Fall Camp stuff

It's that time of year where we put away the sun block and break open the stash of pumpkin spice candles.  

Fall is extra special for us since renting a campsite at Little Orleans Campground.  It's a great place for cool autumn walks and the most awesome wafting in the air of campfire smell!

 A jam-packed day of fun for kids and adults! is planned!

The scenic hayride gives us some idea of what to expect when we are cut loose to visit the campgrounds different campsites trick-or-treating.

There are some pretty shady characters out there handing out candy, but hey, it's all in fun and good times.  Don't be afraid, they warn.

The crisp air...

The freedom to run....

The feel of fall in the air...

And the laughs.  Oh yes, the laughs.

Trick-or-treating at it's best!!

And memories have never been this sweet.

What We've Been Up To....

We recently hopped on over to Walmart to stock up on plastic Easter eggs and fillers for Sunday.  There will be lots and lots of colored surprise eggs for the kiddies to find.  

Then it was off to the grocery store for some special treats for movie night.  We had a variety of  donuts, party mix, and popcorn flavored jelly beans.  This weeks presentation:  Bumblebee.  It's a transformers movie which I would generally steer clear of...  but for Jake (11 yr old GS) I said sure.  And to my surprise it was enjoyable.  Some humor and some heart with a lot of action (not a fan of the action).  I give it a 5/6 on my 1-10 scale and that's not bad.

Last week we celebrated National Pet Day by taking our pet to camp for the day.

Easy Gracie...  those wild boors are not intimidated by you...

Dear Diary,

National Pet Day won me a trip to the zoo  camp where I got to antagonize play with little pig little pig.  They were show offs if you ask me, dancing the piggly wiggly dance and causing mom and dad to think they're cute.  hmph.  Not as cute as the cockapoo. 

Gracie

Forever On My Mind

Camp Serenity is coming along nicely.  After our first full night there, I realized I would need some change, such as an air mattress for comfort in hopes of a good night's sleep.  And so, we took our air mattress down and tried it in a spot that would work (the booth/table that pulls out into a bed).  I no sooner laid down on that newly blowed up mattress than a giant bee zoomed past me causing me to scream and run for cover... well... outside was my safe place at that point.  

Bees in a camper = not cool.

G is taking care of that for me.  For us.

So, when I was pretty sure all was safe inside I decided to sit on the sofa that pulls out into a bed (the hard one that I cannot sleep on) and check out the new TV/DVD player that G had purchased and hooked up.  As I was sitting there trying to figure out the remote, a tickling on my leg and then a spider siting on that same leg caused yet another blood curdling scream.  G thought it was another bee.  No, worse.  

A spider!!!!!

It got away.  It will be forever on my mind.

On our way home we noticed (compliments of G having left his car window's open) a plump and huge red ant crawling the inside windshield.  My seat belt prevented me from killing it, and it disappeared.  For a while.  In the corner of my eye I saw him.  This time, I unhooked the seat belt and got him!  RIP Mr. Huge RedAnt.

But that Spider.  He will be forever on my mind.  Him and his family and friends.  Forever.  On my mind.

But I will need to suck it up, buttercup if I wish to enjoy Camp Serenity in the future.  My only hope is that I never, ever, ever, ever, ever, NEVER see a snake inside that camper.   I don't want to have to change the name of our place to Little Camp of Horrors.  

Meanwhile, back at home my little Chicklets ready themselves for Bible School.  They are having a great week with lot's of fun learning about Jesus.  

And in other news!  The pool is now open!!

And me?  I'm busy these days chasing baby bunnies away from eating the clover in my yard.  One day soon I hope to catch one of those little critters and bring it inside.  Dad loves new toys.

Forbidden

I have the most wonderful #1 son with the most awesome taste in flowers.  Maybe he doesn't even realize how he picks just the right gift for me when it comes to birthdays, holidays etc.  But he does!  My Mother's day flowers have flourished and just keep getting more and more beautiful.  

And speaking of children...  Mama Robin picked just the right place to house her nest of babies this year.  Safe and secure under our deck they waited ...  as mama returned over and over again with worms and such to feed their cute little beaks.

Gracie was quite curious about the goings on under there and tried feverishly to unveil the mystery beneath the deck.  When I caught her standing on her hind legs and sniffing out the nest I thought it best to put a stop to her shenanigans and G and I put up barriers to keep her out from under there.  Oh the torment it must have been to be sniffing through that lattice and know the forbidden was just sniffs away.

Not funny.

The babies grew quickly.  Soon mama had them out and about, teaching them to fly on their own.

I couldn't help but wonder, will Mama worry for her babies much like us humans tend to do, now that they are on their own?

Spring is blossoming into vibrant color, finally.  Our hydrangeas are budding and showing hope for a flourishing summer of beautiful flowers.  Daisy's are plentiful and I can't help but think of my sister when I behold their beauty.  Daisy's were her favorite.  Oh how I miss her!

Our seasonal camp site is coming along.  Not quite ready for overnight just yet... but soon.

Our neighbors look to be real characters.

They seem very nice, though.  Really.

A visit to the country store at camp and I was able to purchase my very first comfort food for the freezer.  You never know when you might need a scoop or two of butter pecan, right?

Yesterday was Memorial Day and so after an awesome service at the cemetery we took the girls to camp to check it out.

They were impressed.  Mostly with the playground.

No snakes.  Only one spider.  A minor bug bite.  It was a good day!

A Two-Snake Kind of Day

Let's go to camp, they said.  It'll be fun, they said.  You'll love all the new smells, they said.

So off we went in the Buick to a place they call camp.  

I wasn't sure.  Would this be my new home?  Would they leave me here all alone?  But.  I couldn't think about such things as that.  I had to focus on the smells.  Was that a bunny-friend I smelled? Did I stumble upon some aged burnt hotdog?

Dad said, Relax Gracie.  Enjoy the peace and quiet.  

I tried.  But still, I was a little worried.  

Would they leave me here?  Alone?  Was this my punishment for stalking the robin's nest underneath of the deck at home?  

This place called camp was different than anything I'd experienced before.  I feared though, that I would now be living in the wild... complements of my animal-like behavior.  

My shaky legs trembled as I gave it all I had and did the jump from outside to the inside of what they call a camper.  

 Where were my toys and why is it that Mom an Dad kept running into one another?  
Mom's arms reached around me to lift me onto the bed.  It was relaxing but...  I still had to be weary of their intentions.  What did all this mean for me?

"What if Gracie needs to potty in the middle of the night?" I heard her ask dad.  "What if there's a bear outside?" she said.  "I would be afraid," she added.  Humph.  She did plan on keeping me here.  But.  Maybe she'd be staying too.  I could live with that.

Permission granted...  to potty on the floor if a bear was stalking the place.  Geeeeeesss...  this is getting beyond weird.  My people are losing it, I'm telling' ya.  Camp?  Relax?  Peace and quiet?  Bears?
  
Back into the Buick then, and home.  Home sweet home.  Where there are no bears and peace and quiet does not happen.  Next time I'm thinkin' I won't be so afraid of camp.  Next time I'll be brave.

And so.  Our lives they are a changing.  We are now almost-campers.  I guess after the first real night we spend there we will be official.  We are not quite ready yet... more to be done so we are not sure when that will be.  But soon.   Gary needs to move rocks away from our 'deck' to relocate the fire pit to a more safe place.

A couple of days after taking Gracie there, we went alone.  There was work to be done and having her there is kind of like having a small child along.  It was hot anyway, so she was happy to stay in the cool of her safe place called home.

So we got the curtains back up after having removed them to give them a good washing.  I made the bed and added some patriotic pillows for effect.  I mean...  aren't campers supposed to boast their patriotism?

On the way out I was able to snap a few sweet pictures.  Well.  One sweet.  One unique.  And the last one....creepy since I don't like snakes.  Watch the short video too...  of that ol' snake giving us a show as we pass over the bridge leaving camp.  Eeeek!

Meanwhile, back in town we stopped by US Cellular to change our data plan.  Unlimited data will be nice for time spent at camp where there is no Internet.

But wait!

Well, well, well....  How fitting that the boys at US Cellular had a friend visiting.  A friend I chose to stay far, far away from.

Picture, compliments of my very brave husband....

Two snakes in one day.  How lucky can one person get!!