CAMPING!

I went into work with Bryan on Wednesday so that I could get off early and have time to get things organized for our trip. We drove to Wilsonville and he dropped me off at the Costco out there while he went to his counseling appointment. I got a few things I needed for camping and a few other things that we needed at home as well. I had a lot of time to look around and wonder in the store before he came back to pick me up. It was nice to be able to get that done while he was at his appointment. We headed home and I got started on getting everything packed and organized. I had my handy camping list and checked things off as I went. Bryan mowed the lawns and helped me where ever needed. At about 8 I went to Fred Myer to pick up a few more things. I didn’t end up eating dinner until about 10 I think?!
Thursday morning we got up and packed up the truck and Bryan went to Safeway to get ice for the coolers. My goal was to leave town at noon but that didn’t happen…we did leave our house at noon though. We headed over to my parents and packed as much of their stuff that we could fit along with ours. It’s kind of annoying that we had to pack up all their stuff too but oh well. They don’t have big vehicles and they always help us out with stuff without complaining and with loving hearts. So we should too! We stopped at Wendy’s and got a quick lunch to go, got gas for the truck and were on our way by 1. We got to the campground pretty fast. I didn’t sleep at all…we just listened to music and talked the whole way. Calie was such a good girl. She just laid down on our pillows half in the back and half on the middle consol thing in between us.
One thing that I was SO looking forward to was that Bryan and I were going to get down there and have an evening to ourselves. Granted there were already a ton of church people there which meant that some of his Jr Highers would be there too. Sure enough not even 2 seconds after we drove in, dropped our ticket in the express check in box and pulled into our spot there were Jr Highers everywhere. I should have expected this…huh?! They love him and I DO remember what it was like when I was in JR High and High School and I always wanted to be around Randy and Michelle at family camp. We unpacked everything and set up camp.
When we went camping in June and we had a REALLY BAD night with Calie the first night so we didn’t want a repeat of that. After we got set up we drove to the beach and threw her Frisbee for her a bunch of times and enjoyed the sun setting along the water. It was very windy and chilly but still beautiful! We made a fire when we got back and had hot dogs for dinner. Calie slept like a rock all night long THANK GOODNESS!
Friday we got up kind of early. I think around 7:30…I went to take a shower and Bryan let Calie out to go potty and eat and he started our breakfast! We were having Sausage McMuffins. My shower was cold! They weren’t the “good” showers but they were newer and clean so it worked. The “good” showers have a hot and cold handles so that you can get a good temperature but these were push buttons and just when it would start to get warm it would shut off and I would have to start over again. UGH OH well I was clean and that’s what matters. We hung out around camp a lot and played some games. My parents and Julie arrived and we went over to help them set up their stuff. When they got there Terrie (Julie’s MIL) brought over a little girl outfit that I almost got at Costco when I was there. Thank goodness I didn’t get it. It is WAY cute though! Travis, Moo, Nate and Teresa arrived soon after and I ended up going on a walk with Moo, Alexis, Keira and the dogs to drop off their check in slip. We stopped off at the like kid play structure thing and let the kids play for a little bit and headed back. Travis and Marcia left to get to town and we started dinner. We had foil dinners and mine didn’t turn out very well. We sat around Nate and T’s fire that evening. Bryan went to bed before I did and it was just Travis, Nate, T and I talking when all of the sudden Calie walked up out of the blue by herself. I took her back to the tent and asked Bryan if he knew that Calie came looking for me and he said NO! She had nosed her way out of the tent and came looking for me. Thank God she didn’t wonder off. I would have died!
Saturday I went on some bike rides with T, Kam and Alexis, a ton of walks and we went to the beach. Bryan was all over the place…I couldn’t find him forever. He had walked down to the “good” bathrooms and had a nice HOT shower and had taken a nap too. We had dinner with my family that night. My mom made Spaghetti and I brought Garlic Bread. Bryan was in charge of a night game Saturday night so I hung out with Travis, Moo, Nate and T. Calie was pooped so she climbed up in Teresa’s loveseat camping chair and snuggled next to me. After Alexis got her pj’s on, she came out and fell asleep on my lap. She had ridden her bike ALL day and she was wiped out! She fell right to sleep! Friday night it had taken her a while to fall asleep. I just love that girl! Bryan got back around midnight I think and hung out around the fire for a while. The game didn’t go as well as it went last year which was kind of a bummer but everything can’t always work out perfect. Before the game Keith Jr. jumped on Bryan’s back and his knee gave out again. It’s pretty bad this time too. He’s limping everywhere and in a lot of pain. His knee brace isn’t working either. We went to bed around 1 and slept in till 10. Church at the lake was at 10:30 so needless to say I didn’t go. Bryan went but Julie said that it was so quick that when they sat down they got right back up to leave because it was already over. I went on a walk with Moo and Keira before they left and got a chance to talk to Betty for a while before she left too. I’m glad that we did the extended stay this year. It was a nice little vacation for us. We saw Nate, T and the girls off and then made some lunch. I went on a walk with my mom, dad and Julie and then we played a couple games. Nathan and Janell arrived around 4-5. They both had to work so they could only join us for a night. Julie was ecstatic to see Nathan…I think that is the only time since they’ve been married that they’ve been separated. We had Steak, Potatoes and Corn on the Cob for dinner and then we sat around the fire until 11ish. It was sure quiet around the campground with most of the church members gone. It also sprinkled a little while we were sitting around the fire. It was pretty funny. My dad can’t hear well and we were all talking and randomly he goes HEY I just felt a raindrop on my head. Crazy guy! Hehehe
Monday morning we got up, made breakfast and started packing up. The moment Bryan woke up he was ready to GO HOME! He had to go to class that night and hadn’t done any homework all weekend, so he was ready to go! We left around noon and Calie and I slept pretty much the whole way home. Bryan unpacked the truck into the garage for me and then he went to take a shower and try to get as much homework done as possible before class. I got started on cleaning up everything. I started Laundry, the dishwasher and unpacking. I took a shower, gave Calie a bath, put away all the leftover food and washed the truck. My dad brought us our car just in time for Bryan to leave for class. They barrowed it because Janell needed a car to drive to work and our car is a little bigger than their Toyota. Anyway, while I was washing the truck our neighbor walked over and told me that a sex offender moved into the neighborhood and that the police went around and told everyone to be careful when walking/jogging. I guess he goes after women in parks and that he had moved into his parents house that butts up to the park we have in our neighborhood. He’s not supposed to be by a park and they’re trying to get him out of that house, but I’m irritated because I take Calie on walks every night almost and I love going to the park. UGH I took my dad home and we had pizza for dinner. Everyone was wiped out so we didn’t really talk that much. Hehehe It’s weird how sitting around a campfire for 5 days can wipe you out! It was a nice trip though. Calie and I went home and I folded some more laundry and went to bed.