Collett Family Chronicles: November 2017

CAMPING AT DAVY CROCKETT NATIONAL FOREST

Between new baby, pregnancy and fear of zika, and the extreme summer heat, this was our first attempt at camping in Texas. Jared and Nathan have done Fathers and Sons outings in cow pastures a few times, but we wouldn't consider that real camping. We decided to head east to the piney forests and we weren't disappointed. The lake was lovely and trees were tall and beautiful. It almost made us feel like we were in the mountains again--until the heat and humidity brought us back to the reality that it is more like a swamp than an alpine forest. Fortunately the humidity fell the second day, and by the third day, the temperature fell and it was very pleasant.

The hammock was everyone's favorite spot to hang out.

Audrey was super excited and didn't sleep much for us. We couldn't get her to bed until 2 am and then she refused to nap the next day. Finally she fell asleep sitting up at the picnic table at 5 pm.

Jared taught the kids the proper way to build a fire. They had fun learning how to use a hachet.

Since the kids were missing homeschool days, we decided to make the trip educational by having them keep nature journals of what they saw. Nathan worked hard passing off things in his new Cub Scout book.

We didn't see any deer or large wildlife, but we saw a lot of pretty wildflowers, interesting insects, mushrooms, toads, and even a fossil.

Our first night was extremely hot, but it cooled down the next day so we were able to go on a few hikes. They felt more like nature walks than hikes though because the the ground was so flat.

Our course everyone's favorite part were the SMORES by the campfire.

INTERVIEW!

Jared was excited to get an interview for Midwestern University in Glendale, AZ. He felt that his interview went well and he was really impressed with the school. We also think that the location will be good for our family. It would be close to our family and to a temple and Costco. Please pray that he can get an acceptance here.

PUMPKINS

We went to a pumpkin patch nearby. It wasn't as cool as the ones in Washington, but the kids still enjoyed it.

The kids each picked out their own little pumpkin and we got a large one for carving.

Maddy and Nathan balanced each other out perfectly on the teeter totter.

Audrey on a hay bale

Maddy getting buried in corn.

Tug of war with mom. I think the kids are winning.

Jared has been reading The Hobbit to the kids, so he did this carving of Bilbo Baggins in honor of it.

HALLOWEEN PARTY

Our good friends the Greys invited us to their Halloween party. The kids had fun decorating cookies, painting pumpkins, hitting a pinata and exploring their large acreage.

HALLOWEEN FUN

All dressed up for trick or treating. This was our year to not buy costumes, but we had enough on hand that everyone was covered except for Abby who bought her butterfly wings for $5 and made her own headband out of pipe cleaners.

Butterfly