Green Valley Falls Campout

We just got back from camping for the long weekend the boys had off of school. We went with our hiking/camping group up to a campground that we went to this same time last year up in Cuyamuca, near Julian. It was a lot of fun, (except the river was mostly dried up because of the drought, so we didn't get to enjoy wading like we did last year). Saturday was Camden's 8th birthday, and he enjoyed spending it at that campground for the second year in a row. We always have fun at these campouts, and this time was especially fun because a couple families from our neighborhood that we are friends with also went this time.  We hiked, climbed rocks, played card games, played a fun new game that involves sitting in a circle and throwing a soccer ball back and forth to different people, relaxed, had some campfires, talked to friends, played in the small amount of water that was in the stream, jumped from rocks, went to church in Julian, and ate some good camp food.  And since we had an extra day at the campground, I took a little time after lots of people had left to walk around and make some notes about the best (and worst) campsites so we can know which one to pick if we go there again next year.   Then on Monday Michael had to come back to work, but the boys and I stayed another day and went with our friends to Julian to try some of their famous apple pie and go apple picking before heading home. It was a very relaxing weekend -- having no cell phone service for most of the weekend was rather nice, I didn't have to remember to check my calendar or even worry about keeping my phone charged. (I do have a lot of emails to catch up on now, though). But even though it was a relaxing weekend, we were all still worn out by the time we got home and got all unpacked.  It's good I had the boys there to help me set up the tent when we got there and take it down and pal up camp, and then unpack everything when we got home. That's a much bigger job for me without Michael, but the boys (and Kolby especially) were very big helpers most of the time.  It's good to be home.