Camping at San Clemente

We went camping at San Clemente State Beach last week and had a blast! It was our family, my parents, and my sister's family. My kids have been counting down the days since April, so they were so excited when it came time to go. Packing up for a trip is always fun. We crammed everyone's stuff into our trucks and we were off and ready to go. Blake and Matt had walkie talkies and it was a good thing because Matt and Kaylee were losing cups out of the back of their truck, so we all had to get off the freeway. They had a little more extra room in the back of their truck so we had to reposition stuff and make sure the light things were strapped down. Nobody wanted to drive behind them after that. :) When we got there the kids went right away to explore and play in the dirt, which they were covered with the entire time we were there, no kidding! Don't think you can keep young kids clean while camping, it's not happening. The guys got the tents up and the girls watched the kids and helped put stuff in the tents. We then walked down the hill of all hills to get to the beach. This is the one I tried to put my sister into labor with last year. (Ask her about it, if you don't already know.) I don't know why I thought I could keep my kids out of the water, I should have just put their bathing suits on. The kids were soaked, especially helping my dad look for sand crabs (they were using for fishing). That night went great for us. Kaylee will tell you more about her view on the night :) The kids had so much fun the entire time! We went to the beach everyday, played around camp, rode bikes, flew a kite, played with other kids around camp, got manicures from grandma, ate smores every night, roasted hot dogs, went surf fishing and ate a lot! At least it felt like I was eating all the time with all the snack foods around. The guys went fishing a few times and caught some fish. They even caught a few leopard sharks. We also saw a couple skunks and rabbits around. One night I heard something outside my tent, so of course I get up to see what it is. I crawl halfway out the tent and see something black and white messing with our trash bag, which we forgot to throw out. I realize it was a skunk so I try to throw a stick at it and it didn't move. I tried a rock next and it runs away. I then hurry back into the tent and realize I just threw a rock at a skunk, Bad Idea! Luckily he didn't spray, that wouldn't have been pleasant! Anyway, the camping trip was a blast and we all had a lot of fun. This will leave us and especially the kids with a lot of fun family memories.

Lauren and Emily

Getting down and dirty!

Monkeys in the tree

Fishing with Papa

Roasting hot dogs