Camp Joseph

Chad realized that he had a long weekend the first week in August. We made a last minute decision to load the kids in the car in head to Sharon, Vermont to see the birthplace of Joseph Smith.

We stopped in New Hampshire at a rest area along the way because Annie needed a diaper change and a change of clothes. It turns out the the rest area was code for the State Liquor Store. Actually when you get off the ramp their are two buildings, the State Liquor Store and the restrooms. We opted for the restrooms.

Emily had seen us pack graham crackers, chocolate and marshmallows for s'mores for our trip. She decided that she couldn't wait for the campfire and need to sample some at our stop. So here we are in the parking lot of the State Liquor Store/ rest area with Emily eating graham crackers and marshmallows in the driver's seat with legs up on the wheel saying all the while, "This is the best rest area ever!"

Annie promptly requested a graham cracker of her own.
Dad, notice the pinkie in the air?

We had been looking to take the girls camping. Some of our friends told us about this little campsite that is owned by the church. Camp Joseph is conveniently located right next to the birthplace of Joseph Smith. We rented one of their little cabins for a night and had a great time.

When we arrived we were very impressed with the campsite. Emily saw the little cabins and said, "This is the best campsite ever! This is going to be so much fun!" We got our keys, unloaded our things and walked up to a little wooded area to find our first cabin. Emily stopped in her tracks nervous of the slightly dark (the sun was beginning to go down) and wooded area.

They had originally offered us the cabin right next to this one that was right by the bathrooms. They said that sometimes the light from the bathroom bothered people, so we decided to take the one a little further from the bathroom. Emily kept saying that it was too dark and she didn't think she want to go into the woods.

Chad went back down to the office and changed out our cabin for the one by the bathroom, hoping there would be a little more light. We brought a flashlight but neglected to bring a lantern, not realizing that the cabins did not have electricity. A very kind fellow camper let us borrow one for the night. Emily was comforted by this and said, "This is the best campsite ever! This is going to be so much fun!"

We unpacked, got dinner ready and set down to eat. Emily saw a chipmunk and that was the end of that. She nagged us constantly, in only a way that Emily can, for the next little while saying she was afraid of the animals and the woods. Chad decided we would not get any sleep that night if we stayed in the cabin. He promptly went and changed out the key for yet another cabin.

The third cabin was in a little clearing, not "in the woods" as Emily said. I guess the third time was a charm. Finally Emily felt okay about camping and said "This is the best cabin ever! This is going to be so much fun!"

The Mansion House (office)

Nice and clean restrooms!

Covered pavilion with tables and cabin used for large group events.

Some of the cabins

This was our SECOND cabin. It was very cute and up in a slightly
wooded area conveniently located right next to a bathroom.

This is our THIRD and final cabin!
All of the cabins had Book of Mormon names. We stayed in Abinadi. Chad was a good sport through the whole thing. He stared a fire for us, then went up and packed up all of our stuff and unloaded it all again. What a guy!

Finally, it was time for roasting marshmallows! Yummy!

Annie loves marshmallows!

Emily's first s'more.

DELICIOUS!

Annie decided to just stick with the untoasted marshmallows.

Cheese!

Anyone remember the game, Chubby Bunny?
Annie figured it out on her own! Ha!

Luckily there was no choking involved.

Relaxing by the campfire.

We survived the night. Emily was so excited about camping that she wanted to talk all of our ears off all night long. We eventually got a couple of hours sleep...I think.

Scrambled eggs and bacon for breakfast.

The girls were all smiles the next morning
and had a lot of fun "camping out".

Emily made Chad and I promise to take her to the playground right after breakfast. There wasn't much to it, but the girls had fun.

Overall our camping adventure was a success. It was a really nice campsite. Maybe we will try it again sometime. :-)