Camping '08

Last weekend, we took our first camping trip of the year. We stayed pretty close to home and had a great time. The ski resort nearest to us looks like this for most of the year. We had no idea that you could ride up and down the lift during the off-season and had to try it out.

This was a scary view-sending my boys up the mountain dangling from a string with no parental supervision...

Here they are passing us on their way back down as Audrey and I reached the top-

Audrey and I-I couldn't get my arm far enough away from my body to capture the the view behind us. Enjoy a scary closeup instead...

This is a pic of Matt and Xander about to get off-but still scary to see them with no safety bar...Later, we heard a helicopter land just up the hill from our campsite so we climbed up to take a look. Apparently a biker had lost a pedal and had an accident-ouch. Here are the kiddos waiting to see the helicopter take off.
Near the end of our trip, Matt made a rope swing for the kids and it was a huge hit.
The tree that the swing was tied to was on a steep hill so you could touch the ground near the tree to get on but when you swung out, you were nowhere near it. It freaked the kids out a little bit but it added to the fun.

Audrey's turn...

Check out the concern on Xander's face...

...and how quickly he got over it.

Matt couldn't resist the swing, either. He said he was 'weight testing' it.

Ooooh, I either need a new camera or a photography class or both...

My husband, the pack mule...

My hiking buddy...

I think we can officially say goodbye to Jackson's puppy phase. He was such a good dog on the trip! He loves to be outside and hike trails with us.