Camping Adventures With Dad

I'll be quick to admit that I am not an exciting parent. I take care of all the things on the homefront, providing consistency and stability, and let my husband take the lead on all things adventure and fun. Last summer I had some big shoes to fill while John was in Alaska, making sure our kids didn't just sit around at home and play video games for two months. I did my best to plan a few fun vacations, but there's no one better to go with to the demolition derby than Dad.

Since Dad felt like he missed out on a lot of family adventures last year, he decided to make up for it by planning a few extra camping trips this summer. We made it a little easier on him by agreeing to divide and conquer, letting Jacob and Chelsea enjoy camping with Dad while the three "less adventurous" family members stayed home. It was a Win-Win, trust me.

Their first camping trip of the summer was at Bruneau Dunes State Park.

They came home with sand stuck in places they never knew existed.

They had a fun time checking out the observatory while they were there.

And the food wasn't bad.

The next weekend Dad wanted to see if they could stay at the Cascade family property and hike down to Blue Lake. I don't think they anticipated there would be this much snow on the mountain in JUNE!

It was 75 degrees and sunny, so they decided to make the most of it.

They wore their swimming suits, but Chelsea and Jacob decided to stay in the hammock.

Watch out, Jacob is a snuggler.

What a great view of the frozen lake...

But that didn't stop Dad. 

He came to enjoy a float, so he took the paddle board and broke up some of the ice and made a nice little spot for him to relax.

These guys are pretty good at rolling with the unexpected.

And it still turned out to be a fun trip.

Thanks to Truck.

When the next weekend rolled around, they were ready to go on another adventure.

This time they brought the ATV with them so they could explore some of the mountain trails around Silver Creek.

Dad made "walking tacos" for dinner.

And the campground was nice.

They brought their swimming suits again, but instead of a frozen lake they got to enjoy a nice dip in the Hot Spring.

So what did Mom, Shaelyn, and Leah do while these three were off on all their adventures?

We went wild and got our noses pierced.

Bet you didn't see that one coming, did you?