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Another big update!
While I was weeding a flower bed, I was almost accosted by a giant grosshopper...I mean grasshopper. I'm not a fan of bugs and went running for Nate in the house. He came out and was also surprised by its size. This is not the best angle, but it was actually a little bit longer than his chapstick!
Ewww.
So he picked it up and Claire said, "I wanna hold the grasshopper." She's definitely not my daughter when it comes to bugs. She squishes ants in her hand, loves to hold potato bugs, and now grasshoppers. So he handed it to her.
She was all about it until it clawed into her arm.
A close-up just because it grosses me out so much.
Ewww. I had to share that little story because I'm so glad Claire has not developed arachnophobia like her mom.
Next up, we went camping again last weekend. This time with my family. We camped right by Tony Grove in Logan Canyon. It is beautiful up there. I have many fond memories of camping there as a kid.
We started off with a great breakfast by my dad. He's an amazing chef in the mountains.
While breakfast was being made, the kids watched Claire's favorite, "Elmo's Potty Time." (If you're looking for an entertaining/very descriptive show to watch, rent this.)
After breakfast Claire and my nephew, Corgan, were playing in the tent. It all of the sudden got quiet. You know what that means. Corgan came out of the tent with what looked like black marker all over his hand. We ran into the tent, thinking the worst, and found this.
Claire's first run-in with mascara. But I have to give her credit for her aim...she didn't get it on anything but her face and Corgan's arm. I owe my sister-in-law a new tube.
Then we hiked all around Tony Grove Lake. The sky was an unbelievable blue.
My mom and Claire.
This was the view we had of Claire and Corgan most of the time.
This overflow was one of my favorite things when I was young. You could run back and forth and up and down the walls. I was easily entertained I guess. The kids (and my dad) loved playing on it too.
Then we stopped to take some family pics. We decided to add Claire to my brother's family.
Then added Corgan to ours.
Claire loved carrying these wildflowers the whole time.
A cute one of my parents and Claire.
Lastly, we went over for the day to Bear Lake for a reunion on my mom's side of the family. I think everyone else had the same idea...it was a little crowded to say the least.
This is the only kind-of group shot I got. I was adding it up and there are almost 90 people in this family now, including great grandkids. Yeah, I come from a big family. So I guess this wasn't even close to a group shot...
My mom brought up her little kid pool and we filled it up. It was pretty overcast all day and kind of cold, so this kept the water a little warmer.
I thought I'd end with the cutest picture of the bunch. Claire and Corgan enjoying some kind of inside joke.
I have to say it once again, I LOVE summer!
We had a great time at the Plowman Family Reunion! We spent five days camping just outside of Stanley, Idaho. When I say camping, I mean in-a-tent-no-showers-outhouse-kind of camping. Nate and I have never gone camping like this with Claire and wondered how she'd do. We shouldn't have. She was in heaven. She was so happy all week and kept saying, "I wanna go to my tent." She was obsessed with the tent. She also loved playing with the cousins her age and being the center of attention with the older cousins. Here's the chronicle of our trip:
The six-hour drive was beautiful! Because of all the rain we've had lately, everything was a gorgeous green.
View from Nate's eyes
Setting up the tent with Nate and his dad. Claire was a huge help.
Then cute Sierra wanted to come and help.
Sierra had already been there a few days...Claire's face got this dirty shortly. :)
Seriously, she was in her element.
The second day, we took a gorgeous hike.
We didn't have a back pack to put Claire in and it was an almost 10-mile hike. She got to ride on Grandpa and Dad's shoulders a lot.
We had to cross a few streams that were ICE COLD. My feet felt numb for a while after. But Nate's dad crossed three times. Once to get Claire and his gear over, another to take his wife on this back (wish I'd gotten a pic of that), and a third time to take his 80-year-old dad over. That's the kind of awesome guy he is.
You never heard Grandpa Plowman complain once. Here he is, 80 years old, and can out-hike any of us. We finally got a break near the top.
I'm sure Nate's back and arms enjoyed putting Claire down for a bit.
Claire loved balancing on logs.
And she loved the attention she got from cousins Cindy and Emmy.
They loved going down to the "beach" and throwing rocks. The first time Claire went she was asking everyone where the whales and dolphins were.
The men cooking dinner.
Seriously, the Plowmans do not mess around when it comes to food. We ate fabulously the whole trip.
Claire carried this chair around everywhere. She'd roll it up, then unroll it over and over.
The morning of the 4th of July, Nate's aunt's family brought up a flag and flagpole. We had a great raising of the flag ceremony. Claire got to be part of the Color Guard.
Then everyone sang patriotic songs (while Japanese tourists took pictures of us...seriously.).
Claire loves spending time with her Grandpa and I think he feels the same way. They spent hours going on "adventures" together. Every time I'd say to Nate, "do you know where Claire is?" He'd say, "with my dad."
On the way home from another hike (that we ended up getting hailed on and had to end early), we found a flock of sheep. There were literally hundreds of sheep everywhere.
Cousins Josh and Corey playing what I think was called "Ninja Destruction". Uncle Ken taught everyone and they spent a lot of time playing it.
The last night we roasted hot dogs, ate smores and played many games of Mafia.
What a fun trip. I love spending time with this family!
{More to come of our camping adventures...we're going again this weekend.}
