I just wanted to share a few more things about our camping trip.

Here are some pictures:

Lisey all cozy by the fire.

Scott and Ava “nuggling” by the fire. They stayed up late each night just cuddling and talking while Lise and I snoozed.

The first night we lit a fire, Ava watched the embers fly up into the sky and commented that we were planting stars. As the fire burned on, more and more stars appeared in the sky.

We all went camping this weekend at the Bruneau Sand Dunes. This early in the camping season there aren’t many close options other than to head southeast of the Treasure Valley into the desert.

The Weather was very Spring-like (unpredictable) but we made it through the cold and windy parts to be rewarded by occasional calm winds and warm sun.

Saturday late morning we headed to Mountain Home, about 20 minutes away, for a few supplies. A candy store nearby the grocery store was pulling taffy, so we stopped by to watch the process and get a bag of delicious fresh taffy. On the way home we saw a playground so stopped there as well to give the swings and slides a workout.

On Saturday afternoon a front came through and we had a spell of high winds and some rain, but the evening was dead calm and fantastic. All the campers who left early really missed out. We headed back for a bratworst dinner and a few roasted marshmallows, then journeyed out soon after dark to the Observatory (5 minute walk) to look at Orion, Saturn, and a globular cluster that looked like a small blur even though we were told it consisted of 500 million stars.

After that we headed back to camp and enjoyed a warm campfire and “nuggle time”. This is one of my favorite times, just sitting around the campfire with Ava on my lap all wrapped up in a blanket. Everyone slept well both nights, which as you may know can be a tough trick to pull off when camping with children. An owl perched above our tent and “whooo whoooo whooooooo’d” us to sleep.

Sunday was great. A cool, crisp morning with clear skies and low winds. After sunrise we were blessed with a chorus of coyotes howling off in the distant sage brush and killdeer calling again and again. We ate a hot breakfast and headed down to the dunes once more. The sun made the sand warm to the feet and the girls enjoyed playing in it one last time. Ava and Annalise were both troopers and it was a fun trip.

Some highlights from the trip: