Easter

Happy Easter to all! So I'm slightly late in that wish, but that's because we spent our Easter doing what Dixons/Powers do. We go camping. Ok, so we haven't gone on Easter before, but there IS a first time for everything!

Day 1: We arrive in Payson near Camp Geronimo. Beautiful weather! Emma burns off pent-up car drive energy by racing around like an insano with Missy the insano dog. We are going to meet three other families there (people Chad went to Iraq with the first time around and we consider members of our own family) but we are alone the first night. Using my sharp Power family pyro skills, I start the fire. All. By. Myself. All that fuzz stick practice from girl's camp as a teen pays off. (Click on a photo for a bigger, better view.)

Day 2: The place becomes a dog park as the other families arrive. Good thing we're all dog lovers. (Especially Chris, who keeps french-kissing all the canines.) Sadie works on being the most filthy by rubbing every surface of her fur with ash. Dog slobber, begging and dog hair abound. Emma and I explore the stream and find some exciting (and not so exciting - those caterpillars and I got a tad too friendly with each other when I nearly walked headfirst into their little web-house) wildlife. The rest of the day is spent reading smutty cosmo magazines and Dean Koontz books by the fire. Emma's buddy Kendall shows up so I am relieved of the every-five-minute whine of "I'm BORED!" as they further explore the nearby water. Emma falls into the stream; her shoes are set by the fire and subsequently burned to a crisp when left unattended. RIP, white converse. (I have no clue why I let her bring WHITE shoes on a camping trip anyway.) Good thing we brought a spare pair. (Not my first time camping!)

Day 3: The Apocalypse. WHO ORDERED SNOW?!!! And not the fun make-a-snowman-snowball-fight kind. The entire day is rainy/slushy/hail-y/snowy. It SUCKS. I am NOT a happy camper. (Ha ha! I made a funny.) The car picture was taken EARLY in the morning when I ventured out if the camper (THANK YOU KENDALL!) and promptly ran back to my warm sleeping bag. The evening is redeemed, however, by the Army Men's mad turkey cooking skilz. Fried turkey and stuffing = awesome. Best part? No cooking for the women-folk! (Come to think of it, we didn't do any of the cooking. Chad insists that the MEN cook on these trips, and since Chris seems to have a knack for it and I can't seem to keep from burning grilled cheese in the fire, I'm all for that.)

Day four: Easter. Easter egg hunt in the woods begins. Winston, thrilled that it is again sunny, plants his tooshie on the soft and squishy dog bed and refuses to budge. His pockets are determined to be a great Easter egg hidey hole. I snap the obligatory Chad-with-his-finger-in-his-nose shot. Then we all pack up and go home! As my grandma used to write in the yearly Family Reunion scrapbooks: A good time was had by all!