Camp Zarahemla

Last weekend Kirk had Friday off and we decided to take the kids and go spend some time at Camp Zarahemla.  It is a church-owned camp about 2 hours away, up in the mountains.  During the summer it is used for girls' and scout camps, but they also have some family cabins you can rent.  We left home about 11 and ate lunch in the car.  One of the highlights of the trip was seeing the sun come out as we drove up.  We haven't had a sunny day at home for weeks but had lots of afternoon sun up there.  Our cabin was fun.  It was one big room with a gas-fireplace heater.  It had a queen bed and a set of twin bunk beds, a couch, a table and a kitchen area.  Just outside was a nice porch and a fire pit and we were just up a little hill from the lake. 

We explored around the camp first.  Cade and Kirk discovered a log swing and a stage we took turns performing on. 

There was a little icy hill by our cabin we let the kids sled down.  They would just laugh and say "again!" every time. 

We also built a fire and roasted marshmallows.  Cade and Cami thought it was a great day.  They kept saying they wanted to stay there for lots of nights and they loved how Daddy didn't have a work-day.  It gets dark around here about 5:00 and the temperature was in the 30s, so we went inside after that.  We had some dinner and played dominoes and cards and drove cars around the cabin.  Cade and Cami both fell asleep pretty quickly and Kirk and I got to talk a little bit.  It was nice to just relax and not have internet or other things to do. 

Saturday morning we woke up and had some waffles for breakfast.  Then we went for a drive up to White Pass--a ski resort about 10 miles up from the cabin.  We got out and hiked a bit by a frozen lake and stopped at a waterfall. 

Proof that I was there!

Cade and Cami both loved walking through the snow.  Cade did well walking slowly on the ice and being careful, but he was nervous.  We went back to the camp and had a little snack then did a hike there.  We built another fire and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows for lunch. 

Then we packed up and headed out.  Cami was pretty tired by this point and was crying and saying "no go home.  Stay here."  She needed a nap, but just wanted to stay and play forever!  On the way down to Naches we passed the wintering ground for a heard of elk and stopped and watched them for a bit.  Cami was so excited and kept yelling "deer, deer." 

It was a really relaxing weekend with nothing to do but play and enjoy being outside together.