Outdoor fun

It's been pretty hot, but we have enjoyed some fun outdoor time so far this September.

 Over Labor Day weekend, we hiked in Hone Quarry (in the George Washington National Forest, part of the Appalachian mountains on the border of West Virginia and Virginia) to Lover's Leap. It's probably a mile up, so it's a manageable time for three kids. Henry was happy in the backpack.

 We made it! Robbie was a champ and hiked the whole way without much help.

Clara had gone on it twice before, and this was the first time she'd done it without any piggyback help. That was a great feat.

Then a week later, we went camping with our ward at Camp Shenandoah.

Clara enjoyed being out in nature, and especially loved the marshmallows.

Henry enjoyed his first s'more, too! Robbie had a blast playing in the woods with the other kids who were there.

Henry was a pill in the night. Even though this was his third (!) camping trip since birth, he apparently hasn't gotten the message that nighttime means sleeping, even when you're in a tent. I took him out of his pack 'n play around 1:30 and tried to get him to sleep with me, haha. Finally about 3am I gave him to Michael, who said a prayer and got the distinct impression to "keep his back on the ground." He did so, and Henry finally fell asleep. My internal response was, "Hey! How come I didn't get that idea when I was awake with him for two and a half hours?" And then I realized, maybe it's because I didn't think to pray for help! Live and learn.

The picture above is at about 6:30am when the kids were awake but Henry was sleeping in. Good thing he's so cute.

Taking it easy.

We did a service project afterwards, helping the camp take down tent platforms and loading up the bricks. It was a fun, albeit exhausting, weekend.

And now the weather is finally starting to turn a little cooler and less humid--looking forward to fall.