So much time has passed since I last posted, it will take a few days to get this blog caught up :0 We have been enjoying our summer ...lots of pool days, a little bit of school and some much needed time to reorganize and plan for the upcoming school year. A few weeks ago we went camping with a group of families from church. We haven't been since 2 years ago and we had a great time in spite of 10 hours of cold rain on Monday. A few families had to leave because their tents didn't withstand the storm...another family made an exciting visit to the laundromat to dry their sleeping bags and clothes that got drenched. The rest of us just tried to pass the time...we walked around visiting other campsites for a while..then stayed for an extended visit at our friends' pop-up. What a blessing it was to sit inside, get warm and stay dry. Mrs. Honzie even prepared lunch for us :) Our visit with them literally saved the day ...thanks so much Honzies for sharing your warm space and friendship with us as we literally overtook you! After a couple of hours in the pop-up we heard that there was a Mc'D's close by with an indoor playground...so we packed up and headed there to wait out the storm. We laughed as we were soon joined by 2 other desperate families :)
Upon our return to the rain soaked campground we heard a group was headed out to dinner for pizza. It felt so good to be in the van with the heat on and to sit in a warm restaurant for a while before heading back to our tent for the night. It finally stopped raining just before bedtime and the next day was beautiful and sunny. Some of the excitement on the trip had to do with the sighting of 2 bearcubs and later a yearling. 2 years ago many of us witnessed a mama Bear with her 2 hungry cubs devouring trash at the dumpster. On that same trip several campers also came in close contact with a rattle snake...so there's always a little great outdoor excitement to talk about. During that camping trip , a group of us also watched as a very hungry raccoon boldly ate our s'more fixings while we sat just a few feet away around the campfire! This year, the morning after the storm, one surprised family was awakened by the sound of something slurping up the puddle just outside their tent....a few moments later a bear made eye contact through the screen window with the 'man of the tent'. Thankfully, the critter made a quick exit after that!! Wonder what adventures await our group next year?!
Thanks for checking in...I'll be catching the blog up over the next few days !
Mama B~
L-The Great Protector~ He dutifully packed up his bag with his arsenal of weapons to defend us against bears and rattle snakes~ Doesn't he look fierce?!
Upon our return to the rain soaked campground we heard a group was headed out to dinner for pizza. It felt so good to be in the van with the heat on and to sit in a warm restaurant for a while before heading back to our tent for the night. It finally stopped raining just before bedtime and the next day was beautiful and sunny. Some of the excitement on the trip had to do with the sighting of 2 bearcubs and later a yearling. 2 years ago many of us witnessed a mama Bear with her 2 hungry cubs devouring trash at the dumpster. On that same trip several campers also came in close contact with a rattle snake...so there's always a little great outdoor excitement to talk about. During that camping trip , a group of us also watched as a very hungry raccoon boldly ate our s'more fixings while we sat just a few feet away around the campfire! This year, the morning after the storm, one surprised family was awakened by the sound of something slurping up the puddle just outside their tent....a few moments later a bear made eye contact through the screen window with the 'man of the tent'. Thankfully, the critter made a quick exit after that!! Wonder what adventures await our group next year?!
Thanks for checking in...I'll be catching the blog up over the next few days !
Mama B~
L-The Great Protector~ He dutifully packed up his bag with his arsenal of weapons to defend us against bears and rattle snakes~ Doesn't he look fierce?!
Odesco kept busy while we were setting up camp...here he made a 'fishing rod' out of a stick, some twine and a tent peg forgotten by the previous campers.
Our little spot in the woods...perfect location ...the swings and playground were directly behind our site' so we were able to keep tabs on the littles.
Somehow, we all fit in the tent :)
~Our little slugger!~The kids had just enough time to hit the ball a few times before the rain started falling~
"Look Mommy, I'm a deer!!"Odesco humors us with his creativity~
Our 4 littles looking so fashionable in their rain ponchos
~L giving some love to special friend, "Dee-Dee" while we dried off in the pop-up~
G and "Dee-Dee"
Pretending to have 'naptime' in the pop-up warm,cozy bed! Anything to pass the time!
L had such a fun time reading 'charts' ('maps' sounds too commonplace!) with Mr. Honzie. L later demonstrated his new found geographical knowledge to me and proudly announced that he would be my 'navinator'(aka: navigator) from now on in the car!
The Moms getting warm and catching their breath while the little ones play on the equipment.
Male bonding at the Mc'D's. Here they are staying dry, of course but also checking out the stock market and oh, the weather forecast too! 
What do you do on a rainy day camping? Try to stay dry and warm!!At least we were all in it together ~
A bit wet.... but still smiling!!
Drying out the morning after the rain and enjoying breakfast yummies... part of the fun of camping with friends is having guests for mealtime:) Hannah seemed to enjoy my cooking and ate our breakfast while she waited for hers to be prepared :)
The day after the rain.....AHHH...the warm sun at last !!!
DON'T MESS WITH MY MAN!!! Yep, that's my honey in the red shirt :) While the youth were playing volleyball, the Dads decided to play a game of football as the wives looked on and hoped no one got injured ...thankfully they all walked away in one piece! 
JOY RIDE!!!Mercy's expression says it all...here she is with her little friend, Hannah. Several of the kids we were camping with pulled this wagon up the hill and then gave wild downhill rides to their friends. They creatively named the rides after attractions at Six Flags and gave each thrill seeker the ride of their lives! It was amazing how long this activity amused these kids...it went on for quite a while and made just a bit of noise!! (Happy sounds though...hmm I wonder if that's the reason the camp site' next to us vacated only hours after setting up?!)
Our last evening we joined our friends the Y family for dinner. Brittany , seated between G and Mercy is one of our faithful babysitters and she and her brothers are loved by the little ones :) 
Our last night around the 'community campfire'. Both Mercy and Odesco fell asleep on the laps of our friends after "filling up their guts "on s'mores , pistachio nuts (something new for them!) and yummy watermelon~
You can't tell but the kiddos are wearing those glow bracelets and necklaces-courtesy of Mrs. B who generously shared them with everyone. It was fun seeing our kiddos glow through the trees!
The little guys got in on the glow necklace/bracelet action too !
Thankfully, we returned home early enough on Wednesday to air out all of our damp, musty stuff and began the laundry. By Friday morning, ( 8 jam packed loads later!), we were finally caught up from camping and could begin conquering the 'regular' mountain of laundry :) The fun memories definately made all the effort worthwhile!
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