The Keene Family

Last year, we spent one weekend a month camping at Crystal Mountain, which we love to do. This year, we've been a little busy (ha) and haven't made it up there until this weekend. The kids love playing in the snow after the ski day is done. We also went on a "snow walk" to the lodge and back, most of which the kids spent trying to find the largest snowballs possible to throw at their parents.   Haley and I wore our new "ski like a girl" sweatshirts together too. 💕 I am so proud of Haley. She doesn't love love skiing like the rest of us, but she has a great attitude about it anyway. She challenges herself frequently, and puts forth huge effort to improve. (She is already a great skiier!) This trip was no exception. She had trouble coming down a black diamond mogul field thick with snow, and lost her ski twice. The next run, I suggested we try a different way, and she responded, "Or we could do that again and I can do better....

We just love getting away for the weekend in our camper! I made reservations for Lincoln Rock State Park months ago and the kids were excited to visit there for the first time. Can you see the profile of my favorite president on the cliff face? We also got to install Jim's birthday gift from Haley... a new mat for inside the camper door! ...and we used Jim's birthday gifts from my parents - camping tables that were perfect for playing cards and holding snacks. Yay! The first day was a little cloudy but we enjoyed getting out in the warm Eastern Washington air. We rode scooters, tubed, ate s'mores, played tennis and basketball together, and enjoyed the sunshine. On the way home, I snapped this awesome photo of our sweet set-up. Now for a better way to transport the bikes...

We spent four whole days at Crystal Mountain last week! First, the kids and I went (and took my nephew Preston with us) over winter break. It was a gorgeous day, hardly anyone was on the mountain, the snow was great, and the kids were positively ripping! What a great view on the way up the mountain... And then, on Friday, we four Keenes headed back up the mountain in the camper for the weekend, which we positively love. We got a text on the way up the mountain that the RV lot was already full - but we took a chance and still went up to the lot. When we arrived, we heard that a few people were pulling out that night and we could take a spot right near the shuttle stop with a great backdrop. Yes! God totally handled that for us!  This is the view from the camper kitchen/back door. The kids got started playing in the snow right away. Jim and Haley went up night skiing while JT played with the other camper kids and I made dinner.  We tested out our n...

We realized at the beginning of October that we were on a streak: we'd planned a camping trip every single month of 2018 - except November. So we quickly took a look around and decided to book two nights at Lake Chelan's city park for Veteran's Day Weekend. It was such a fun trip! We arrived late Saturday night (leaving after JT's football game) and woke up Sunday morning to gorgeous fall weather. First stop: tennis courts. Then we took a bike ride to downtown Chelan and just happened to be riding by when the Veteran's Day parade began. Of course we stopped and watched. Then we rode all the way through Riverwalk Park. On the way back to the campground, we stopped at the local bakery for treats. The kids spent the afternoon making a huge leaf pile. We filmed in slo-mo and boomerang while they jumped in from every possible angle. We took a walk to the park and then along the beach as well. Then we came back to the campsite for a c...

I have always wanted to do a fall trip to the coast, and with our camper we now have the chance to do that. So we scheduled a weekend at Pacific Beach with our friends the Bonnells, and we had the best time!