Last week was Fall Break for Ches and Aiden (my school doesn’t have Fall Break, but I only work 2 days a week) so I decided I was done with our family never doing anything or going anywhere. I went to work Monday, and once I got home we loaded the van and went camping. We got out a couple of hours later than I had originally planned, but since Ches and I are used to setting our tent up in the dark, it wasn’t that big of a deal. 
We got there, set up the tent, and went to sleep. It got down to the low 40s during the night, so we were pretty cold, but it wasn’t horrible. I think the worst was waking up in the middle of the night to hear coyotes screaming. That’s what it sounded like, anyway. Screaming. It was so freaky!!
On Tuesday, we got in the van and started to drive, just to see what there was. We were camping just outside of Payson. Not too far away we saw the sign for the Tonto Natural Bridge in Tonto National Park, so we decided to check it out. It was so fun! We got to take a small hike to see a waterfall, and we had a picnic lunch while we were there.
After lunch, we jumped back in the van and continued to drive. The boys fell asleep, and we woke them up to see Potato Lake. They liked seeing all the animal tracks around the lake and climbing on the fallen trees.
We drove up Kehl Ridge, and at the top got to see a gorgeous view. I’m not a photographer, and I’m sure I had my camera settings wrong, so this just doesn’t do it justice.
That night, back at camp, we roasted marshmallows and made s’mores and had hot chocolate. The kids had a blast running around, “collecting firewood” (which really meant picking up sticks and throwing them into the campfire).
Wednesday morning we packed up and went home. It was a short camping trip, but perfect for us right now. We figured out that Parker has never actually been out of Phoenix… he’s never been in the car for more than an hour at a time! He had a hard time that first night. Parker really didn’t like being strapped in the car for so long. (Driving to Texas for Christmas is going to be interesting)
On Saturday Ches and I took the kids to Vertuccio Farms, which is a farmer’s market, pumpkin patch, corn maze, and more. The kids jumped in a bouncy house, pet and fed some farm animals, and ran through a hay bale maze for kids. Then, as a family, we went through the corn maze. That didn’t go over as well!!
It was a good week, overall. Until Sunday.
Sundays are hard. It’s hard to be dressed up and have to sit quietly and be reverent during chruch. I get that. But Aiden has SUCH an attitude lately! As you may know, I’m the song leader in Primary (basically the children’s church). We had just started Singing Time when a sister from the Relief Society (the women’s organization) came in to make an announcement. They were getting a group together for whoever wanted to join to make rag quilts. She was showing some quilts as an example and said, “So if you are interested, let me know…” when Aiden stands up and says very loudly, “My family is NOT interested in THAT!”
I was SO embarrassed. I told him to sit down. I actually am interested in participating in this activity. Aiden just thinks it’s girly and is anti anything girly these days. It’s one thing to not want the pink cereal bowl, however. It’s quite another to be rude in front of the entire Primary. So he got quite an earful after church (even though when I went to apologize to the sister for Aiden’s rudeness, she just laughed it off and said she can’t wait to tell her grown kids about it. At least she thought it was cute!) and we’re working on limiting outbursts now.
Today is a new day. I’m cleaning and cooking and baking and ignoring the kids who are begging for ice cream for breakfast. I don’t have to work today, and we have friends coming over for Thanksgiving. Hooray!! it’s a great day today!!
