Camping

This is the vacation we look forward to all year long. And as soon as it is over we are already planning the next year. We have been doing this annually since Nicole was a newborn, this was our 12th year. And just to give you an idea of how big this is.....It is only the immediate Mullenaux Family, my parents, siblings and our kids and now their kids. We total 81 and most of us were there I think we were only lacking 3. A Missionary and 2 that are in school in Hawaii. This year we had 8 camp trailers, 3 pop up tent trailers. And I think about 8 tents. Over the years we have added more and more trailers and less tents. It used to be all tents. We reserve a whole campground for a week. It takes numerous trips with numerous trucks to get all our stuff up there. Porta potties, water trailers, tables, chairs and kitchen complete with gas burning stove. Every family is responsible for one meal. We set up our card tables, and ignore our kids for a week. And the best part is we really aren't ignoring them, they are having so much fun playing the only time we see them is at meal time.


Lisa does a craft every year and the last few years we have done silk screen t-shirts.


My mom did a craft for all the kids.


We had a t-shirt contest (my idea) We had some fun t-shirts, my said....Keep Earth Clean, It's Not Uranus. I didn't win! I know, weird uh! The kids spend most of the week either fighting over or begging someone to push them in the tire swing.


The poor hamock didn't make it through the first day before it was broken. There is a question to ponder....How many kids does it take to break a Hammock????? It was nothing a metal stake and alot of duct tape couldn't fix. Rachel is always cutting someones hair.


We even had an improptu scavanger hunt that included a bike ride, a game of hit the bat and a dance performance to Soulja Boy! Paintball, even some of the girls dressd in layers of clothes and played a round with the boys. Night time drives to go spotlighting for deer, the older boys like to sneak off and scare all the kids in the back of the truck, while they are stuggling to see in the dark. Aunt Jane bought the little girls make-up.


On Tuesday and Wednesday night we were at Brenda's trailer to watch So You Think You Can Dance. Yes, we even had a tv with a Direct TV satalite. We had an amazing storm, it dumped so much hail it looked like it snowed. That is when we are thankful for our trailers and DVD players. We even managed to clean up enough to get our family pictures taken, which is no easy task in the mountains. But I just couldn't pass up the beautiful background.







I am so grateful for a wonderful family and memories that will last forever.