Dave and Jac

Hope Valley Campground - June 30-July 4, 2010

We went camping with our Homegroup for the July long weekend. It wasn't too far from home, to Hope, BC. We had gone there once last year, our last camping trip of the year and quite enjoyed it. It's a private park but a really nice one. You are not packed on top of each other and have some space of your own. Very well done. It's also got a pool which is quite an attraction for the kids. As a group we booked the grassy sites beside the playground and near the pool and pool hall. I must admit I was a bit tentative about taking a grass field vs individual sites but I was pleasantly surprised and pleased with the area we had. Camping with a group is fun, you do pretty much everything together anyway so we might as well be close. There was lots to do. The kids had lots of friends to play with and were off and about all day long. This created lots of chat and game time for the adults. We had a group campfire every night.

The pool was the high light for our kids. Even Matthew was excited to go swimming daily....more than once a day yet too.

Oops.....the sign on the pool gate says, "No running, no jumping, no diving" We broke the rules.

These 4 girls spent so much time together. They were the 'old' kids and had quite a bit of freedom but they still needed supervision at the pool. Most often us moms would bundle up, since it was fairly cold out, grab a cup of some specially yummy coffee, tea or cappuccino, grab a chair and chit chat as the girls had fun in the pool.

We all went for a walk at the Othello Tunnels which is nearby the campsite. It was a great break to get away from the campsite and do something different. Lots of fun times and new adventures.

We all wanted a turn to hold baby Calvin. Nicole was not going to be left out.

We went on another afternoon outing. This time it was to Silver Lake. We brought the fishing rods and had an interesting fishing experience. No fish were caught but it was entertaining to watch close to 10 kids fishing at the same time on a small beach area. Our kids did manage to find some sort of solitude and here's what I captured.

Another 4some picture needed to be done.......but do I see trouble lurking there in the corner? Yes, Dave is there.....not a good sign.....I think something is going to happen!

Matthew and Nathan didn't catch any fish but they caught each other!

If the kids weren't biking around, playing Kubb, soccer or catch, or swimming in the pool the boys were in the pool hall learning a new game. Jake quite enjoyed it. He's got that technical side that needs to figure out angles and stuff like that so this is a good game for him! He's just getting so old and it's fun!

We even had a fire competition of sorts. The boys were always excited to get the fire going and this time they started their own.

The girls were not to be outdone so they decided to get their own fire going too. The girls got theirs going first and could even roast marshmallows on it!