loved playing with his cousins and really loves to watch everything that Jonathan Beck does. He also really warmed up to Courtney and Ayla. They all had fun watching Justin run and throw sand. He was a very dirty boy but it was soooo worth the fun he had.
It rained quite a bit the first night but Justin seemed to go right to sleep once Nate and I both "pretended" to be asleep ourselves. After he was truly out, Nate sat up and covered him with a think blanket. Justin did really well until in the middle of the night his pregnant Mommy had to get up and visit the potty! Then his little head popped up and I think he was pretty cold the remainder of the night. But in the morning his spirits were high and he was as they say a happy little camper! LOL!
On Saturday we drove into West Yellowstone and went to the car show. Then enjoyed a really yummy Pizza lunch with Melissa and Mark's family. After driving back to camp, which Justin fell asleep doing, we began to clean up our camp area. We were hoping to clean up the best we could and then go for a float trip down the Buffalo after Justin woke up from his nap. We got to the fisherman's dock all ready to float, got into our boat, which Justin seemed to love, and it started to lightening and rain. When we had floated to our campsite we got out. Poor little Justin didn't have much of a first float trip. Perhaps next year we will have to get one of the Nanas to babysit our new bundle of joy and go up for a day trip! We went back to camp, changed our clothes, and then took the tent down in the rain! After which, we went down to the main camp and Justin insisted on playing in the cold wet rain. He loved it! He kept trying to close the doors on the storage trailer. We had a great drive home in the beating rain and hail (but hey, Justin slept through it!). Overall the trip was fun and I think Justin has some great new experiences added to his repertoire.
Since the last time I wrote we have had a few adventures. We went down to Logan for our nieces wedding. It was so hot! I couldn't believe how acclimatized I am to Eastern Idaho. I almost immediately started having Braxton-Hicks contractions and they didn't end until late in the evening. Ashley looked amazing and I totally loved that she chose pink and white as her colors. It was a beautiful reception. Justin enjoyed the nursery toys and gave Daddy a chance to actually sit down while they were there. We stayed in Tremonton at the Sandman motel. It seemed like they have done a really nice job with the remodel until we attempted to sleep. The bed was horrible. Every time one of us would turn over it was so noisy that it would wake up Justin. UGGH! We won't be staying there again any time soon.
After much contemplation, I finallydecided to spend Justin's birthday gift card from his Grandpa Meek. We bought him a trike. I think we will most likely get years of fun out of this rather than a few months. That was the goal; to choose something that wouldn't just be a short term summer fix for this year. Justin loves it! Thanks Grandpa!
