Summer's Last Hurrah!!

Every Labor Day weekend, my family goes camping. It's kind of our own little family reunion of sorts. All of my aunts and uncles from my dad's side (well, with a FEW exceptions) goes hunting and camping on Labor Day weekend. We look forward to it every year.

A few years ago (when Jake was a baby) I was camping alone with my boys. I was trying to zip up our tent (the zipper was broken) and looked out to see a coyote just a FOOT away from my face. I screamed to scare the beast away and ended up scarring Cameron for life. The boy will NEVER forget the night we saw a coyote.

We almost double the size of the little city we camp at, but they love it.

This weekend will be our last summer hurrah. We won't be able to go camping after this....unless we want to freeze our buns off. We are going to eat SUPER yummy food (dutch oven ribs, chicken, cobbler...) and we'll laugh and have a good time.

The highlight of the trip for my boys is going shopping in Salmon. We hit up Kings and Alco and find some obnoxious or cool finds. The boys have already discussed what they HOPE to find.

All in all, it should be tons of fun. Enjoy your last little bit of summer before autumn really sets in. (And I get REALLY happy for the cool air and the pretty colors.)

Camping: Success

It worked, but not ideally.

Sleeping in the suburban was a bit of a feat. The inflatable mattress was too big to fit between the wheel wells, so I had to deflate it a bit, which means my hip bone was on the floor all night long. I guess the boys didn't care, both of them slept VERY well.

I got to spend time with my aunts and uncle that I don't see that often, it was SO much fun. They're all pretty funny and tell a good story.

The boys were thrilled to go fishing with Grandpa and Uncle Wes. The first night out Jake caught a fish (never mind that it was actually on my dad's pole, it was Jake's to reel in...) He was so thrilled that when he got back he came into the motor home SCREAMING, "MOMMY!! I CAUGHT A FISH!!!" He was so proud of that rainbow fish.

The next trip out Cameron caught HIS fish. He was less excited than Jake, but that's not hard to do. Both boys were completely satisfied with their fishing exploits. (My uncle told me that he LOVED having the boys go fishing with him and my dad, and that any time they want to go out, he'd be happy to go with them.)

This picture expresses BOTH boys' phobia of touching the slimy fish....*giggle*

On Sunday we took a road trip to my favorite of all pretty places: Wade Lake, Montana. It was a LONG drive there, but the scenery was absolutely BREATH-taking. The mountains with their snow capped peaks...the green fields, the rivers roaring along....absolutely BEAUTIFUL! We spent about 20 minutes at Wade Lake, enough time for my dad to sit in fresh dog poo, Jake and Cameron to go wading in the lake (and soak up their pants) and for me to drop my camera in the lake. Don't worry, all is well. It was so fun and just BEAUTIFUL!

Today we packed up and left. I was sad to see the weekend end, but was excited about the shower to come.

Tonight is the fireworks show, and I am debating on whether to go down there by myself and the boys or not. Usually I'd have my parents with me, but I just found out my mom had a nasty fall and has probably dislocated her hip. She and my dad are at the hospital....we haven't even had our annual 4th of July picnic. :( I hope she's okay.....my mom in even MORE pain would not be fun.

Update: I did end up going to the fireworks, I met Steve at work and we walked just to the off-ramp nearby. Even though it was through the trees the boys enjoyed the show. (And I wasn't by myself in the huge crowd...)

My mom is at home and recovering well. She didn't dislocate anything. (*whew*) BUT she did pull several muscles and is on some heavy-duty pain killers and riding around in a wheel chair. She should recover quickly. (*whew*)

Big Weekend

Usually we let the 4th of July weekend go by without much fanfare, but this year, we've decided on an impromptu camping trip. Unfortunately, since it's impromptu, that means Steve can't come, because he has to work, but the boys are REALLY excited about going.

The ONLY hesitation the boys had was missing our town's parade. I'm all for it, because I've been IN this parade for many MANY years, and then watched it for many MANY years, and it's not that impressive...in fact, it really sucks. We won't miss MUCH, but the boys are devastated. I told Cameron that I'd ride around in a car and throw candy at him (Jake piped in and said, "Mom, you'd HURT him!") I have even offered to buy the boys their own flags.....this has calmed them a bit, but they're still disappointed. They WILL survive, I'm sure.

Because I'm tired of putting up my tent all alone, we're doing a car camping trip this time. We'll sleep in our suburban. Since all we really ever did in our tent was sleep and dress, I figured it wasn't that big of a deal....we'll see once the weekend's over if this is a good plan or not.

I'm excited to spend this holiday out in the woods. I absolutely LOVE Independence Day and all it stands for. I get weepy when I hear those special patriotic songs and my heart stirs when I see flags flying around town.

We are truly blessed to be living in this country with the few freedoms we enjoy. God must have helped out those Founding Fathers for them to have created such a special Constitution for our lives.

God Bless America!

Pure Bliss

I just returned from a fantastical weekend away with my boys and my family camping. (Sadly, Steve couldn't come, even had to work on his birthday.) Usually we go north for our camping, but this year I suggested a different location, and we've discovered that we LOVE this newer place.

I had worried about the weather. I'm still a tent-camper at heart, so I worried about the high speed winds we'd been experiencing at home. I decided that if all else failed, I would sleep with my boys in the suburban.

Late Friday evening we found our spot and it was LOVELY. There was little to NO wind. I was ecstatic.

Saturday was even MORE beautiful than I'd expected. We had camped by a few snowbanks, but we weren't too worried. My boys went fishing with Grandpa and I was free for a few hours....I totally napped, guilt-free!! It was THE best. Then, the boys came back, boasting of their fishing adventures. (They caught garbage fish, so both fish were killed and not allowed back at camp, but Jake would tell proudly of how his grandpa "boke" the fish and there was lots of "b'ood!") Everyone was toasted...love sunburns, right?

That night the rain clouds came in. It rained a lot on Sunday, but we were with my parents and their "40-foot-Hilton on wheels." We watched movies and just sat in the warmth of the motor home.

Then this morning it was rainy again, and we knew we needed to pack up. I have yet to find the motivation to lay out the wet things to dry, but I will soon...I have to!

It was truly a beautiful weekend and one that I know my boys will treasure for years to come. I absolutely LOVE camping on Memorial Day weekend!

Camping in a Hole

We decided to have our own little camping trip this weekend. Steve's family was going to have a barbecue, and we thought it would be nice to camp while Steve had the time off. Packing was a nightmare. Usually we go camping with my parents, who have a HUGE RV, and this time we had to take it ALL with us in our itty-bitty car. (Have I mentioned on here that the van is out of commission for a while? It's drivable for short distances, but anything longer than a mile away makes me leery.) We used the car-topper, and managed to fit it all snugly in the car. Thank goodness we were only doing ONE night...more than that and we might not have fit it all in.

Steve's brother found us a nice little campground, but it was windy, dusty and FILLED with earwigs. *Shudder* The boys had fun and we saw wildlife. On my way back from the outhouse (in the dark) I saw a deer. It looked at me, did a double take, then ran off. It was cool, but kinda creepy.

Then we had a fun barbecue with the family. It was a lot of fun. Jake and Cameron played with their cousin (who likes to play rough, and they're not used to it...) and I had some good conversations with the family.

We're sad it's over so soon, but glad to be home as well. It was an adventure....in earwigs. Did I mention those things were EVERYWHERE?! For example, we have a nice tent. On each of the 4 corners there is a little thing that holds up the poles. We took the tent down and had to shake out the corners and had HUNDREDS of earwigs come out. Seriously GROSS!! Then when we were at my brother-in-law's house and pulled out our lawn chairs THEY were covered with earwigs. SO SO SO gross!!

Glad to be home, earwig free. *fingers crossed*

Camping Highlights?

Camping this last weekend was....well, adventurous? My parents went up first, and ended up getting stuck in their giant motor home. They called me (thank heaven for cell phones) and asked me to bring up my dad's (*HUH*) truck. They also asked me to bring up a tow chain, not a rope, a CHAIN! I immediately called my brother, who was at my parents' house, and asked him to see if he could find a tow rope and chain. After a while, he called me back to say the tow rope dad had was frayed and he could NOT find a chain.

I braved Walmart (the day before the big holiday weekend. Insane? I think so...) and found a few things in the "towing" section. I bought a new tow rope (towing up to 5,560 pounds) a tow chain (that tows up to 5,000 pounds) and a ratchet tow chain, thingy, (that tows up to 2 tons). I took all of my stuff, that I had carefully packed in my van, and threw it into the truck's extra crevices. I turned on a movie for the boys to watch, plugged in 6 of my favorite CDs and took off.

After arriving, I was shocked to find that they WERE stuck, but at least they were off the main road. We ended up staying put that night, and all of us slept in the RV.

The next day I was anxious to get my tent up (for me, it's not really "camping" unless I'm under a thin layer of nylon, hearing wildlife and rain (or snow) above me.

Within 10 minutes, we had the motor home pulled out of it's hole (not without problems though, the jack would NOT come up, but we found the manual and my dad fixed it). Then we were off to an alternate site. The place we ended up was not nearly as pretty as the spot where we'd been stuck, but it was nice. We quickly set things up and camped out. I did a LOT of relaxing, while my boys ended up playing with Grandpa (he's their hero...)

Saturday night we made a fire, with lots of wet wood, and roasted marshmallows. I have to admit, I haven't had a good toasted marshmallow in YEARS and these were heavenly. As soon as we had finished, within a minute or so, it stopped dribbling and began snowing. The flakes were quarter sized. I was going to have Jake sleep in his playpen, but since it was SO cold, I ended up letting him sleep with me...which makes a LOUSY night for me, but at least he was warm.

The next day wasn't too bad, especially considering the snow from the night before. We did our own version of church, because there weren't enough seats in the truck for everyone, and we relaxed. After church at home got out, Steve came up with my grandparents. They stayed for dinner and dessert (yummo, cobbler, my specialty) and we had fun. I haven't missed Steve like that in a long time.

The next day was beautiful! But it was also our last day. We packed up early in the afternoon and took off. On the way down the highway, my parents' motor home had a compartment open up, they began losing toys. I hurried past them and got them to pull over. I locked ALL the underneath compartments and we were off again.

Once home, I felt completely gross, and smelled of campfire, but it was a great weekend.

The funny part came after. My dad was talking to my mom about what a great weekend it was. He said that he thought the boys had fun, but that I had been a little grumpy. My mom mentioned that I had PMS. My dad stopped and said, "Oh, well, she was GOOD then!" (*giggle* No offense taken, it's true, I was grumpy, but not as bad as I have been known to be in the past when I have PMS...)

Overall, a great time and lots of fun!

So Excited...but with NO Motivation...

This upcoming weekend is Memorial Day Weekend (I know, you already knew that, didn't you!?) and our family's annual camping trip. Since my parents bought a motor home a few years ago, we haven't been able to get to our usual site (too many high bumps and too deep dips). Last year we tried camping in an actual campsite, one you have to pay for...and the rules stated that we couldn't even let the tires of the 4-wheelers touch the ground inside the campground. It was very sad and quite boring.

This year, we decided that we needed to find a new spot, one where we could play like we want to, and one that's still pretty. So we took a scouting trip on Saturday. The drive was fun. Jake kept calling out when he'd see horses or cows. Then we got to the forest, and Cam began worrying about bears. The weather wasn't very good...it was snowing and blowing, but at least it wasn't sticking. We drove for a while, talking and laughing and then we turned off where my uncle suggested. We drove around a little and came across THE most beautiful campsites I've seen in YEARS. There aren't any outhouses, but that's okay. There's tons of trees, and a little fire pit. There's also a small creek that runs through.

I can't WAIT to go camping now. I was excited before, but now that I know where we're going, it's making the wait almost unbearable.

I have much packing to do (and with that little creek, MUCH laundry to do so I have extra clothes for the boys...) but my motivation to do all the packing has left me. I need to be inspired, but I just don't want to do much of ANYTHING.

Before Thursday, I need to help my mom pack up her motor home, take my camping gear to be stowed on the motor home (including the tent, sleeping bags, mattresses, and playpen...not including my clothing and extra fun stuff), I have lots of laundry that needs done so that the boys can play in the mud and I won't worry about them being cold, and my messy house needs to be in order, so that I can leave. The bummer part is that Steve won't be coming, he has to work, and the saddest part is that he'll be away from us, and working ON his birthday. I know, that's life, but I feel bad. That also means I need to get his birthday present before I leave.....

Oh, so much to do....where's my motivation?

Labor Day Camping and a Few OTHER Things...

We did a LOT of traveling this year. Usually we just go to the campsite, one day-trip to Salmon, and then home...but this year was a little different. We went from camping, to visiting Steve's family, back to camping and then on a side-trip to Meadow Lake before going home. It was a LOT of travel in the car, but we had a VERY enjoyable time.
Our typical side-trip to Salmon provided us with these funny, blue, sunglasses. Jake thought he looked funny, and we did too.

We went to a baby blessing for Steve's "sister." They were pretty much raised as siblings and we thought it would be good for the boys to see their grandparents while we were there. We even *TRIED* to get pictures of all three of the grandsons. They're pretty cute, even if they aren't all smiling.

A few snap-shots of the view from the inside of my tent. It was pretty, and NICE weather. Look at those GORGEOUS mountains!! I LOVE this place. I truly felt closer to God. (On the last night there I spent over an hour praying to Heavenly Father and telling him how GRATEFUL I was for everything in my life...how truly blessed I am! I don't think I've ever felt as close to my Heavenly Father as I do when I'm camping in his beautiful wilderness.)Steve's first visit to Meadow Lake. The lake is basically snow-melt...it's GORGEOUS, clear, blue, but FREEZING! As a quick funny, while we were there (on our way HOME from camping...) we saw my aunt, grandpa and cousins on their day-trip. What a fun place! Someday maybe we'll stay there longer than an hour or so. It could be a fun place to CAMP. (Although, being there at the end of summer, there was still a patch of snow. Still pretty...)

On the road down from Meadow lake I was FASCINATED by the view. We're nearly at the top of the mountain, and the valley just spread out in front of us. I HAD to share the view!

What a fun weekend!!

Camping Highlights

• We left "early Friday morning," because both my dad and husband were working late Thursday night. Steve and I ended up doing a BUNCH of errands before we left. (Turning in rent, buying earthworms for fishing, getting Cam's meds refilled....we left around noon.)
• Met up at the campground with my aunts and eventually was joined by a couple of my uncles. TOTAL family get-together!!
• The first day was GORGEOUS!! It was comfortable enough that I could nap INSIDE my tent. After my nap, I noticed my inflatable mattress (which is 2 tiered, so is pretty high off the ground) was going flat. There was a leak somewhere that we couldn't find.
• That night we slowly sank to the ground on the mattress. By morning, we found rocks that our hips were laying on. NOT fun. All night long I dreamed of buying a new mattress.
• Saturday I took a trip, nearly ALL the way home, to buy a new mattress. I was NOT going to spend another night ON rocks.
• Watched Cam ride his bike over and over. He had a BALL, but by the end of the trip was covered in dust and dirt.
• Watched Jake eat rocks and other yucky things on the ground. A little dirt never hurt anyone, right?
• That night had a HUGE family dinner that was SO yummy (our family's traditional Dutch oven fried chicken, and stewed potatoes). In the middle of the meal got a surprise phone call (yeah, we still had cell service where we were camped!) from one of my online friends.
• Her innocent question sparked a friendly family fight. It wouldn't be a family camp out without one of those!
• Family fight was ended by my brother looking up the information on his iPhone. YAY for Internet intervention! :)
• Slept MUCH better that night on the new mattress....just had Jake waking up constantly.
• Jake was teething most of the time...he's STILL teething....
• Packed up quickly Sunday morning to come home before check-out time. (Noon is a LITTLE early in my opinion, but what do I know?!)
• Had fun! A few mosquito bites (but really, the bugs weren't TOO bad), we're all a little pink in the face, the tub was disgustingly dirty after our baths, house is a bit of a disaster area since we came home and dropped everything....but we had a GREAT weekend!!

Rogue Father and Son Camp-out

This year's father and son camp-out was cancelled last minute due to all the rain we've had lately. I guess the place was a swamp, and they decided they didn't want to lose any boys in the mud.

Some of the men decided that since they weren't sure they could get the next actual father and son camp-out off from work, they'd find another place and go this weekend anyway. Steve was among those rogue men. So he took Cameron and my friend's son. These two are inseparable.

From what I heard it was lots of fun, a little wet, and sort of cold.

The boys got to ride on a trailer being towed by a four-wheeler (I was assured the 4-wheeler went slow so that the boys didn't fall off.)

I know I quite enjoyed the time off from the oldest child bullying the younger one. In fact, Jake fell asleep last night after crying for only 30 seconds instead of the 30 minutes he usually cries when Cameron is here. He even slept in this morning and I did too. QUITE a different child without being bothered by Cameron.

All in all, it was fun for both sides. I hope that they can go to the ACTUAL outing when they plan it again.

My Saturday

Camping out in the backyard was okay. I will NEVER sleep in the same sleeping bag as Jake again. The kid MOVES all night long....and I didn't get much sleep at all.

Otherwise, camping in the backyard was okay. I did miss the lake and the SMELL of the mountains, but I'll get that later in the summer.

BUT, we didn't have an UNEVENTFUL day.

While taking the tent and bedding down we learned that my brother was going to be arrested. I called around and finally talked TO my brother (who I haven't heard from in a LONG time...) He stole things from his work and sold them to make money. He owed almost $500. It was NOT a good thing. Then he wanted us to help him pay them back. UH, NO! I told him that mom and dad had JUST left on a 2 week vacation (they left at 6:00 am), I had no money, and neither of my other brothers could help him...he'd just have to go to jail. I told him I was sorry and that I loved him and told him I'd pass the message onto mom and dad.

When I told my mom, she said, "Well, I hope he learns his lesson." He's old enough now (28) that he SHOULD be responsible for his own mistakes and should have to deal with the consequences. I do feel bad, but at the same time, I hope he learns and does NOT do something this stupid again.

The worst part of his mistake is that Cameron, who LOVES his uncle and really looked up to him, was traumatized by the whole thing. He was scared for his uncle and cried for him. I don't know what this will do to my sweet boy, but I think he'll be a little more thoughtful when he plays police man. Eventually he got over Uncle Shad being in jail, but it did take a good crying session.

Jake learned where Grandma keeps her sucker stash, and learned he can help himself...to peeling it open and eating it. He was a sticky mess.

Then for dinner tonight we had a fun time with Jake. It was his first time eating lasagna, and he LOVED it. All over his face, in his hair, all over his arms and chair....

I'm glad we're home and ready for bed. It's been QUITE a day!

Camping Out

Usually we've had our annual Memorial Day Weekend camping trip planned for a LONG time before we go. This year we decided a week ago that we would go camping, but in a FAR different location.

Usually we head to the hills (mountains) and enjoy a weekend by the lake, watching movies, riding 4-wheelers, and enjoying a campfire. Not so much this time.

This year my parents have decided to take an extended vacation with my grandparents. They're headed East. The trip will last about 2 weeks, in which time they will miss our Memorial Day Weekend camping trip, Steve's birthday, and Jake's birthday. (We will be missing my mom's birthday.) If I had the chance to take this trip with them, I would. But since we aren't going, I'm not sure that we could have gone camping by ourselves (I mean, we COULD have, but we would have missed the fun stuff that we do with my parents and siblings.)

SO our camping trip this year will be in my parents' backyard. Yes, still in town, and not real FANCY, but should be fun. We've got things set up for a wiener roast and s'mores. I think it will be fun. A lot of work for just sleeping in my parents' backyard, but will be fun. :)

My Weekend in a Nutshell....Okay, so it's LONG!

Okay, so I was gone all last weekend with my family on our annual camping trip to Leadore, Idaho....aka middle of nowhere! (Actually it's about an hour away from Salmon.)

Friday: We got there to see my uncle and his boys, who immediately sucked Cam up into their hunting fervor. Uh, not that I WANT him to not ever hunt, but get him so excited NOW?!

Saturday: Our annual shopping trip to Salmon where we hit up Kings and Alco. Sadly, none of the stores had out their Halloween stuff yet....that's our ENTERTAINMENT! UGH!!

That night I heard hundreds of coyotes howling ALL night long. Thank goodness I was safe in my tent, right?

Sunday: (Here's where it gets good....) We went to church where I had a HUGE fight with Cameron. He did NOT want to go to Primary, so I let him throw his tantrum all over the church...not on purpose....when he FINALLY, after 30 minutes of screaming, went to class. Jake decided he needed to eat every hour on the hour....so I got to know the mother's lounge pretty well.

The day started hot and eventually got super windy and cold. The wind was so bad that the fly from my tent nearly blew away. My little brother helped me peg it down with better pegs and we spent the majority of the day in my parents' motor home.

That night the wind was still howling, but we decided to go to bed early (well, early for camping...10 pm) I took the boys with me (Steve had to work) and I attempted to zip up my door's zipper, but it kept splitting. I was getting SO frustrated. One of the many times I was re-zipping the tent I happened to glance out the door and saw, not more than a foot away, a coyote walking toward me. I INSTANTLY screamed. Now, my parents and brother laugh at the type of scream that escaped my lips...it was a PETRIFIED scream. My main reason for screaming was to 1. scare away the intruder, 2. because I was scared SPITLESS!!

My scream scared off the coyote but my little brother (who isn't really "little," he's 26...) came over to help me fix the zipper....wielding a rubber mallet and his tent light. With his help I got the zipper shut, but I was shaking like crazy! Not only that, but Cam was completely freaked out. I helped him say a prayer, but I still allowed him to sleep with me on my bed.

The wind kept kicking it up over and over and I was worried that the wind would actually blow my tent away with me inside of it. I could feel the wind blowing under my mattress and Cam could feel the rain coming through the roof. After saying CONSTANT prayers that my little family would be kept safe I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Not a minute later, my tent wall collapsed on our faces.

I'd had enough!

I dragged my boys and some of our things to my parents' motor home to spend the night on the floor. My brother eventually joined us, and we were person to person on the floor. The only things I'd left in my tent were my inflatable mattresses and sleeping bags.

The next day ALL of it was soaked clear through. The rain had been just as bad as the wind!

Thankfully, I'm home and safe, but sadly, my computer isn't so safe....the fan isn't even turning over. So I'm going to be sneaking in computer time when I can when I visit my mom's house. (And she's not playing on the computer...)

Oh, and go ahead and laugh....I've done my share!

Camping with the Crazies

We came back from our little camping weekend (that actually started on Thursday, so it wasn't so "little") early. And boy, am I glad!

The first night there I was setting up my tent and my grandpa, who was sitting on a lawn chair, kept commenting on how he didn't know this trip was going to be an over-nighter. We told him over and over that he DID know, but he forgot, but it's hard to convince him of anything anymore.

I tried to get my little Jake to sleep in his playpen, with a sleeping bag tucked in it, but the boy refused. He'd get laid down and would begin to scream! So I ended up keeping him in bed with me....for the whole weekend!

The first night we were in camp, we had an interesting event. Our camp neighbors came over to ask us to turn off my mom's generator because it was past quiet hours. It wouldn't have been SO bad, except the neighbors were SO noisy after we'd turned off the generator. Uh, can't you follow the rules TOO?! (Oh, it was a guy who speaks French, so all weekend long we would say, "Turn off ze moter. Turn off ze moter.") The next morning, my mom turned her generator back on to vacuum and the wife came over and threw a major temper tantrum. My mom had turned the generator back on after 8:30! We decided that we needed to find out what time quiet hours really were. 10:00 pm until 6:00 am!! We were on the other side of those hours, we COULD have used the vacuum!! What a brat! (Oh, they were tenting in an RV area of the campground. If they were so annoyed by generators they SHOULD have camped in the tent area!!)

That next day my grandpa did really well with his remembering. He'd comment on how he missed Grandma and going home wouldn't be the same.

Then came Saturday. Grandpa woke up not knowing where he was, why he was there, how he got there, or that Grandma was dead. We'd tell him over and over...even showing him pictures...and he couldn't understand or remember anything we'd tell him. I was beginning to go a little crazy. Answering the same question over and over is so hard!

Cameron tried wading in the river (which looked more like a really wide creek) and was wearing his Walmart brand crocs. He ended up losing just ONE shoe, and screamed a "my-life-sucks" kind of scream. We couldn't get the shoe back, and the kid was devastated!

Cameron also played the Wii all weekend with my handicapped uncle. Wouldn't you know it, they BOTH skunked me on Wii bowling! :P

Cameron got to go fishing with his Grandpa and caught 3 fish! I wasn't being very smart with the camera, or I would have captured the image of my little fisherman carrying the creel with the bleeding fish on it. He was so proud of himself!

We took the day on Saturday to drive to West Yellowstone and do some sight-seeing. While I was there I ended up running into my bestest friend, Kimby! It was so nice to see her and her mom. They got the chance to hold Jake and visit with us. It was so fun!

We laughed and tried to have fun, but with Grandpa's memory as bad as it is, it was hard.

Now that we're back, we're finding out everything that we need to do to get that guy into a care facility. We do have a place picked out with a room reserved, but we're worried about how he'll react to the change, even though he's already decided for himself that he needs to go. (Well, he decided one day, but promptly forgot the next!)

Back, But Not Quite....

Camping was great. It rained pretty much the whole weekend, but that was fine...I was in the motor-home the whole time! ;) (I even have beautiful pictures of where we ended up camping and the motor-home, but I can't share them now....I'll explain why in a minute!) I had contractions the whole time, but they weren't steady or regular. It was just a pain! (Literally!) I laughed and just had a great time!

Coming home was GREAT! I can't believe how much I missed my honey! Just seeing him daily makes me smile! I really wish HE could have gone with us, but dang work...

Anyway, the reason I may not be around so much is for a couple of reasons.....

1) Uh, I'm about to pop with this baby. I feel HUGE! (I'll post pics when I can...seriously, I've got QUITE the gut!) Walking around is a miserable endeavor, but it's still doable. If I do too much I end up having those contractions that I really don't need....and it's just not fun. So for the most part, I stay off my feet and relax. You can understand that, right?!

2) Our computer is STILL out of commission. The spyware is so ingrained into the computer that someone has to manually go in and take it off. The two computer places we trust in town quoted us at $200 and $170....ICK!! But Steve told me that our WONDERFUL home teacher said he'd do it for free. Honestly, can you love anyone more?! So when the computer IS fixed I will post more! I promise! Until then, I've got to sneak quick peeks at my parents' house or the library! POO!!

GAAAAAAH!!!

Okay, major complaint coming up.....I HATE spyware!! AND spyware pretending to be anti-spyware!! I may have to freakin' clean out my whole stinkin' computer!! WHY!?!! :(

And after much internal debating, I've decided to go camping. My parents have an amazing motor home that will serve me well....equipped with a/c and even has 4 televisions. Yeah, it's not much like "camping" more like going on vacation. :)

My doctor did tell me to make sure and take it easy....guess what! I plan on it!

Cows?? I Can Tell You About Cows!!

Before I tell you about cows....let me answer the questions from the weekend....they were all good ones too! ;)

Nikkie said...
Question: Coke or Pepsi?

Nikkie:

Neither....cola makes me wanna puke!!

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One Scrappy Gal said...
What's on your Christmas wish list this year? Besides the usual peace on earth and good will to all?

Scrappy:

Christmas?? I don't even want to THINK about that holiday yet!! Fall just got here, woman!!

I REALLY want a Dyson vacuum cleaner, but I don't THINK I'll get it....unless Santa thinks I've been REALLY good this year!! ;)

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Sketchy said...
Why do they make video games with obnoxious repetitive music? Are they trying to drive me insane?

Sketchy:

Is it working???

Then YES, they do it to drive parents insane!

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Now about COWS!! Yes, I want to tell you what I've learned about cows!

Cows, despite popular belief, are social creatures. Choosing to converse in "moos" and moans in the WEE hours of the morning. And, quite like humans, cows will have ONE cow who dominates the conversation. The exception to the conversing cows fact, is that when coyotes are awake and howling or chirping, cows are silent.

When I was camping, and attempting to sleep, at least three cows were conversing, VERY loudly, mind you, about the food they would eat that day. I KNOW that's what the conversation was about, because, come on, what else do cows talk about!? The funny part of the whole conversation came when convo-hogging, cow would mumble and giggle about what the other cows had said!! She's not very nice, but they all deal with her, because she's related....and you have to be nice to relatives....there's an unwritten rule.

Another cow fact: Cows like to walk VERY slowly in the middle of a busy highway, but if it's a mildly busy highway, ALL the better, poop is inevitable then!!

We went on a short day-trip to a beautiful lake that was about 20 miles down the highway, and 5 more up a mountain. About six of those 20 highway miles were riddled with cows and cow doodie. Big cows, little cows, black cows, brown cows....all walking slower than a slug, and poo covering their bums. Luckily, my dad, who is an EXCELLENT driver, slowed down enough to not actually KILL any cows, just scar them for life! The funny part??? When one smart-alecky cow, probably a convo-hogging cow, smacked my parents' suburban with it's poo covered tail!! *WHACK!*

Cow fact #3: Cows, who are easily confused, should NEVER be barked at, they will run directly TOWARD the sound!

My brother, who is more like a giant teddy bear than a dog, decided it would be hilarious to make the cows move by barking at them. For most of the cows, it worked. For the ones who had drool hanging from the sides of their mouths?? BIG mistake!! We barely made it through the cow traffic without a major collision! (But I was laughing hysterically at the barking sound coming from my brothers!)

And our final cow fact of the evening: Even if you THINK you can get away from cows, you can't!! They're EVERYWHERE!!

Overall, my weekend was WONDERFUL!! I got to spend time with my family, laugh at some DUMB memories, make new ones (that included a redneck costume, and a troll mask), and just have a fun time. The best surprise of the weekend came when my little sister, who moved to Nevada, showed up. We weren't expecting them to come, in fact, I think she had told us that she probably COULDN'T come.....when I saw her, I let out a squeal of excitement. We all laughed until our heads hurt, and our bladders wanted to explode. It was GREAT FUN!!

We went on a quick trip to Meadow Lake (the jaunt when we nearly hit 30 or 600 cows) and a shopping trip to Kings and Alco in Salmon. The highlight was our finds at Alco: the LONG Halloween masks, and the troll mask, and a redneck costume. All making for a fun weekend.

I did lose Cameron's glasses on the first morning there, getting me grouchy, but calmed after Grandpa helped him find them. Then I freaked out when I thought I had lost my camera and cell phone, but was RELIEVED when I found my aunt had taken them into her trailer for safe keeping!! Oh, and arguing with crazy aunts ALWAYS adds an air of fun to any trip!! *dripping with sarcasm*

Camping Fun

Here's a picture that Steve snapped on one of our many trips to and from the outhouse.

And here's the beautiful view we had on our first night. *Sigh* I miss camping...

I also decided to take a picture of my friend Colleen. This is straight from her headstone, so I KNOW it's not the best, but it is the PERFECT picture of the girl, dimples and ALL! :)

And my random thought of the day:

Isn't it just sad when really super smart kids get "dingged" when they misspell a word at the spelling bee?? I just feel my heart drop for them EVERY time. (Yes, I'm pretty pathetic, but sheesh...misspelling a word by ONE freakin' letter...that's SAD!)

Memorial Day Weekend and Steve's Birthday

Camping was WONDERFUL! It barely (and I do mean barely) rained on Sunday night for a few minutes, then a few minutes later, then a few minutes later....just real spotty, but nothing big or bad!

I did my share of driving the 4-wheeler over the weekend. Cam's new thing was to find me and say, "Mama, I gotta go to the potty." I'd then tell him to pee on a tree (yeah, I know...real encouraging.) Then he'd say, "NO, Mama!! I gotta go to the hou-house!" That was his way of getting rides on the 4-wheeler. It was quite fun! I even took him for his OWN ride later on Saturday. He loved it. I made the boy wear a helmet, and I wore one. Steering while having a little kid bonk you in the face with a helmet isn't the "fun" I had hoped for, but we did have a good time. The roads were VERY dusty (from lack of rain) and so we couldn't go very fast without clouds of dust flying EVERYWHERE!

Then I even took a ride on my own. I found a BEAUTIFUL spot and couldn't help but kneel in a prayer of gratitude for this beautiful world. That was one of the BEST moments of the weekend.

I did have a screaming match with Cameron on Sunday night. The kid was ornery and tired, and was having TOO much fun to sleep. I dragged him into the tent to change him into his jammies, and in the process he pitched a fit and screamed worse than I had EVER heard him. The one thing that just irked me, was his attitude with me. He yelled, IN my face, "I don't wanna be camping, NO MORE!!" And then he THREW himself on his bed. I yelled back (Yeah, I'm not good with fits yet...) "That's FINE! We're going home tomorrow..." To which he promptly screamed, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!" Yeah, fun times....can't wait until those wonderful teen-years come....

I felt really gross by the end of the trip though. I felt like I had been caked with dust. My hair had changed color...to a sandy blondish-brown. (GROSS!)

We did have a few not-so-good things come up: the night before we left for camping I had closed (not SLAMMED!) my driver's side door, and the glass part of my mirror fell out and shattered on my street. NICE! :S So the next day we drove all over town to find a replacement before we could go camping. Luckily, we went to a local glass store and found a replacement.

And my parents, who had just gotten their trailer back from the repair shop a month ago, went to the tire shop to check the tires. The tires on one side were cracked pretty badly, so they had to wait for a few hours for the tire shop to replace the tires. They told my parents that one tire was fine, and they didn't replace it. Well, once my parents DID leave town, the tire that was "fine" completely blew out! BOOM! So they had to stop and change THAT tire. In the end we all got safely to our campsite before dark. But where we camped it doesn't get dark until after 9:00! Yeah, good thing we had all planned on leaving Friday MORNING!! *snickering*

Then Steve and I had a great time at the hotel last night. I don't really know if it was all WORTH the $200 we spent on it, but it was fun to get away from the whiny child, and just be a couple again! :)

Clothes, Pillows, Tent, Sleeping bags, Toiletries...

I think my excitement is getting to me...all night long I dreamed about our upcoming camping trip...and new places I'll get to explore. (Although, in my dreams, the camping is a LOT nicer.) The night before we leave for a trip I'm always awake at 5:30 am, remembering things that I still need to pack, and that I DON'T want to forget...today's wake up call?? Sanitary napkins! :P

Well, I've dinked around on the computer enough for today. I will be back on Monday, but may not post anything until Wednesday. (Tuesday is Steve's birthday!)

Enjoy your Memorial Day!