Mill Creek Retreat

This is one of those posts that I kind of already posted on Facebook, but I think of the blog as a time capsule and so I have to duplicate the pictures.  

Our friends won a weekend at the Mill Creek Retreat and they couldn't use it, so they gave it to us.  We are always game for an adventure like this!  I unlocked the door, and the boys ran into the cabin and immediately up to the loft.  They kept saying "we caught a big one!" love read over. 

After we got settled, we had a gourmet meal of sandwiches and doritos while we played cards.  Mike was joining us later, around 9 PM, so we had some time on our hands.  

Time enough for some silly pictures. 

We decided that we should go walk to the river and see if the fish were biting.  This picture makes me laugh so hard because of Luke's face. 

We found a nice little rock slope to walk down and fish from. I couldn't believe how self-sufficient the boys are as fishermen.  They need a lot of help with knots, and of course we didn't catch anything, but still...

They're good little fishermen for being 6 and 8 1/2. 

After the sun set, we headed to the loft for some checkers. Luke and I were a team...which really meant that I suggested a move and Luke said "no we should go here" and then Josh jumped our man.  It was super fun. 

This big fish was very fun -- he came out to watch TV as we waited for daddy.

The fish also came in handy as a pillow.  The cabin was cool and had two Murphy beds...one double and one twin...and the boys snuggled in like best buds. 

The next day we went for a walk to check a campground and a fishing spot, and found a downed tree.  The boys walked down the trunk of the tree, not around it.  Of course not.

We fished a bit from the bridge that lead to the campground.  Luke caught his first cutthroat, so he now has caught all four trout species in his life.  

My favorite part of Luke fishing is the smile he has after catching it. 

Josh tried to catch a fish, but didn't get one.  Even his tongue didn't help him. 

We headed upstream for some fly fishing lessons. Luke and I tried the spinner, and again I'm happy about how self-sufficient he is. 

While we were waiting for Josh and Daddy, I was trying to keep Luke occupied so I asked him to find an  L-shaped rock, and sure enough he was happy until they joined us. 

The boys love to climb rocks...this is about 10-15' higher than the road.  

Ruby is not very photogenic. I blame it on her curiosity.  This is one of the best pictures we have of her.  She is sitting while I have a stick in my hand....distraction 101. 

Since the fishing wasn't super, we decided to have lunch at the Chico Bar and take a dip.  These crazy boys are a lot of fun to swim with! 

This is the Super Hero pose.  I have no idea what Josh's face is all about. Or Mike's duck face.  

This is the pose Mike suggested, and now it's a favorite.  I love that the boys fit on his shoulders.  

The rest of the day must have been pretty uneventful because the next pictures are from Sunday morning.  We went upstream to some private property that looked like ideal fishing. Turns out the river was high and fast and just not ideal. 

This is a super random picture.  Josh's hair has two swirls, and they always make a sticky-uppy mess in the  back.  It's just Josh.  Josh's hair always sticks up.  This is kind of a perfect length for the spike, and I happened to be standing directly behind him.  I love this boy, spikes and all. 

He decided to jump to this rock, further than I would have allowed if I didn't know where the dry clothes were, and he made it!  He's a daredevil.