Rain + Dirt = Mud Campin'

Fourth of July was incredible.  We went to our land up north and camped in our 5th wheel trailer that remains on the property.  We have several acres in Antelope Valley, sandwiched between Heber and Holbrook, Az.  The weather was breezy and in the mid- 70's... talk about unreal! 

Luke and I played catch outside followed by 5 games of Uno.  The girls played inside drawing animals with their crayons.  We ate a simple dinner of hot dogs and cut up watermelon.  As Jim cleaned up I read stories to the kids.  Once it was fully dark we lit off fireworks.  Beautiful thunder storms rolled through the night as we slept.  The clouds were beyond description.  I love clouds as much as I love trees.  My two favorite things in nature.  I cannot clearly say why I love trees so much, but I have a deep love for them.   


The following morning was July 4th.  We went to the parade in Heber which is 30 minutes away from our land.  It was a great time.  

When we returned back to our trailer the road was washed out with a river, small, but still a river.  We couldn't get back to our trailer.  More thunderstorms were coming and this time the sky was ominous... looked almost like a tornado type of cloud swirl. 

We left our car and trekked through the water back to our camper.  It's a mile and a half walk from where we parked.  The kids were troopers.  The dirt was mud that sucked your foot right in.  Jim worried our car would get stuck in the mud.

Water came up to my knees

Luke found a frog on the way

 After arriving at the trailer, we gathered what we could carry on our backs and headed back toward the car.  Luke stepped in cactus but was tough about it.  Tayler loved every single second of the adventure and Bridget was not a fan at all.  It sprinkled and drizzled rain on us the whole time.  We all held hands walking back on the road. 

 I thoroughly loved it.  When we got the to car we were wet and muddy.  But smiling.  It was incredible being with my family. We talked about pioneers and how the trekked day in and day out like this.  We sang songs and just made jokes and laughed along the way.  To me, this is what family is.... making the best of a less than ideal situation.  We were outside in nature together, no electronics, or any other distractions.... just the five of us. 

We drove back to Mesa and arrived around 7 pm.  After changing and dinner we had our own firework show in the front yard.  Neighbors up and down the street were doing the same thing so it was quite a scene in the sky on our street. 

When Jim and finally went to bed that night I told him this was my favorite 4th of July I've ever had. Lots of things went wrong but it was with the right people, so it didn't feel so wrong after all.