Mirror Lake

   Back in August, the month of camping for our family, we went camping with my parents up at Mirror Lake.  I have many fond memories of camping at Mirror Lake. It was one of my favorite places to go when I was growing up. Anyway, I have made it a tradition for our family to go up to Mirror Lake with my parents every year, whether it's just for a day of fishing or a couple days of camping. This year we went up camping for a couple night. It was so much fun!

   It took my little family a little while to get up to our site. Lucky for us, my parents are much more on top of things and they managed to grab a great site for all of us. When we finally managed to get up to the lake, we hurried and set up our tent. It was starting to get chilly and we wanted to make sure that we weren't setting up in the dark either. We then started on dinner. Spaghetti. Who makes spaghetti when they're camping, you, Dave and everyone else in the world, might ask? My family! It was spectacular too! Spaghetti with corn on the cob. Yum! 

 

My dad, Piper and Lily working on the sauce.

 

Dave getting the fire started.

 

Mina playing around in my parents pop up trailer. 

 

   After dinner, the temps really started to drop. It was really cold!!! It was around 50 degrees for the majority of the time we were there.  Call me a wimp, if you must, but it was the middle of August! I was expecting warmer temperatures! Anyway, the three oldest children were smart and decided to sleep in the trailer with my parents. That left Dave, Mina, Matthew and I sleeping in the tent. We bundled up the little ones and they fell asleep pretty quickly. Dave and I snuggled up to each other and shivered until our body heat finally warmed up our sleeping bags. As Dave said that night, "What the heck do your parents like about camping up here! It's freezing!" I had to agree with him at the moment but honestly, the majority of other camping trips up to Mirror Lake were very pleasant temperatures. I was sad that he didn't get to experience one of those times.

   The next morning, we woke up to rain. Rain, rain and more rain. It rained most of the day. We ruled out the hike we were planning to take and spent most of the time playing board games in the trailer. The rain stopped around mid afternoon and we took a short walk along the lake. (You have to visit the lake at least once during each trip!) It was cold but still pretty.

 

 

 

Doesn't everyone look so happy!!!

 

I can always count on a smile from my sweet Mina.

 

 

Heading back up to our site.

 

   We started on dinner when we got back. Taco Salads! Who has taco salads while camping? We do! They were awesome. I had three helpings!

 

Castor fell asleep while waiting for dinner. Looks comfy, eh?

 

Little Matthew-man! Love him!

 

   After dinner, we went back to the lake to try some fishing. The sun decided to make an appearance for a little while. Too bad it was going down. We only had maybe an hours worth of sunlight. Boo! Unfortunately, we didn't catch anything, unless you count the line that Piper accidentally pulled in that had a dead fish on it. (I personally don't count it but you can if you must.)

  

 

 

 

 

 

   After we came back from the lake, we decided to do some marshmallows and popcorn. My dad LOVES roasted marshmallows. I think he ate the same amount as everyone else combined! Gotta love him! While I was growing up, we always popped popcorn over the fire. It was one of the best parts of the trip for me. I love that my kids get to experience it too. We made two batches. Dad was holding a sleeping Matthew so Dave and I each made one batch. It's not easy shaking the popper over the fire but the end result is worth it!

 

 

My mom getting the popper ready for the fire.

 

   That final night was pretty exciting! NOT! Let's just say that having three helpings of dinner was a bad idea because I had to run out of the tent in the middle of the night and puke all over a poor little tree. (Gross, I know. Sorry) I was fine afterwards though so, who knows what was up. My parents have this little portable toilet that we used when we were little because my parents didn't want to have to haul 6 children back and forth to the bathrooms during the night. They brought it up for our trip. My poor dad. I don't think he got any sleep. Piper woke him up saying that she needed to use the bathroom. After getting her taken care of, back in bed and then getting settled in himself, Castor woke up saying he needed to use the bathroom. My dad, thinking he's just going to pee, gets Castor settled on the little potty and then hears, "I'm going poop." What! Well, my awesome dad gets Castor all taken care of and goes to bed. The next morning, as we're getting all packed up, my mom tells me about their eventful night. Gross! I pointed to the little potty and said, "There's poop in there!?" My mom, totally non-fussed says, "Yeah. We'll just dump it when we get home." What! My parents are troopers. I would NOT be able to do it. YUCK!

   Despite the cold, it was such a fun trip. Just being together as a family made my whole trip. I am looking forward to next year!

 

   P.S. I should tell you that the day we left, it was sunny and beautiful...for a bit. My parents left a little bit after we did and they said that some majorly black storm clouds were rolling in when the left the lake. They even passed through a downpour on their way down. Hopefully, next year we see more sun. =) 

 

   P.P.S. My parents are so awesome! They made us pancakes, eggs, hash browns and bacon for our breakfasts. They like to use the already cooked bacon but because I said that pancakes cooked in bacon grease are the best, they brought up uncooked "real" bacon for me. Honestly, I have the best parents because they will do anything for me, my little family, and all of my siblings and their families. I sure do love my wonderful mom and dad! (And the pancakes cooked in bacon grease were beyond the best! They were oh so beyond fantastically good!)