Our Labor Day Weekend

I was gone camping from Friday afternoon until late Sunday afternoon. Did you miss me? :) I missed all of you, and this morning turned to blogs to catch up with all of you.

We went camping with some good friends of ours: another couple and their kids. Their kids an our kids are about the same age, so it was fun seeing them venture off together to do some hiking, splashing in the water, and sitting around the campfire sharing stories and helping each other with projects.

Since I was the mama, well, and me being me I suppose, I puttered around a lot getting things ready for the next thing and tidying up from the last thing. In school, when Matt has a hard time sitting down to do his work, I jokingly threaten to duct tape him to his seat....I think the same could be said for me when we go "on vacation". Maybe I get it from my dad. When he was visiting us in Kentucky, I noticed one morning he sat at the table and read the paper for just a few minutes and then asked for the lawn mower. He did lots of small jobs around the house for us. He isn't a sitter either. :)

Just a recap of events:
Friday:
packed up and got ready to go, which always takes a lot longer than planned, doesn't it?!
We got up to our spot about 5 pm and had just enough time to set up camp and get supper ready. Amber had made wonderful tinfoil dinners for us before we left... but they got burned. To a crisp. It was a great plan though: make a fire. wait for coals. put the dinners under the coals and set up camp while they cook.

Josh, Karen, and baby Aiden came up and shared some campfire time with us. After they left, Michael was antsy to get to bed. At first Steve laid down by him, but I knew that Steve would appreciate some time at the campfire, so I sent him back out and I laid down by Michael. The guys sat out at the campfire long after everyone went to bed and they played some music for us. Diego (the dad from the other family) played his Native American flute, Steve played the guitar, and Diego's son drummed on a 5 gallon bucket. It was a nice way to end the day.

Saturday: There was:
splashing in the creek,
hollowing out tree limbs with hot coals... just to say they could (Jared made a "cup" that I'll have to post a picture of), so lots of campfire on Saturday,
Steve & I came home to feed our animals (my brother had already done it. What a great guy!)
and take a shower and pick up some forgotten items,
apple cobbler dutch oven style for lunch and hot dogs with pickle chips (my new-found-fav!) for supper,
swinging in the hammock,
playing in the tent,
laughing, and shouting, hiking (the kind of hiking that moms and dads don't really want to watch: kids in slip on shoes trying to scale a rock wall WAYYYYYYY up there), sliding down the mountain on loose rock when they couldn't find a way down, exploring, making friendship bracelets (such a great idea! Thanks for bringing & sharing the materials April!), roasting marshmallows and hot dogs and whatever else the kids could find to roast :).
Then Diego and April decided that they'd rather sleep in their own soft, warm beds and went home for the night. About an hour after they left, the wind began to gust. I was laying down with the kids and Steve was out by himself to tend the fire and wait for Amber to come up after work. He ended up putting the fires out when embers started blowing out of the fire ring. Then he chased around trying to put chairs away and secure anything not heavy enough to keep itself in place; the wind was strong and threatened to blow away everything in camp. Amber got up to camp safely (that was a huge worry for me. So glad she was safe!) and slept in our van. The next morning...

Sunday:
I went for a walk by myself to take some pictures. It was such a pretty spot, but it only gets a few hours of sunshine since it has so many big trees around it, so I took advantage of the sunshine to get in a few pics to show the camps true beauty.

The kids sat around and talked, and then listened while Amber played the guitar and sang. Baby Aiden slept over on Saturday night, so Jared fed him breakfast.

A while before lunchtime Diego, April, and their kids got back to camp. The hiking, splashing, laughing, and playing resumed. Steve took all who wanted to explore with him and went to see a cave a little ways away. After they were all back from that adventure, I gathered up those who wanted to go for a long car ride to come with Steve and me to go and see the sites.

We got back later than we'd planned, and when we pulled up Jared told me that my sister had been by a bit earlier to tell me that my mom is in the hospital. It seems that her congestive heart failure is acting up and she is having a hard time breathing. They will give her dialysis to draw out some of that fluid. It was time to pack up anyway, so we packed up and left. You'd be AMAZED at how much stuff I can fit in my van! :D Steve says it must be genetic, since my dad was a load master in the Air Force. :)

We got home and unpacked the van, I called my sister to see how my mom was, and then I called my mom. She was feeling better since they were dialysing her; we will go over and visit later on this morning.

So that is my weekend in a nutshell. Today, Steve and I are taking an all day date. We are planning on taking baby Aiden home, going to a couple of dollar movie movies, maybe get a bite to eat, and just "be". Sounds lovely!