human jungle gym

When we went camping with all the Shepherds, Colby's younger brother Tyler always had at least one kid hanging on him. They all thought he was their personal jungle gym, climbing up his back, hanging on his arms or legs- just plain pestering him. But he was such a good sport about it. Thanks Tyler, my boys just love you to death!

camping with the Shepherd clan

We went camping with all of Colby's family for the first time ever! We had a great time. The boys loved exploring, painting rocks, wiffle ball, riding bikes, and sharing the tire swing with their cousins.


Don't you just love how dirty Maelyn's face is? She looks just like Colby's sister, Emily. If I were to have a daughter I would hope that she would look just like Maelyn & Emily too. Sorry Emily, I didn't get any pictures of you that weekend, except for the chubby bunny contest with the cheeto balls. I'm pretty sure you don't want me to post that:) On second thought I just might...

This was the first time we brought bikes camping. Blue loved it! You could see him whiz past camp every now and then. He had no fear of the hills either, flying down them following his cousin Kaleb who is three years older than him.

I loved to see all the cousins playing together. The best part about the weekend was that they all got along, no fighting or meltdowns.


What would camping be without a game of wiffle ball. Uncle Tyler was so patient with all the kids.

I just love this picture of Randy and his son Nathan:

the ideal camping spot

My perfect camping spot would include a creek, minimal bugs, an outhouse, and of course a tire swing.


Lucky for me, Colby knows of a place just like this. So we headed up north a few times this summer to relax, explore, and, of course, fish. The boys loved every minute of it. I must say we are finally at a time in our family where it is pleasant to travel with our boys(except for the carsickness). The boys loved to go down to the creek and fish with Colby. They followed Colby where ever he went, even into a few overgrown spots. And then they were so patient just floating their lines down the creek just like their dad. They all got a chance to go fishing with Colby one on one. Beau loved this fishing bag and wouldn't take it off. He fell asleep with it on, rode the tire swing with it on, even in the car- on the way home- he wouldn't take it off.





The tire swing was a huge hit! That is where most of our time was spent. I pushed the boys while Colby just relaxed and watched. ;) I think Colby had the harder job of baiting hooks, then actually catching a fish.


It didn't hurt that we didn't have to sleep on the ground. As new owners of a Jumping Jack, the boys took the opportunity to explore every nook and cranny of it, which didn't take very long since it is simply a tent on a trailer(literally). But we love it!