Camping!!

Last weekend some of us staff got to go on a weekend camping trip! The spot we chose was in the Pine Forest way up in the mountains where its cool and green!! We set up camp in a lush valley that was full of soft grass, enormous elephant ear plants, blackberry bushes and towering pine trees!! During the day it was very pleasant but as the sun slid down behind the rim of mountains and darkness fell it became quite chilly. We knew it got chilly up there so in the week before we went many of us spent happy hours digging in the missionary barrel searching for long sleeved shirts and sweaters, shoes and blankets. It was so fun to dress warmly and to see the kids all cuddly in little jackets and cozy pjs!

Here we are on Friday morning ready to load up and head out! I think we remembered everything and everyone!

Yes, we took our fourwheelers too! It was just thrilling to go up and up the dusty road past gravel pits and a dry river bed and a huge cemetery then little houses and lush green gardens. As we went higher and higher the air kept getting cooler and cooler!! It was BLISS!! (and the sun was shining brightly and no, I did not remember to take sunscreen)

After driving for about 2.5 hours we finally reached our final destination and then the fun really began! Here we are unloading the truck and trying to get organized but it was hard to concentrate with so much beauty to gaze at! Oops! someone sat on the table on the way up and bounced a little too hard and it broke in half! But we still figured out how to use it!

Matt set up the tents with the kind help of little hands! Many little hands make light work, (not)!! Us girls helped too!

Shea chopped the wood and minded the fire!

That first cold evening we all sat around and ate great big bowls of steaming hot stew and thick slices of homemade bread! It was the perfect way to warm up!

These two little guys know that the best way to start a Saturday morning is- coffee!!

                                         Mich age 3 1/2                   Eddie age 3

Following are some misc. pictures of Saturday morning!!

We had a delicious brunch- eggs, hash browns, ham, bacon, bread, avocados, coffee, juice, and cappuccino muffins with nutella!!

After that we all loaded up the four wheelers and motos and went riding around on the mountain enjoying all the beautiful gardens and fresh cool air!!

Here are some things we saw:

The rest of our time was spent at the campsite, cooking, relaxing, playing, spending time together-bonding!!

Here are the kids making soup!

dolls

Veronika is finally starting to like playing dolls!! It’s a real turning point from babyhood to toddlerhood. She doesn’t just pitch her dolls aside or chew on them anymore; now she picks them up and kisses them and sings to them. She tucks them in to bed and gets them undressed and lovingly carries them around upside down! And right now she’s standing beside me vigorously changing a messy diaper and exclaiming how much it stinks!! Oh, the joys of being a little girl!!

See that stiff doll she’s holding? In the pictures it looks cute but it’s the hardest, stiffest, ugliest, doll she has and of course its her favorite one! Whenever she sees it she rushes over to it and snatches it up, wraps it in her favorite blankie and talks to it! While she completely ignores the cute, cuddly dolls sitting nearby!!

That’s the beauty of kids- their love is completely blind!!

And what is cuter than a sleeping toddler with her favorite teddy bear?

Poor Porky!

As far as back as I can remember my family has always loved to butcher pigs!! It was such a fun time of bonding and making memories not to mention the incredible goodness that was produced! We didn’t try to figure out the fastest and most efficient way of doing it we just did it the most fun way in which to produce the best products. Of course the more love that’s added the better the end result! It was and still is one of the highlights of my life- butchering pigs!!

Last night when Shea told me he’s butchering today I knew I had to bring Veronika  and give her the first introduction to pig butchering! Needless to say she was pretty freaked out when she saw this:

But later on when porky was laying on the table in pieces she forgot to be freaked out. She even climbed up on the bench to watch Mommy cut sausage meat!

And later she watched the guys grind the meat into sausage!

Although this butchering was not at all like a Yoder pig butchering it was a very fun time and a good introduction for my little girl! I hope that in years to come she will love butchering and grow up having fond memories of making pan-haus in the big black kessle, making potatoes chips in the freshly rendered lard and nibbling on cracklings!!

Long live Porky!!