Fall camping is the only camping

I used to think I didn't like camping. Well, that's not entirely true. I liked camping when I was a kid because my main responsibility was to make sure I was in the car when we drove to the woods. I wasn't the mastermind or even the muscle behind the operation. As an adult, we had a couple epic failures when the older kids were little. The highlights of those trips were: 

• little to no planning (I didn't even know that I wasn't prepared)
• Lots of packing of unnecessary items. Jeans and sweaters are not required for camping in Arkansas.
• Heading out in glory. Dramatic driveway goodbye's to the neighbors..."We're off! Going camping!"
• Realizing that we failed to reserve a campsite. Realizing that if you fail to reserve a campsite, you will not be camping. 
• Returning home in shame to camp in the backyard.

So that led to a nearly a decade of no camping (Except for the boys and their dozens and dozens of camping trips that they have been on with the scouts.)

Our super soggy, rained out camping trip with the Clarkes over Memorial weekend was crazy and wet, but surprisingly fun. Having the weight of technology lifted off our collective shoulders was nothing short of magical. Since then I've been itching to go camping again and I had my sights set on October. I mentioned it to a couple other families and before you know it, we had a multifamily camping trip scheduled over our 4-day parent/teacher conference weekend. 

We reserved adjacent spots in Wallace State Park in Missouri. 

It's one of those places that doesn't appear like there is anywhere to camp until you are suddenly and unexpectedly just "in the woods".

We rolled up about 4 pm on Thursday night and fell into our traditional gender roles.

Mark was making shelter.

I was cooking the grub. I got wise and had all the ingredients for our tinfoil dinners pre-peeled and pre-chopped. Substituted the ground beef for turkey kielbasa and we had ourselves an easy, Everly-friendly hot meal.

Mari sent the kids on a nature treasure hunt and rewarded them with little pens and notebooks. You couldn't have picked a better prize for my kids. They love to have a spot to draw and write down their ideas for their first novels.

After dinner I got comfortable and started churning out campfire pies. This was a new concept for all the other families and it was a hit! I settled in and made dozens of them. We went through 3 loaves of bread, a can of blueberry, a can of cherry and a bottle of homemade apple filling. I loved it. I loved cooking and chatting and watching the kids run from campfire to campfire with their friends....feeling free and unsupervised.

The kids were excited to get into the tent and get to sleep. Mark was excited to hunker down and watch the Cubs game. They are battling it out against the Dodgers to make it to the World Series. Ethan is a hardcore camper and decided to sleep on the ground outside. Mathew claimed the hammock. Not sure why we brought the extra tent...the girls wrote in their notebooks by lantern light until they were ready to go to sleep.

The night was cold. Very cold. I don't think I actually ever fell asleep. I was too busy wishing the morning would come and I could make myself a cup of HOT cocoa. It dipped down to 34 degrees that night. And Mark and I only brought blankets. I was glad he bought a couple warm sleeping bags for the little girls right before we left. They were snuggly and warm, which was wonderful because the only thing worse than shivering all night is trying to comfort four shivering little girls at the same time. But I won't lie...I was super happy when Everly climbed in between us in the early hours of the morning. That girl radiates body heat. I kept flipping over to let both sides of me benefit from her warmth. That bothered her and she said in a calm voice..."Mom, you are making me mad." So I decided to sacrifice my back end to the cold and snuggle her up.

And the dawn finally came!

We hopped up and got a fire going for warmth. We started on the bacon and the other families made pancakes, fresh fruit, orange juice and hot cocoa.

We had a breakfast buffet and then set out for a hike out on the Old Quarry Trail.

We headed the wrong direction and ended up around the lake, but discovered a great hill for rolling and a perfect place for the men to have a rock skipping contest.

Laney discovered that rolling down the hill was an effective way of soaking up all the dew. She was dripping!

Mari, Courtney, Marie and I had a good laugh watching our husbands have a left-handed rock throwing contest....for distance. I hate the phrase, "You throw like a girl", but I can't think of any other way to describe it. That memory will make me laugh for many years to come.

The kids explored and found frogs and we made our way around the rest of the lake. We back tracked and lost sight of a couple kids, we got separated and turned around. Finally we ended up back at the campground without every stepping foot on the Old Quarry Trail.

We made some sloppy joes and put our feet up. The Guenther's brought a pinata for Aaron's 4th birthday and everybody had a wack.

But first we had to convince Mathew's strange little-sister choir to take a break from their 8 note song they'd been chanted all morning. I'm all for creativity and making your own fun, but that song was getting on my last nerve.

Martin explains the rules and Aaron gets ready to go first!

And just because he can....

We headed back down to the lake for some baseball and kickball and then we planned on trying the Old Quarry Trail again.

Laney, Olivia J., Kate G. and Mark (at bat).

Laney, Olivia, Kate, Todd F., Adam J. (at bat), Ryan G. and Mathew (catching)

Mark (catching), Mat (at bat), Ryan (pitching), Seth G. Aaron G., Aidan F., Martin G. and Kate.

Everly and Aaron

Everly and Anna watching from the outfield.

Emma F. and Haley J. having a chat in the fall leaves.

When we were all good and tired, many had wandered back to camp from knuckle injuries or kickball collisions, we wondered if we should still try to head out to find the trail. The Johnsons are tough and seasoned campers/hikers. They were ready to go, but my toes were killing me and I was starting to realize that my favorite sneakers might be a little too small. We headed back for a quick snack and some water bottles. We gathered the willing few and headed out for Old Quarry Trail armed with Marie and Adam's perseverance and book of trails.

We found it without trouble and made the 1.25 mile hike in short order. One of my favorite parts of the trip was when I looked around and realized that Adam Johnson was pushing Everly in the stroller (she had fallen asleep during a piggy back ride...ouch), I was holding Luke Johnson's little hand and all the kids were being watched over and receiving love and attention from adults that weren't necessarily related to them. And I realized how much I miss the sense of community we have lost from retreating to our own homes and closing the doors. Our need to come outside is pretty minimal these days. And when we do, we are already in our cars, doors closed, windows up, A/C running and the music playing. We just don't bump into each other. We don't see each other.

It's sad. Because I think we make a huge difference in each other's lives.

Soon we were back to camp and we had some tinfoil calzones...a little trick we learned camping with Lara in Bryce Canyon. So easy.

Another thing I thought would be easy is the dutch oven peach cobbler that I burnt to smithereens. I couldn't resist taking this photo as it sits in shame by the Johnsons GORGEOUS apple cobbler.

I think it's fair to say I need a little practice. Adam and Marie have clued me in to an app that tells you exactly how many briquettes to put on top and bottom for whatever you are cooking. I think this could help me....assuming I can get cell service.

After dinner the adults gathered around the Guenther's firepit and the older kids hung out at the Flynns. I went back to our tent to grab a jacket and found the little kids all gathered around our campfire. It wasn't lit, but I learned later that Megan helped them out and soon they were warm and toasty and having the time of their lives.

Mark left the campground earlier that day to go get a few forgotten items as well as pick up some warm sleeping bags for us. And I was so grateful. I think I woke him up three times just to say, "Thank you so much for buying these sleeping bags." I was snug as a bug. The Flynn girls and Mathew got up early to go see the sun rise at the lake.

I opted out and stayed in my cocoon of heat.  I had to be woken up to get crackin on the hashbrowns for our community breakfast. Guenther's provided oatmeal and mix-ins, Johnsons and Flynns made scrambled eggs. Lots and lots of scrambled eggs.

And don't forget the cocoa. Camping isn't camping without cocoa.

Annie J. and Kylie F.

Marie and Luke

It was our last few hours together and our last meal together. I relished watching the kids all laughing and playing games.

Soon the families were breaking down tents and packing up their supplies. Mark and Ethan got an early start home to get Ethan to his marching band festival and the kids and I finished up and had one last UNO game.

So I guess we are campers.

I love that I have less distractions. Less tv. Less technology. Less Wachter. Less laundry.

And I have more of this:

This:

And this:

And especially this:

Fall surprise

I went out to plant the fall mums and when I pulled out the ornamental sweet potato vines, there were potatoes in the roots. 

I laughed and set them aside to eat, but then thought better of it. Maybe they are toxic or not a food variety?

Talking to my mom, she found the same thing and planned on eating hers as well. Lara warned her off, so we are both a few potatoes poorer, but at least we didn't experience synchronized nausea due to eating potatoes out of the flower garden.

Now, that would have been a funny story!

Optional

The longer I am a parent the more I learn. Children have a way of stripping all the fluff away. They stick around just long enough to whittle you down to the lean and the mean...they serve up opportunity after opportunity to examine your motives and methods. You eventually realize that you have to get brutally honest with yourself about what you consider absolutely "essential".

This automatically re-categorizes a large portion what you used to feel vitally important into the "optional".

It's simultaneously terrifying and liberating.

Shoes on everyone's feet?

Optional.

Matching dishes?

Optional.

8 hours of sleep? Nutritious side dishes? Cute hairdos?

op...tion....al.



Kind words?

Essential.

Forgiveness?

Essential.

Thick skin?

Very helpful.

2 ply toilet paper? A hot shower? Functioning space heater? Access to good chocolate?

Absolutely crucial

In pursuit

Today Mark taught his first Crossfit class. It was the result of 3 years of training at On Track, working with the owners on their online presence, making and meeting personal fitness goals, and beginning to dream about doing more than just attending.

So, about a month ago, he approached Brian Stites, the gym owner, about the possibility taking our 6 month membership fee and putting it towards his L1 certification. He was nervous to ask, because he didn't want to offend Brian or put him in a weird position. But Mark is brave. He sent the email and waited anxiously for a reply. I was nervous by association. 

And Brian was excited about it! He cleared the idea with his board and gave Mark the go ahead. 

Mark spent the next 6 weeks studying every chance he got and then attended the certification classes over October 3-4. He took the test and came back home. Almost a week later, he received his results...

PASS!!!

He is an L1 certified Crossfit Trainer. 

He shadowed Janelle on Monday, Brian on Tuesday and taught his first class on Thursday (with Brian observing) ((so scary)).

And he did great. So great. 

He is now teaching the early morning classes every Tuesday and Thursday. And I couldn't be prouder of him. He amazes me with his determination and integrity. And I'm so grateful that he is doing something he loves and makes him feel excited. 

We are so proud of you, Mark!

An October run

Dropped off Everly to preschool this morning and went for a gorgeous run along the Indian Creek Trail. I wanted to see if I could do a 5k at an adult's pace and found that I could. It was hard, but made easier by great music and breathtaking nature all around me. I laughed out loud when the leaves started falling. It felt like pure happiness to me. A wonderful way to spend an hour.

A week in October

I have very little complain about these days. The weather has cooled down and I feel human again. Why can't it be October all the time? I know there must be opposition in all things, but I think at the very most, it should be a 1:1 ratio of October to....anything else. How about October, then January. October then March. October and June. October and then August.....see what I mean? 

That's fair. 

I feel myself pre-mourning the passing of October. The end is coming soon! We've already used up 10 days!! Savor every cool breeze and whiff of wood-smoke! Hurry! Make soup!

Not that we've been wasting our time. We've been working hard at teaching Everly to go cross eyed.

You know we had another crazy hat day. We rocked the chicken and fish. Crazy hat day is among the more tolerable of "special days". We've carefully cultivated our box of hats for occasions such as these.

Laney fell over in one of the bar stools and broke the back of it. With epic finality. I am considering just hack sawing the tops off of all of the them and calling them a matched set.

Mathew realized his three year dream to run the audio booth at the school play. It was a proud moment. He was speechless when he opened up his "Break a leg buddy" gift and received his 6th flashlight in a row. The kid just wants a bag of Kit Kats, people. Stop making it so complicated.

We got out our Halloween decorations out and started spooking the place up. The old headless Barbies are always a hit.

We waited for our share of Hurricane Matthew to pass and put up our favorite door monster.

And speaking of Halloween, the girls have decided that they would like to be birds this year. They love to pretend they are animals all the time. The have family feuds and host fox marriages and wolf funerals on the regular.

I think bird costumes would be a good investment for our future make believe sessions.

And they even provided blueprints!

And a google image. Just in case I wasn't clear on their expectations.

I talked to each one of my birdies and they told me what colors they most wanted their wings to be.

Meg liked the fall colors (like the picture she sent me via airdrop from her ipad....this is a strange new world we are living in). Laney wanted shades of blue, Anna light to dark yellows and Everly said, "ALL WHITE!" I made multiple attempts to sway her to more forgiving colors, but she diplomatically replied, "Maybe next yeaw."  White it is.

 I sniffed out a sale on felt at Jo-ann's and between that and two trips to Hobby Lobby with my 40% off coupon, I was ready to get started.

My opportunity came on Friday when Everly woke up with a low grade fever and effectively cancelled all of our plans for the day. It seemed like the perfect time to sit down and cut out 23, 000 felt feathers.

And watch a couple dozen episodes of Elementary.

After tackling Megan's, I've decided she has really long arms. Her wingspan was impressive.

Anna had asked for light to dark shades of yellow, but one of the shades was really bright and obnoxious, so we decided on grey as a contrast. I love how it turned out!

Laney's wings had the same problem. One of the blues was too....BLUE. So grey it is! Love it!

And wouldn't you know it....Everly's white wings just popped with Laney's missing BLUE and another stripe of our signature grey. She was very happy with her "Magical snow goose wings".  And I was very happy that her arms are so short.

But the best part was how excited they were to BE BIRDS,

They flapped and danced and went to show the neighbors.

Totally worth it! It's going to be a great Halloween! 2016 is going to be a killer year for the Hufford chics.

It was supposed to be General Conference

It's General Conference weekend. Mark is still out of town, but we have stuff to do. Somehow we had to fit in the Pumpkin Run, a birthday party for a classmate of Anna's, a marching band rehearsal and dinner with the Flynns.

No worries.. we got this. We just need to wake up a little earlier than usual we'd like. We need to be dressed, fed and out the door by 7:10 for the Pumpkin Run.

We made it for the school photo! (Anna's in the front row, second from the end. Laney is poking her head up behind the girl with the pink pants)

Mathew didn't want to run this year. He did want to go to the booths and get free water bottles which he then filled with free hot cocoa. He showed Everly his ways.

The plan was for me, Ethan, Megan, Laney and Anna to run together. Courtney and Aidan were going to run with us.

Laney disappeared with her friend, Peyton. She's the other half of their duo known as "Lay Lay and Pey Pey".

Megan left us in the dust.

Ethan left us in the dust.

Aidan ran ahead with his dad.

So Anna and I ran our race together. She got a boost of energy and encouragement from each motivational sign we passed. She would say, "What does that one say?!?" and she would get a little pep in her step after I replied, "Every journey starts with one step!" or "Smiling makes you run faster!" "Believe in yourself!"

She ran the entire 5k and her tough little spirit encouraged me to do the same. I was so proud of her.

Courtney and Kylie ran near us. She was more of a sprinter/walker, but still managed to finish right with us. We plan on still meeting for a run until the weather is too cold. Then maybe we can drop the pretense and go get cocoa and talk over our parenting woes.

Megan finished way before us all, she even passed Todd and Aidan. She's a speedy one! I think I almost have her convince to go out for track.

Since Mark is out of town, I made sure we had a designated meeting place after we finished the race. It worked like a charm. Soon all the Huffords were reunited. And the Johnsons and the Flynns and the Diggins. And the DeVere's. Mormons always seem to find one another :)

We tried to take a selfie. I managed to include half of Everly's face and one of my eyes...

Then the Diggins offered to take the photo. Yes, Mathew is still swigging his hot cocoa bottle.

After we dropped off Ethan to band, changed our clothes, picked up a present for the birthday girl, dropped Anna to the party, back to the high school to pick up Ethan, realized Ethan had walked home, and drove back to pick up Anna......we settled down to listen to General Conference.

We've ditched the big conference board. I'm overwhelmed by all the changes I would need to make to it...callings and releases, new apostles and young men's presidency....

So we are trying this: if you are sitting in the room when one of the apostles or first presidency speaks, you get to have the treat assigned to that person. 

We've got: 

President Monson: 'Lil Smokies

Henry B. Eyring: Apple toaster strudel

Dieter F. Uchtdorf: Milano cookies

Russel M. Nelson: chocolate milk

Dallin H. Oaks: toasted marshmallows

M. Russell Ballard: english muffin pizza

Robert D. Hales: fortune cookies

Jeffrey R. Holland: pringles

David R. Bednar: mini butterfinger

Quentin L. Cook: kettle corn popcorn

D. Todd Christofferson: fruit by the foot

Neil L. Anderson: saf-t-pops (bank suckers)

Ronald A Rasband: mini kit-kat

Gary E. Stevenson: koolaid squeezies

Dale G. Renlund: apple slices and caramel

It works pretty good. They are excited for the treats and are willing to listen (or at least be present) in the hopes of a fun snack. That's good enough for me.

When the second session was over, we took a bowl of fresh fruit and a chocolate lasagna over to the Flynn's and hung out until the priesthood session.

I brought Ethan and the girls back home for an early bedtime. Megan brushed hair while I read stories.

Then I set my alarm to wake up every 15 minutes or so until Mathew returned from the Priesthoood session. I was too tired to trust myself to stay awake.

Tomorrow we will wake up and spend the day in the house and just listening to the final speakers. It sounds like heaven. I have plans for several naps.