Payson Lakes Camp Out

We did a little camping trip with our friend Kristen, her kids, and a couple other friends this past weekend at a place here in Utah called Payson Lakes. It was only about an hour and a half from our house in Salt Lake, and since it was close we decided to bring the dogs along to see how they would do camping.

We were so pleasantly surprised that they LOVED it and were almost perfectly behaved! Since it went so well, we plan to bring them along on most of our camping trips in the future. We made foil dinners and cooked most of them in the coals, but a couple made it onto the Coleman stove. We also roasted marshmallows for S'mores and popped up some JiffyPop!! On Saturday, we took advantage of the little lakes! Kristen brought her kayaks and we had some fun playing on the water and enjoying the great outdoors.

I was so proud of myself because I was able to hike around the lake with Bryan and the dogs. It was a small lake, so it couldn't have been much more than a mile, but it wasn't even difficult for me! I've been working out with my TurboJam DVD's the last few weeks and I'm really noticing a difference, which is so exciting for me. After such a long period of inactivity, I feel like all my muscles have atrophied and I've put on some excess pounds, (boohoo!) I've noticed in the last few days that I'm getting some of my muscle tone back and my stamina has improved substantially. My fatigue has also improved greatly, (except for the occasional bad day) and I feel so blessed to be able to slowly get back into the activities that I love.

I still have to stay out of the sun because of the high doses of antibiotics that I'm taking, but I did take a few minutes to get out in a kayak with Bryan. We've been ordering UV protective clothing online so that I can still take advantage of some outdoor activities. We're really hoping that by next month we might be able to try a backpacking trip...I found a place in the Uintas that we can drive to, then hike in only a half mile or so to the lake...it will be a good way to get my feet wet. Bryan and I haven't ever been backpacking together since I've been dealing with this illness the whole time we've been together. It's really exciting to see improvement, and while I have small set backs almost weekly, my good days are getting better and better!! Thanks to Kristen for being so adventurous and willing to let us tag along! I do believe the puppies had the best weekend of their doggy lives, and it wasn't bad for us, either!!