We have been able to get to the cabin 3 times this summer and the last two times we were able to get in quite a bit of hiking and even some camping. When we went up at the end of July we hiked into Blue Lake on our way into town. Brooklyn was able to hike the whole thing herself, two miles round trip. It is a beautiful little lake that the kids loved throwing rocks into. That afternoon we headed to the Payette Lake to play on the beach. Eric and Kim's family was up there too so Ryan and Kylie camp along to help build sand castles. After playing for a few hours we then headed over to Ice Cream Alley for some yummy deliciousness. That evening we also did s'mores, so we really got our sugar fix that day. Saturday morning we were going to take the boat out but then realized as we were hooking it up that the boat trailer had a flat, so we then just went to North Beach instead to play. After nap time we then hiked into Lake Josephine. It was the first time we had ever hiked in there and it was beautiful and the perfect length for Brooklyn. Sunday we went to church and hung around the cabin. The kids had a lot of fun driving around the little jeep and playing on the swing set. Monday morning we ate breakfast at Pancake House and cleaned up and then headed home. The kids had a lot of fun having cousins there at the same time, they all play so well together.
We were able to go back up just two weeks later at the start of August. Craig had been wanting to take Brooklyn camping for a while so we finally got it all planned out. Initially it was just going to be Craig, Brooklyn and Stan and then Diane decided she wanted to go as well. So they rented a little 18 foot trailer for Diane to sleep in, so McKay and I decided to tag along as well. Brooklyn and Craig slept in the tent, Diane, McKay and I slept in the trailer, and Stan slept in the back of the the Yukon (he snores). We drove into McCall Thursday night and then drove up to Hazard Lake Friday morning. We dropped our stuff off at the camp ground and then headed to Rainbow Lake. Diane stayed at camp while we hiked. McKay was on my back, but Brooklyn hiked herself. We initially thought it was about 5 miles round trip, but are pretty sure it was more like 7 miles. We had some whining and a few small tantrums but it was definitely a successful day. The trail was crazy dusty, so we were all covered by the time we were done. We took a lot of breaks and Brooklyn got on Craigs shoulders a few times. McKay fell asleep in the backpack for about 15 minutes, after about 30 minutes of crying, but luckily we were the only ones on the trail. Once we got to Rainbow Brooklyn and Stan fished. Brooklyn caught one on the first cast and in about 10 seconds. We hung out and ate lunch and rested before we hiked back out and headed back to camp. Stan and Diane made a yummy dutch oven dinner and then we hung by the fire for a while. McKay was getting very tired and grumpy and so we all got ready for bed. McKay slept in the bottom bunk and I slept in the top bunk. he actually slept pretty well, he woke up one time but I think it was just because he was cold. Brooklyn also woke up once because she was cold, so Craig gave her his sweatshirt. Saturday morning Craig made a super yummy breakfast over the fire of bacon, eggs, pancakes and hot chocolate. After breakfast we cleaned up camp and headed back to the cabin. The first thing I did was put the kids in the bath. They were so filthy, but didn't seem to care one bit. The rest of Saturday we just hung low at the cabin and let McKay get a good nap and went for a walk around town before dinner. Sunday we went to church and hung around the cabin and went for a walk around the neighborhood. Monday we went to Pancake House, cleaned up and then came back home.
We had such a great time. It is fun to be able to start doing these things with the kids. We will definitely be going camping again next summer and hopefully keep hiking as much as possible. We hope that our kids love the outdoors as much as we do. We know that they already love McCall, Brooklyn is always asking when we are going up again.
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