Duck Valley in Early June

We took a few days in early June and went fishing and camping with Michael's parents. It was an interesting experience. There was the usual fishing, smores, and walks in the sagebrush. There was also rain (lots of rain) and strong winds. One afternoon I was in the tent with Grace while she was napping. A storm moved through and I ended up holding up the tent from the inside as the wind bowed the entire side in. The storm moved past and the tent was none the worse for wear. Our poor dog hid in the van most of time; she was not fond of the rain.

I would like to say that the trip was just what we needed but it didn't seem to work out that way. My back was was tied in knots, the kids lost their good humor after the first day of rain, and Michael's patience began to wear thin with all the unhappy campers. I've decided I need to go fishing at Duck Valley when I am not pregnant. Grace seemed to be pretty happy but ended up with a monster diaper rash that we are still dealing with. The joys of vacation. The bright side is we were all very happy to get home.
Day 1 - Going fishing with Grandpa (in the rain). Both Ethan and Libby managed to catch one fish. They never did manage to eat any fish, though.

Day 2 -- The kids wanted to dig a hole so I sent them off into the sagebrush and told them they could dig as much as they wanted. Shortly thereafter Libby returned to camp and told me she was thirsty. She asked if she could drink from my water bottle and take it back with her. She told me she was so thirsty she would probably drink it all. A few minutes later I wandered back to check on the kids and was informed they were making a pond. Sneaky little bugger.

Grace spent most of the vacation eating and getting dirty. Her life was good.

Day 3 (our last) -- The kids were enthralled with this old fashioned water pump. We thought we would take a couple of pictures to commemorate it. Ethan looks ticked because he wanted to go first. Libby is about four seconds from screaming bloody murder after whacking herself in the head with the pump handle. Good times.

Family photo taken shortly before leaving. We wanted to be sure we would always remember every moment of joy this trip brought us.