Early July Trippin'

Back in early July I got to go to Girls Camp!  It was ward camp this year, and last year we did a pretty significant fundraiser...sooooo....here is our "camp site" at Reid Ranch:

 Here is a shot from the inside...the girls' bedrooms were upstairs, the leaders were downstairs, and lets just not even mention the hot tub on the deck or the private pool out back (nope, I'm serious...it was the best camping I have EVER done),

 We rode horses, we canoed, we did archery and mini golf and also did skits and crafts and hunted snipes...the usual camp stuff.  We also ate soft serve ice cream in the cafeteria at every (prepared for us) meal.

BEST GIRLS CAMP EVER!  I need to get my hands on some more pictures since I obviously only took pictures during the first 5 minutes of camp...in my defense I forgot my phone charger and was trying to conserve batteries...anyways.  Trust me.  It was super fun.

I drove straight from Reid Ranch (which is out by Duschesne somewhere) to the cabin.  It was about a 4 hour drive.  I was ready to be done driving by the time I turned up the hill towards the cabin, but it looked so beautiful across the farms that I had to take a quick picture of the sky over the hay field.

 It was good to see the hubby and the kids after a few days away!  I think Preston was especially happy to see me too.

The next morning I got up to do a run since I hadn't had time to do any at camp.  Olive was more than happy to accompany me (she starts following me around whenever she sees me in my running clothes).  My favorite run at the cabin lately has been up Fish Haven canyon.  I usually let Olive off the leash once we get into the canyon since there is usually nobody else up there but me.  I was 3 or 4 miles up the canyon when Olive and I happened upon some cows, which had been put up there to graze.  Olive froze and stopped.  I slowed down and started walking, and the cows of course scattered out of my way and I continued on up the trail.  I passed the cows and turned around, but Olive refused to approach the big scary monster-cows.  I called and called her, but she stayed put.  Finally, I called her in my "serious voice" and she jumped up in the air about a foot and then took off DOWN the trail away from me as fast as she could.

Olive will sometimes chase a rabbit or a squirrel in the canyon for a minute or two, but after a bit she always catches back up to me.  I started running, thinking that Olive would eventually follow, but after a couple of minutes and no sign of the dog, it was clear that she was going to show up, so I turned around.

I ran back down the trail and passed the cows, but still didn't see Olive.  I ran a couple more miles...STILL no Olive.  I had to run down the canyon and up the hill out of the canyon towards the cabin before I had cell phone reception.  I was worried Olive was going to show up back at the cabin alone and Preston would worry about me, so as soon as I could find a bar I called him.  Olive wasn't at the cabin.  I told him the story, and kept running back.  Still no Olive.  Preston herded the kids in the car, and we set off to look for our wayward doggie.

We drove up and down the canyon,  Cora and I walked the trails where the car couldn't go.  We called her name, we asked people, we drove and walked and called and asked.  Finally, around lunchtime, Cora and I had walked all the way back to the cabin, and still no Olive.  She has my cell number on her tag, but no one had called.  Cora was just starting to ask if we could get a new dog when I heard the jingle of my doggie coming up the road.

Hooray!  Stupid dog!

She was covered in about 27,000 sesame-seed-size burrs, and she was VERY thirsty.  I called Preston to tell him the good news and he headed home.  We started pulling burrs out of the dog when we noticed that she was bleeding from somewhere.  We did some investigating and she had quite a big cut in her armpit.  Uh-oh.

We had invited some friends up for the long weekend, and they showed up in the midst of the drama.  The nearest vet that was open was in Logan, so Preston drove her there while the rest of us headed to the pool!

 While we were splashing around, Olive was getting some stitches in her armpit, and the doctor said it was a "classic barbed wire injury."  Apparently Olive had gone off-trail to find her way home.  She was now forced to wear a shirt for the next two weeks until she got her stitches out.  Here is Preston, working on pulling out some more burrs, which took the REST OF THE NIGHT.  Stupid dog.

 The next day we happily left Olive home to rest and headed to the beach:

 It was a really nice day, and the kids had a great time playing in the sand and the water.

 And, of course, waverunning!

 Cora was thisclose to losing a tooth, and looked a little goofy:

 Little P was so adorable I had to take a picture.

 The kids had a great time showing the friends how to make dribble sandcastles!

The next day we drove up to Bloomington Lake hike.  The kids saw this great bit rock out in the middle of a field and had to run over to it and climb it.

 This is the only picture I took, because as soon as we got to the lake, we all took off our socks and waded in...and Arden promptly slipped and landed on a rock with her tailbone.  She was a little embarrassed and a LOT hurt.  She had bruised her tailbone pretty good, and I had to carry her back down the trail, without bending her at all.  It was not easy!

She had to lay down in the car because she was in too much pain to sit. What a fun weekend we are having!  Arden took it easy the rest of the day and I stayed back at the cabin with her and the injured dog while everyone else headed back to the pool.

The next day we just did church and movies and cleaning mostly, and headed back home.  More of an eventful trip that I like to have!  I was ready to go back to girls camp and relax ;-)  After a few days (and a donut pillow), Arden was feeling much better.  Olive got her stitches out and is as good as new.

But still afraid of cows.

Stupid dog.