This past weekend we traveled way up into the mountains to our favorite camping spot at Smith & Morehouse Reservoir. I think Conor & I like it so much, because it's as close as we can get to that Pacific Northwest feel while still in Utah. Tons of trees, lots of water, & the fishing is superb! I was a little nervous about the nighttime temps (hello 40 degrees), but we managed to stay warm. A little trick: throw some really big rocks in your campfire at night. Then place them in a corner of your tent (on something heat proof) to help keep it toasty all night long. It seriously works and is probably the only way we survived the chilly nights. Well that and that massive amount of blankets I brought. And the middle of the night snuggles!
In anticipation of this trip, we bought the boys their own
fishing poles! I knew this would help with their patience if they each had a rod to be responsible for and play with. Finn mostly wanted to reel his line in nonstop, while Liam waited ever so carefully. Both boys love choosing a worm, and I baited my first hooks in oh, 20+ years. Still a pro at it! The stream (river?) was absolutely rushing, since we had a big winter here. Lots of snow melt still happening. It was hard to find calm spots to fish, and we often had to cross fallen trees to get to get to them. My balance is little off these days, but I managed not to ever fall in... can't say the same for Conor. Over the weekend we caught 4 arctic grayling, 2 cutthroat trout, & 1 brook trout. A huge success! While I anticipated that we would do more hiking, the fishing kept everyone occupied.



It was by far one of the more relaxing weekends I've had. No schedule. No other families to coordinate with. Just us. We slept in. We had long slow meals. We hammocked. We picked wildflowers. We got crazy dirty, muddy being in & out of the stream. We spotted a deer and listened to the noisiest squirrels ever. And each night, we fell asleep to the loud roar of the stream behind our tent. We were completely unplugged. I love that. I notice more. More smiles, more laughter. More little in between moments that can get lost in a busy day. Good conversations all around. Neither Conor nor I grew up camping, so it's somewhat strange that it has become one of our family's favorite pastimes. It's a big part of us, and I cannot imagine spending our summers any other way.







Each night we stayed up super late making s'mores only by campfire light (and headlamps, there is a big headlamp obsession) & watching all the stars appear. Jupiter is still incredibly bright and often the first "star" we spot. Mornings are for sleeping in & the lingering in the tent for snuggles & tickles and shenanigans until someone is brave enough to hit the cold air and start a fire (not me). Often I had no idea what time it was, and it didn't even matter. I'm usually a crazy big planner, but somehow I was able to let that go and just see where the day and the boys took us.




It's quite an effort to get us all packed up for a two night trip. The food alone sometimes feels outrageous for a family of four. And we fill our car to the brim! I have no idea how we will manage next summer with an extra carseat in the mix. But it's always worth all the hardwork as soon as camp is set up. We've actually enjoyed our last two trips so much, that we're thinking our next one should be three nights. Just to get more out of all the packing & preparing. If only we didn't have to rush back home on Sundays to prepare for the week ahead.





I will say that it's getting slightly more & more uncomfortable to camp. Getting in & out of the tent, maneuvering an air mattress, getting dressed in a tent... all those things are just a tad bit harder. I didn't plan on slowing down, but I may need to just a little bit. We're planning another trip around Liam's birthday when I'll be 35 weeks pregnant, and I'm hoping to squeeze one in during August too. But for that last trip we'll probably go somewhere with cell service just to be safe! I want to create these summer memories with just my two older boys, before we have that family shift to newborn life again.