Camping News

Monday – After leaving the house really late, we arrived at the campsites around 4:30 in the afternoon. Andy put up our screened tent around the picnic table while we waited for my parents, one of my sisters, my brother and his wife, and one of my nieces and nephew. A few minutes after they arrived, it looked like it was about to thunderstorm so we all headed over to a pavilion which was next to our campsites hoping that it would blow over soon. We saw a rainbow with the rain coming down and sun shining on the water.



About 20 minutes later, we realized that it wasn’t just a shower with rain still pouring down and lightening striking around us. We decided to head over to a nearby gas station that had an eating area and wait out the storm. We stayed there for a couple of hours and had the best pizza I have had in a very long time. It tasted homemade with lots of cheese and toppings. Finally, the rain cleared off and we raced back to the campsites to set up our tents and things before dark. After I got all of the kids to sleep, Andy and I along with Paul and Jessie went for a moonlight swim in the lake. The night sky was gorgeous and the others kept seeing shooting stars, but I was always looking the wrong direction. I have still never seen a shooting star or a falling meteorite even though I’ve gone out on those nights when meteor showers were supposed to be happening. I’m always looking in the wrong direction.

Tuesday – The girls woke up nice and early. I got them dressed while Andy made an egg, potato, sausage, and onion combo for breakfast. As soon as breakfast was over, they wanted into their swimsuits for swimming. I swam with them for a while and they had fun in their life jackets and arm floaties. After the swim, we had a lunch of Jessie’s special burgers which were delicious. My parents had borrowed a boat so Andy, Paul, and my dad went water skiing while the cousins played together and did crafts with my mom. For supper, Andy grilled pork and had a mixture of grilled green beans, potatoes, and onions with garlic bread for everyone. That evening, my dad got out the projector and we watched In Search of the Castaways starring Hayley Mills on the side of their cabin tent while eating popcorn and chips.



Wednesday – We could already tell that this was going to be the hottest day of our trip as soon as we stepped outside the tent that morning. Andy cooked a breakfast of bacon and eggs. Andy, the girls, and I went out on the boat with my dad. The girls liked being in the boat. They had never been in one before. We went out to an island that can be seen from our campsites. We got out and swam in the cove there. We stayed cool by going swimming and hauling the fan out to the pavilion. Aunt Debby and Uncle Lanny came to visit. They brought this YUMMY chicken pasta dish and strawberry cake. We had a lot of fun talking with them. I let Sarah play in her little bathtub for a long time to keep her cool.



That afternoon, Dad, Andy, and Judith took me rafting behind the boat. I haven’t been rafting since I was about 8. It was quite an experience. First of all, I knew what the hand signals were, but Andy didn’t know that I knew them. So they start out going slow. I give them a thumbs up sign to speed up. Andy says he saw me giving the thumbs up sign, but didn’t know if I was saying speed up or this is ok so they kept going at the same speed. I kept giving the thumbs up sign and they kept going at the same speed until finally Andy told my dad to go faster. However, then they went WAY TOO FAST! All of a sudden, my chin is getting knocked around and I am clutching to the handles of the raft screaming at the top of my lungs, “SSSTTTOOOPPPP!!” over and over again. They are all looking at me, just smiling and waving because they think I am having a good time. I would have given them the stop sign with my hand, but I couldn’t let go of the handle for fear that I would fall off the raft. They are rounding corners and I am getting thrown to one side with my entire body in midair while the raft is getting thrown to the other side. Finally, I manage to get my hand up in a stop sign and they mercifully stop the boat. My arm muscles were so weak after that, I could barely pull myself out of the water into the boat. My chin still hurt three days later. I would definitely do it again though!

That night, my parents cooked roast beef and mashed potatoes in the microwave for all of us. It was delicious along with the fruit salad and rolls. After that, we watched Treasure Island on the big tent screen.

Thursday – After waking up early again, the girls went fishing using hot dog pieces for bait. The fish were eating the bait as soon as the line hit the water. Emily was finally able to get the slack out of her line in time to snag a fish. Paul also caught one for Michael and Coralie.



Grandpa Dollar and Billey came out to visit the campsites and it was great to see them also. Judith, Emily, and I made friendship bracelets out of hemp and beads which was a lot of fun. After Grandpa and Billey left, there was a thunderstorm brewing. We ran around gathering things up and getting ready for the storm. Lightening was coming down everywhere and rain started pouring down. Andy, the girls, and I sat in the car while my parents and Judith sat in their tent and Paul, Jessie, and their kids sat in their tent. Paul went to go get some more of that yummy pizza at the gas station. He got back right as the lightening was letting up so Andy and I along with the girls ran to my parent’s tent to wait out the storm there. Emily and Eliana watched The Velveteen Rabbit while we talked with my parents and Judith texted her new interest. Dessert that evening was smores done in the microwave since we couldn’t build a fire. Finally, the rain went away and we were able to get out and assess the damage done in our tent. The rain fly on our tent had gotten blown by the wind so that the rain was coming in underneath. The pack-and-play was wet. All of our pillows had gotten soaked. Our bed had wet sheets and Eliana’s clothes had gotten wet. We aired everything out in the daylight we had left and it thankfully did not rain anymore that night.

Friday – My dad fixed a breakfast with eggs, hash browns, tomatoes, and onion that morning. We were getting everything taken down and packed away. While Andy and I were relaxing for a little while, a fish fell through the trees and landed about 6 feet in front of us. A couple of hours later, a baby bird fell out of the tree in the same spot. It was still alive and really fuzzy still. I felt so bad for it. I hope its mom was able to help it after we were gone.



After a lunch of sandwiches and chips, we headed home. It was a lot of fun, but I was glad to get back to air conditioning and my own bed. I hope that more of my family will be able to make it next year!