SWANSON'S LINE UP: camping

This past weekend was another fun-filled trip at Deep Creek. We had quite the crew with both sets of grandparents, Brian and Lynn's family, my sister and Abbi, and the Hansen family. We even ran into some old high school friends camping close to us, so we, our kids and dogs played all weekend. We had a great time riding the four wheelers and hanging out around the fire, even though we didn't eat any smores (Aaron and I are on a serious diet right now). Of course Aaron took the guys out on Saturday for some halibut fishing. The low tide was great for clamming digging, so we (I should say Miles and Bex) decided it would be fun to take the kids clam digging.

I grew up clam digging with my family. I still have many wonderful memories clamming with my dad and sister. Our job was to spot the clam divots in the sand and point them out for my dad to come dig up. That poor man would run from hole to hole as we would shout "I found another one, Dad!!" at the top of our lungs. Aaron has never really had the desire to take our kids out clamming. Let's face it...it is a lot of dirty work for something that you have to clean and that no one really wants to eat.

Anyway, we had a blast!! All the kids were trying to spot clam holes, while Bobbi and I found most of them. Miles was the chief digger, and did a great job even though he was a little rusty at first. Becky, being the true outdoors woman that she is :) decided she needed to get a clam of her own. I almost wet my pants watching her freak out after she shoved her arm down the hole and felt the clam's neck. After she lost that clam, she tried again, and eventually got one. Props to her, because I only use a clam gun to do my digging. The funniest part of it all was the total Rednecks out clamming with us. It was only 11:30 in the morning, but they had their beers in hand. One lady that was showing the kids how to get the clam out of the hole told Sydney to hold her beer for her! She did say not to drink it, but it was quite hilarious. The guy she was with had a radio hanging off his belt playing some sort of old 80's rock music. So funny, but they gave us a lot of great pointers.

The kids had a blast getting dirty, finding all sorts of creatures including hermit crabs, sand worms, dead crabs, and of course, clams. We ended with around 10 clams which I cleaned a few of and even cooked one up for Brady. He loved it, (mostly because it was fried in butter and covered in ketchup) so I guess we need to go again! Sorry, Aaron.

The kids helping Miles play tug of war with a razor clam. He said it actually helped!

Chloee and I with our haul. Chloee was a great divot spotter.

Bex with her well earned catch...not that she will eat it.

All the kids showing off the day's haul.

This past weekend we took our first family camping trip to Deep Creek. We love going there to watch the kids play on the beach, the eagles soar through the trees, and the gorgeous midnight sunsets. We went with our friends, the Brewsters, Hansens, Ponds, and Masseys. Between everyone, there where 12 kids, 4 dogs, four 4 wheelers, and 1 boat. Needless to say, everyone had someone to play with. Dave brought down his daughter, Elle's new kiddie 4 wheeler. It was a big hit with all the kids, and I will send Dave the bill when we have to buy some for our kids. All the dads got to go fishing on Saturday for some halibut where they had a great time even though the fishing is a little slow this early in the season. We ended up with 5 good eating size fish and some sunburns. It was so nice to just sit by the fire and talk and do nothing. Alaskan summers are why Alaskans tolerate the winters, and I am so excited to get out play as much as we can this summer. Love to you all.