Camping videos

Had I thought about it while we were out there, I would have recorded more stuff because there were some truly priceless moments. But, I never think about it at the time.

This first one though..... oh my wow. Let me apologize now for the shakiness but I was laughing so hard that I couldn't hold the camera still. The boys were playing in the sand by the water, and Alex wanted to tell Daniel something. I heard him say "Daniel! Come here!" several times, but Daniel wanted nothing to do with whatever it was that Alex wanted to show him. Finally, Daniel looked at Alex and said "No! I want to do ballet!" and ran off and started dancing up and down the shoreline. I managed to catch part of it on film...



Then this one - this was Sunday afternoon before we left. We ventured to a different part of the lake to try to get out of the wind (and failed) and we really wanted Daniel to catch a fish (Alex had left with his father that morning). So The Dude managed to hook one and then handed the pole to Daniel.

He was quite proud of himself!

Eye Candy (not THAT kind)

This is MY kind of eye candy - the kind that I can stare at all day, every day, and never get tired of it.

You guessed it. More pictures from our camping trip.

The view from our campsite back down the road.

One of my favorite views. Ever.

Thursday sunset

Night fishing by the light of the moon.

Friday sunrise

The view from the other side of the lake

Starting to figure it all out.

You can see how low the water level still is - that tree should
be at the water's edge.

Whoa. A moment of focus.

Friday sunset

S'mores!

Friday night fishing. Seriously, that's the moon.
Not the sun.

Saturday sunset

The supermoon Saturday night.

Supermoon

More supermoon

I'm definitely ready to go back out there again.

So we caught a couple of fish...

I've pretty much decided that since I took well over 400 pictures on our camping trip this weekend that I would sort of divide them up by subject and post them that way. It's a little less overwhelming for everyone that way!

So, since the main purpose of our weekend getaway was to fish, I figured that I'd start off with everything that we caught. Forgive the cheesy collages - but I didn't feel like posting each picture individually, and once I found a cheesy online collage maker, it was essential to make them as cheesy as possible.

First - Thursday night. OK, these aren't the cheesy ones. I just did these myself before I figured out that there had to be an easier way.

Then there was Friday. We spent pretty much the entire day with poles in our hands.

Saturday was fun. The lake was stocked that morning, and although it took a while for the fish to make it to our end (we were way at the end) they eventually made it, and we got some good ones.

Today, we packed up to leave and decided to head to the other end of the lake to try to get out of the wind - we had steady 15-20mph winds non-stop for the entire time that we were out there. Alex's father picked him up and so we just had Daniel - and he "caught" the only fish of the day today.

Of course, no fishing trip would be complete without the "one that got away" stories, and we each have one. I hooked a huge carp last night, battled it to within about 10 feet of the shore, was getting ready to say "I need some help" to The Dude, and *boom* he got off of the hook and swam away. We're not sure how big he was, but I feel pretty confident in saying that it would have been the biggest fish that I had ever caught - you know, if I had actually caught it.

After it got dark last night, The Dude got a hit on his line. He let out a yell because he knew that it was a big one, and just like that, it was gone. Along with his hook and sinker. Snapped the line. We didn't catch a glimpse of that one, so we have no idea what it was. But it was big.

We didn't keep anything that we caught, but we had so much fun out there. The boys tried to fish, but they don't have the patience to sit there and do it so they'd try for a few minutes and then go and get into trouble somewhere, and then try, then get into trouble - I think I actually have more pictures of them playing in the dirt than I do of them fishing.

So other pictures that will be coming in future posts.....boys fishing and getting in trouble, wildlife, a zombie turtle, the supermoon (woot!), sunrises and sunsets, and various other shenanigans. We'll just have to see how long it actually takes me to get them all posted.

I'll rise

I went camping this weekend with Alex and Daniel. It was a Scout thing, and although it was horribly cold and windy and at times downright miserable, the boys had a great time and we survived the weekend with very few serious issues for the amount of kids that we had with us.

While we were there and I was basically unplugged from the world, it gave me a break from thinking a whole heck of a lot.  But now that we're back and the clothes are unpacked and the laundry is (almost) done, it's back to reality.

Things are piling up again, and my plate is full - and like I mentioned on my facebook page, it's not full of chocolate.

~The Dude is facing what will most likely be major surgery on his shoulder, and right now he is miserable - and I can't do anything to help. He's not working, but there are still bills to be paid on his end.
~We are still looking to move as soon as we can, but of course, that takes money - lots of money - whether we decide to rent or buy.
~It appears that my van needs to have some work done on it. Like, now. I probably shouldn't be driving it, but I don't have much of a choice.

Needless to say, all of that adds to my normally stressful and chaotic life. I actually spoke to my boss last week and she gave me a few additional hours this week so that will help financially. I've all but cut out any frivolous spending on my end in order to save as much money as possible so that we can get through all of this stuff, and I'm looking into some other opportunities to make money that I've known about but ignored up until now.

Bottom line is this: no matter what happens, we're going to get through all of the BS. Even though right now I feel not only like my plate is full, but that I've been smacked upside the head with it - things are going to fall into place and we're going to survive. The Dude will get his shoulder fixed and be back to 100% soon, we'll get moved into a new fabulous wonderful place, and my van will be roadworthy again.

It might not happen today or tomorrow or next week - but I know that we are going to get through it.

We tried...

This weekend was our first official camping trip with Scouts. All of the kids agreed to go, and so I spent the day yesterday getting ready for it. We were only going for last night and today, and were going to leave to head back home this evening.

However, Mother Nature had other plans for us.

Yesterday was absolutely gorgeous. It was in the mid 80s during the day. The kids wore shorts and loved every minute of it. We checked the weather for last night and tonight, and of course it wasn't going to be as wonderful but it still wasn't going to be bad. It was to be in the 40s overnight and the 50s today. Perfect for hiking and fishing and running around and having fun, right?

Wrong. Dead wrong.

We drove about 45 miles to where we were camping and got the campsite set up and ready to go. Then we sat around the fire and had s'mores and sent the kids to their sleeping bags around 10pm. The adults sat up until about midnight. The temperature had dropped significantly but it was still tolerable. I crawled into our tent, curled up on the cot, and ......... laid there wide awake.

I was cold. And I had to go to the bathroom. I waited as long as possible and finally gave up and drove the 1/2 mile or so to the lavishly furnished bathroom glorified outhouse to take care of business and then drove back to the campsite. By this time it was about 2am and the wind was starting to rustle things around a bit. I could hear Sarah shivering so I got off of the cot and laid down beside her so that we could snuggle and keep each other warm.

The wind got stronger. Sarah had to go to the bathroom. Back to the van, back up the hill to the facilities, back to the tent.

More wind. Loud wind. Really really strong wind.

The next thing we knew, the tent started to cave in on us. We got back up, went outside and anchored the tie down rope tighter - meanwhile the other 4 kids were sound asleep, oblivious to our shouting back and forth to each other. We got back in the tent and tried to sleep.

It got worse as time progressed, and soon the entire side of the tent gave way and caved in on us. By this time both girls were awake and they pulled the boys to the side of the tent that was still semi-upright, and then the Scout leader came to our rescue. He gave us his tent (which was NOT designed for 6 people) and he crawled into his vehicle. I think it was about 5am by this time.

Needless to say, I didn't sleep. Once it was light outside, I crawled out of the tent and was about knocked off of my feet by the wind (the lack of sleep didn't help). The big canopy thing that we had set up last night had been lifted, rotated, and slammed into a tree by the wind - but luckily only one leg was damaged.

We tried to set things back up again so that we could stay and enjoy the day - but no one was prepared (see the irony there?) for the weather so we all gave up and started packing things up to go home. The wind continued to be brutal and there was no way that we could have done the things that we had planned on doing today. The kids were disappointed (so was I) but it was really the best thing to do.

We drove back home and got here around 10:30am. After the van was unloaded and I started some laundry I was able to take about an hour-long power nap....but I'm sitting here yawning as I type. Wonder why....

Anyway....some pictures....

Part of the drive to the camping area.
We drove so far that we found hills.....

.....and buffalo.

Lots of buffalo.

Hey look.....more buffalo.

Random scenery along the road.

S'mores

Fun with fire.

What was left of our tent this morning. The smooshed part isn't just
laying there - it's being pushed down that flat by the wind.

 

The white canopy stated out over top of the picnic table last
night - but had moved slightly by this morning.

While it didn't turn out quite as fun as we had planned, it still could have been so much worse. It didn't rain, nothing was damaged beyond repair, and no one got hurt.

Best part of the whole thing? I got to snuggle in really really tightly with kids who don't always think that it's cool to snuggle with Mom anymore. I'll take it however I can get it.

Races and ball games and all sorts of Kansas-y stuff

Last night was the Pinewood Derby for Scouts. Alex raced as part of his pack and Daniel raced in the Outlaw class (non-Scouts). Neither of of them placed, but they had a great time and it was a great experience for them. After the races were over, we spent the night there as a "camp out" - which consisted of tents set up in the church basement and boys staying up until way after midnight.

But they had a blast.

Putting the finishing touches on his car.

Very proud of his first car.
(That's not dirt on his face. That's chapped skin.
Gross. I know.)

He had to show off his toy too.

Our very own indoor tent city.

Basketball games on zero sleep.

Kansas Day is coming in a few days, which is the anniversary of the day that the state became....well, a state. A local museum had some festivities to celebrate, and since I only had Daniel today we took full advantage and went and spent a few hours playing around.

We're sunflowers!

Beanbag toss.

Using an antique tool to make a mess.

Making box turtles out of egg cartons.

Of course I found a quilt. Duh.

Ooooohhhhhhhh.....

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh.....
I so wish I had the patience to do this.

Using an old-fashioned gadget to get
the kernels off of the cob.

Making real kettle corn.

Feeding the goats.

Ready to work!

He loved that popcorn!!!

Oh, lookie! Another quilt!

And we got to take a wagon ride.

This is only a small fraction of the pictures that I took over the past 24 hours. I took so many that I literally killed the battery in my camera and couldn't take any more until I got home and got it charged up again. Ooops.

After we got done there, we grabbed a bite to eat and then came home - and Daniel promptly fell asleep in my lap at about 5:30. I fully expect him to just sleep right through the night. Of course, I might have dozed off a bit while I was sitting here at the computer too......kind of odd to have the house this quiet so early in the evening. But I'm definitely not complaining.