A little weekend fun

This weekend, we were able to take the camper out for a night. We probably could have gone two nights, but with church on Sunday and SB having Hang Time practice, we stuck to one. It was probably a good thing considering how much rain we've gotten...it might have gotten a little crazy being stuck in the camper that long.

After school Friday, I ran an errand and then headed home as fast as I could to pack up the kids' clothes and things and continue the loading Chad had already started. He was able to take off a little early, so we both worked on loading the camper. By 4:45, we were ready and drove the camper to pick the kids up from his parents' house.

We got the the local state park a little after 5. Having pretty much the run of the place, we drove around to pick a site and then texted the family to let them know where we were. They met us out there for a family cookout to celebrate the fall birthdays.

My dad brought out his small grill and he manned the hot dogs, sausages and brats. We set up the spread under the camper awning and ate under it and another awning. It sprinkled on us some, but it wasn't too bad.

My brother came bearing gifts from his recent Kenya trip...knives for the guys, wooden animals for the boys, and cloth bags sewn by a widow for the girls. It was neat to see some of his pictures from his trip and hear about his time there.

We made s'mores over a little roasting log. It was the girls' first time to actually roast s'mores! All the kids enjoyed the treats...as did most of the grownups :)

It was great having everyone out there, having a chance to visit and catch up and watching the cousins play together. They loved having a little open space to roam and play.

Everyone left by 10 and we took down the outdoor stuff, knowing we had a good chance of rain overnight. Ryan was so tired that he pretty much put himself to bed. SB took a little longer, and we could hear her talking to herself for a while. I was pretty tired myself. I slept ok until major heartburn woke me up...guess that's what happens after you've eaten pretty healthy for a while and then eat something with a little more fat than you're used to. A little Zantac and I was sleeping soundly again...until Ryan woke me up complaining his nose was running. I ended up holding him so he could breathe better sitting up, first on my bed and then on the couch. Not much sleep there for me, but he finally let me put him down on the couch. A little more sleep...and then Chad started rustling around because he couldn't sleep. He went outside where I joined him a little later.

Even with the gray skies, the kids didn't sleep as late as I expected. We ended up walking down to the lake, coffee in hand, where the kids had the most fun jumping in every puddling along the way and back. They were soaked! After a quick rinse off, we started breakfast outside. We ended up eating inside because the rain had picked up.

It pretty much stayed that way the rest of the day. We colored and played with some Flexeez toys I had hidden away for a day like this and played cards. We kept waiting for the rain to let up so we could unhook and leave...but finally Chad just got out there in the rain and took care of everything.

It was a much needed getaway...as short as it was. I have to say, in the past, the rain might have "ruined" my plans. This time though, I enjoyed it for what it was. The kids loved the chance to jump in puddles, and I enjoyed just going with the flow. For once.