Camping Grand Supreme

There is a lot of bad stuff on television. Do not watch Toddlers and Tiaras on TLC. I actually had to turn it off when Karina came into the room, because it is inappropriate for young children to see. Deeply Disturbing. Just like this weekend's camping trip. Unsettling. Strange and wonderful wrapped in the same dirty package. But, if you have ever seen the show, or know anything about child pagentry... you know why we are proud "Grand Supreme Campers". Hooray for the first annual Gonzalez Family Conference Camping Trip!

Due to the sacred nature of General conference, and in honor of hearing the words of Prophets and Apostles of the Lord instructing us on the importance of the bonds of family, we decided to abandon every last breath of sanity and good judgment that we had, and enjoy some good quality time as a family... of wildebeest.

If this was a camping beauty contest - we took first place. We were the "Grand Supreme" belles of the ball.
First, Miss Photogenic!
That is right. Our little pop up was the prettiest little trailer in the whole state of AZ! This is her good side!
As previously promised:
Miss Blue Collar Beauty!
That is right! Due to circumstances beyond our control... we used a 2009 Cadillac Escalade to pull our 25 year old pop up tent trailer. If I SOLD MY HOUSE I would not be able to live in this car... but I could live somewhat comfortably in the trailer. That is her - dying of embarrassment behind the trailer.
But I digress...
Mister Child Neglect Prevention
Thanks to a trade on Craigslist, we picked up this tiny quad. Without proper supervision or safety training from her parents, Karina left it "on". JJ jumped on, hit the gas and fortunately for us - hit a rut and got stuck before he went off the mini-cliff on the other side of the trailer.
Miss Smoky the Bear
We learned our lesson from camping at Seven Springs last week. We couldn't even be sure if it was as cold at Stoneman Lake because we bought (paid THREE TIMES!!! what it was worth at Cabela's) an open flame and kept it going constantly in the paper trailer with little ventilation or room to move safely avoiding catching clothes, hands or in Karina's case - elbows - from getting a little too close.
Miss Frugal: After spending so much on the heater, we were short on funding. We had to employ some multi-taskers. As you can see, this potty doubles as a table for Karina's breakfast. (dinner from the night before is also doubling as breakfast!)
Miss Good Neighbor: Our camping neighbors, President Webster and his wonderful wife, Mary, seemed to take pity on us and shared their leftovers with us. We ditched the sandwiches that I had prepared back at home, and all of us were able to feast on their generous donation. Guero said it was the best camp food he ever had, so he took a picture of our leftovers. It WAS pork chops, with Potatoes, green beans and mushrooms.
Mister Right on the Money:
JJ says, "My parents have lost their ever-lovin' minds"
We'll see ya next year folks when Donny Osmond will host the 2010 Camper's Pageant!