Summer’s 2011

Nothing is better than that first spring smell of a freshly mowed yard, the summer’s first campfire, and the first watermelon of the season!

 

Camping 2010 . . . Edgewood at DeGray

 

Camping May 2009

After having our camping plans on Lake Ouachita cancelled due to the darn rain, I was able to find us a campsite on Lake DeGray.  Shouse Ford was a great place, our site was right where we could park the boats, close to the swimming area and bathrooms.  We were so excited for this trip!  It was me, Brennen, Zachary, Timothy, Heather, Dylan, Don, Austin, Freda, Steve, Darren and various other guests who stopped by.  It was really a blast.  We stayed from Wednesday night through Saturday night.  The weather was great, nice and cool, warm enough to swim.  The boys got so sunburned on their shoulders, even though I buried them in SPF 50 several times!  We had plenty of food and drink, attack squirrels and mouthy crows.  The boys swam and rode bikes, learned how to play dominoes, had awesome water fights with Freda, and had a perfect beginning to their summer.

We had some unruly visitors that annoyed us, and some tent pad issues, but all was well.  We were relaxed and it was just great fun!  I actually wore a bikini in public for the first time in my life!  ACK!  LMAO!

We had Brennen’s birthday party out there, Mike, Lindsey and Fos came out for cake and gifts.  It was awesome!  We had great campfires and did smore’s.  The beer was always kept cold and there was plenty of it!  Three tents, two boats, a bottle of tequila, lots of rum, Heather’s mojitos, 12 bags of chips, a trip into town for milkshakes, a freezing boat ride at night, and lots of laughs completed our weekend!  I have more pics, as soon as I can get them from Heather!

 

 

 

 

Camping, Route 44, And Other Random Thoughts

A few weeks ago, when Mike’s schedule came ut and I noticed that he had TWO days off ~ IN A ROW ~ I asked if he wanted to go out of town.  Ya know, Branson, Dallas, Kansas City, Memphis.  Someplace for a weekend trip, and we could even take the kids.  He said, “Let’s go camping!”  And for some stupid reason I agreed.  If I had known then, what I know now, I wouldn’t have gone.

No, you can NOT go camping with a weather reading of:

TEMPERATURE:  98

HUMIDITY 49.9%

FEELS LIKE 103

The lake water was like warm bath tub water.  Ick.  Even by the dam it was warm.  You couldn’t get cooled down.  I took the boys to the gas station (I needed a really cold cold drink), just so they can be in the car with some A/C.  It was even worse at night.   The HUGE flies that bite (yes, house fly looking things that BITE and HURT), and other bugs were hungry, and our hot sweaty bodies were irresistible.  It wasn’t until after midnight that the last kid went to sleep, and very reluctantly at that.  They cried because they were hot, but did not want to go home. 

I read until about 3AM, reading Stephanie Meyer’s  first book in the Twilight series, Twilight.  It was very good, considering it’s geared to a teen age range.  I’m going to put the kids to bed tonight, open my bottle of Little Penguin Pinot Noir and read the second book, New Moon!  Then I’ll have to get the third one (Eclipse), which is only out in hardcover (I have the first two in paperback).  And the fourth and final book comes out August 2nd.  If you haven’t heard of these books, they are extremely popular and will more than likely be sold out (especially the new one).  Yeah, I didn’t know about them until recently either, but thanks to some wonderful ladies (HOFF HOFF), they geared me into the right direction!

Here’s a rock that Zachary found, errr, on a beach full of rocks.  He felt compelled to give it bunny ears.

Dinner.  Hmmm Dinner.  Mike is having a guys night out on the lake tonight.  Yes, the idiots are camping.  So dinner is my choice.  I kinda want to pick up some Olive Garden, but the boys are wanting pizza (again).  I thought about taking them somewhere, but we did go to this great little local joint, 2 Boys and A Dog.  We had some ice cream.  This was our first visit and it was more than I expected.  They had a mixing board (think Cold Stone Creamery) and a great lunch menu.  Certainly a stop for another time WITHOUT the boys.

What else?  Camping.  Brennen somehow toasted his roasting stick and burned Timmy on the back.  Then  while in the water, he skipped a rock, right into Zachary’s eye.  When we were trying to sleep, Zachary was crying because his legs were hurting.  So I measured them, stretched them, measured again, and noted to him that they had grown!  So he has told everyone today (strangers et al) that he grew last night.

Oh, and after the ice cream stop, I needed a drink (yes that kind, but I resisted).  I stopped at Sonic, and for some reason ordered a Route 44 Coke.  First, I never will drink a Route 44.  I drink that much in like three days (yes, bad I know).  Much less a coke!  I drink a coke with dinner most days.   That’s it.  What in the world posessed me to get that!

Gas.  My gas-O-meter hit half a tank today and I saw that I had driven 189.9 miles so far.  WOOT!  The dealership had filled it up before we left.  I’m hoping to make it until Friday, fill up, and see what my MPG is!

Here’s my Tahoe, that is now Mike’s Tahoe.  Please note the RIMS he put on them (rolls eyes).

Cleaning.  My house needs it.  All over.  ‘Nuff said.

Family.  I loved seeing Mike and the boys play and laugh in the water.  It’s nice.  They say money can’t buy happiness, but thanks to a nice gift from Mike’s mom, we paid and caught up on all our bills.  I’m not sure if that’s why we felt so much more relaxed.  But it was nice.  Real nice.

Dinner.  I’m still stuck on dinner.  I don’t think I want to go out, so I’m leaning toward pizza or chinese.  Hmm…

ETA:  It ended up being Dominos Pizza.

ETA2:  Added colors to separate my thoughts

 

Camping At Lake Ouachita

Ok, it was a blast 98% of the time.  The weather didn’t agree with us all the time!  Darn it!  I can’t say I remember much, but if you were there, remind me!

 

Our family got there Thursday afternoon.  We set up and swam for a bit.  Molly (Mike’s Mom) came out, as did Flip and Em.  Around 6:30-7ish, the Crew showed up.  Two cars, 8 people, 100 million things to carry!  ACK!   But it worked out and the cars were unloaded quickly.  It got dark quickly, and they guys ended up setting up the 3 room tent pretty much in the dark, not to mention the air mattresses, etc.  We grilled some burgers (and hot dogs?).  Around 2 am the wind picked up, to the point that my kids were up and screaming because they were scared.  All the grown ups were out, making sure nothing got blown away.  Mike had a beer at 3 am.

Let me back up and tell you what we had.  On the point, there were four campsites, 51, 52, 53 and 54.  We had 52 for four nights, and 53 for the first two nights.  Park rules state that only 2 tents per site allowed.  Hello, we have 17 people!  The first night we only had 3 tents (our double dome, the house tent, and the girl’s tent).  In 51 there were two teen age looking couples, and 54 was empty.  51 left on friday am, no one showed up til the evening, and they said their sister had the campsite but was unable to come, so they were just having a picnic.  It wasn’t until Saturday late night that someone came into 53.  So pretty much, we had the place to ourselves all weekend!

Ok, friday am, we woke, drank beer, ate cold breakfast and went for a swim.  Sometime around the afternoon it rained (can I be any more vague?) then we went on the boat.  We went down by the spillway, where the water was nice and smooth!  We wore our life jackets as diapers, held our beers and floated!  Flip, Beth, and Jarrod took turns wakeboarding, and they all rocked!  That night we made ribs (OMG YUM, my hubbie is awesome on the grill!) and drank beer (seeing a theme here?).  I think we broke open the wine bottle too.  Oh and the captain, and the vodka, and more beer.

 

Saturday, more of the same, eating, drinking, smoking, swimming.  Unfortunately, it rained for about 4 hours.  NON stop.  UGH.  My kids drove me nuts in the tent.  Everyone’s child did.  We drank beer to compensate.  Finally around 8pm, it stopped!  Mike grilled some awesome pork chops and steaks.  We were right across the cove from where they were setting off the fireworks.  They were so sweet.  It was beautiful across the lake, and the view was spectacular.  About this time, we opened two more bottles of wine.  And drank.

Sunday, we were exhausted.  After eating, drinking, and swimming, we all decided to pack up and not stay another night (wimps huh).

I would guess that we went through about 50 bags of ice, 3 large bottles of wine, at least 2 cartons of cigs, a gallon of captain’s, and maybe 10 30 packs of beer?  if not more?!?  I’ll have to ask Mike for an official count.

Funny thing my hubby said, which completes the story of the weekend, “I ain’t quit drinkin since I started!”

Yeah buddy!  Other memories:

lol, oh and the DAYLIGHT game was pretty funny too!

Beer me!

Timmy called everyone a Poopyhead, and then laughed his head off.  Too cute!

 

ETA:  Check out the pics HERE  ETA:  Check out the pics HERE  ETA:  Check out the pics HERE 

ETA:  Check out the pics HERE  ETA:  Check out the pics HERE  ETA:  Check out the pics HERE 

ETA:  I didn’t have my camera (freaking thing is broken), so I didn’t get as many pics as I would’ve liked!  But I ganked (my new word)  many of these from  Joey!  Keepin’ it f’real!

ETA:  I will have more pics from Dan Dan the Weatherman, AKA DJ Dan, AKA American Beauty Dan, the picture takin’ fool!

 

We’re Back!

Yes, a day early!  We are scattered, covered, smothered, and chunked.  No, I don’t know what that has to do with camping, but I’m assuming it’s pretty close to how I feel right now.  I’ll have to organize my thoughts (READ:  detox) and snag some pictures from the gals and tell ya more about it.  But for the most part, IT ROCKED DUDE!

And Beth, if you are reading this, I have ONE thing to say,   HAHAHAHAHA!

 

Camping 2008: Planning

 

Ahhh, nature, fresh air, outdoors, not shaving your armpits for a week.  Camping.  So relaxing.  Yeah, right!  Getting the freaking tents up, unloading the vehicles, not letting your kid burn, drown, get eating by the world’s largest mosquitoes, or eat raw food is NOT relaxing.  But it’s fun, and memorable.

This year, we are going to the same place, LAKE OUACHITA  about a 30 minue drive from home (yeah REAL far huh??) but you’d never it know it.  It’s a 40,000 acre lake, the biggest in the state (more room for your kid to get lost). 

We rough it.  Tents.  No running water, shower or toilet (ok, NONE within a 6.79 minute walking distance) and no electricity.  We love it!  Last year some dumbass redneck had a huge old generator running at the site ALL. NIGHT. LONG.  Fucktard.

So last year it was our family, with some drop in friend (Flip and Em, Crystal and Ashley).  We’ll be there for 5 days, 4 nights.  This year the crew has expanded.  P and M and their son from Louisiana (hubbie’s friend from childhood), J and J and her son from TexASS (dh’s friend from college), D (dh’s friend from work), oh and J’s boss, girlyfriend and kids.  WOW!  So I *think* we’ll be ending up with SIX tents!  AcK!

Here’s my packing/grocery list:

tent, hammer, mallet, rope, tarp, grill, charcoal, lighter fluid, air mattress (?), coolers, chairs, table (?)

blankets, pillows, towels, clothes/swimwear, shoes, personal crap (sunblock, diapers, wipes etc)

outdoor play (noodles, kickboards, shovels, pails, motor boats, wagon, bikes, etc)

foil, ziplocks, plates, plasticwear, cups, papertowels, cooking utensils, frying pan, trash bags, cutting board, dish soap, washclothes, broom, clorox wipes

beer (lots), cokes, capri sun, water, HB buns, dawg buns, bread, HB, dawgs, PB, jelly, ham, mustard, ketchup, mayo, relish, cheese (sliced, shredded, block), potatoes, onions, peppers, smore’s shit, ribs, steak, poptarts, seasoning (cajun, garlic, s&p) butter, chips, sunflower seeds, salsa, tomato, salad, carrot stix, celery stix, veggie dip, dressing, eggs, apples, oranges, bacon

I figure we’ll need 2 beer coolers (one for campsites and one for boat), one coke/water/capri sun cooler, one for just ice, and 4 for food (if not more).

I know there is more that I need, but am now brain fried.

Oh, and I take my RN boards when I come back.  BLECH

 

Tree Huggers

Happy Earth Day!  I hope y’all have been making small steps to become more green!  It’s all the rage!  I’ve bought reuseable bags, switched to those fancy light bulbs, am going to start my own garden.  Of course I still drive a gas guzzler Tahoe    .  Do something good for Earth today!

Here are two of my tree huggers yesterday

 

OWWW! I feel good!

 

I got to sleep in today!  After weeks of waking up at 5am or 6am (after a toss n turn night), taking the Dude to school, then going to school myself, pick up kids, clean, dinner, and often then to work for a 12 hour shift, then only sleeping 3-5 hours the next day before I work again . . . well none of that happened.  I studied last night until around 10pm, went to bed, only woke up maybe twice, told the Daddy-O to get up.  He took the Dude to school, and the other two slept until ….. wait for it……. NINE AM!!!!!!!!!!!!

I feel good, finally rested.  I have the smallest two beans at home today.  I can study for my best test tomorrow (which is the one I did horribly on last year) and clean my horrible house.  Next week is spring break, WOOT!  I plan on working Thursday through Sunday nights (12 hours), be off Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday (hoping maybe go camping and the circus), and then work again Thursday through Saturday nights.  Sunday is our anniversary!  Woot!