Surprise!

We managed to pull off a surprise birthday party for Cassidy last Friday night. I actually planned it (with Katy's help) very spur of the moment (because that's how I tend to operate), and it turned out very well. I rented a room for the night at a nearby hotel and invited her closest friends.

The plan was for Katy to invite Cassidy to spend the night with her Friday but Cassidy declined because she wanted to wake up at home on her actual birthday. That meant that I had to pack her a bag and hope she didn't notice anything missing. The only thing I forgot was her toothbrush.

I went early to check in and get the room ready. Everyone showed up on time and I let the girls decide how we would handle her arrival. They wanted the lights turned off whenever she came through the door and to hide in various places throughout the living room. Obviously they would jump out and yell "surprise" whenever she came in.

Her dad had told her that we were going to dinner for her birthday but they would first have to come by the hotel to pick me up. I was supposedly there to visit with some of my old high school friends who were in town for our reunion and wanted them to meet my kids. Later she told me she was really annoyed about having to meet "these people" and really upset that we weren't planning anything special for her birthday weekend. She even called Lauren complaining.

Les called from the parking lot to let us know they were on their way up. My friend, Shelli, stood behind the door and opened it whenever they knocked. I was standing against the wall so I could flip the lights on after they got through the entry way. Les came first with Cassidy and Caden following closely behind him. He took a few steps inside saying, Hello, hello?" I thought she was looking right at me, (she was six inches from me) but she later told me she couldn't really see me. I flipped the lights on and the girls all jumped out and screamed "surprise". She was actually confused for a moment. It took her a minute to process it. (We were once thrown a surprise going away party and it was one of the strangest experiences I've ever had. It's like slow motion where your mind takes a moment to register why people are jumping out yelling at you and then you finally realize what is happening)

We ate pizza and the girls swam in the indoor pool. I was a little paranoid about the noise level but the girls were great. I was really impressed with how well behaved they all were. We were so, so bad at that age. We were loud, obnoxious and out of control! I was expecting it to be a LONG night but really lucked out. I gave the girls the big bedroom and slept on the pullout couch bed. We woke up the next morning and and gorged on the free breakfast, which was one of the best I've ever had.

The staff at the hotel were in on my plans and couldn't have been any nicer. I've still got to go online and give them a five star review.

It was really awesome to see her reaction. After the shock wore off she had a million questions about how I was able to pull it off. Everyone should be surprised like that at least once in their life. (Lauren, I owe you one!)

We Survivied Ike

It's definitely been an interesting week and things are still not back to normal. We just got power back last night and most people are still without. Most businesses are still closed and most people have not yet returned to work. Traffic is terrible because traffic lights are either out or just flashing. Some stores are open without electricity. Gas lines were horrible for days after the storm but have gotten better as a few more places have started opening. I think our local Wal-Mart is still running on a generator and only has limited cold foods. I never knew bread and milk could be such a commodity. Luckily, I bought two gallons before the storm. The day before the storm was a grocery store and gas line hell. I had to buy bagels because there was no bread to be found. I did get plenty of ice, water and other necessities though.

The storm was supposed to hit us sometime after midnight last Friday night/Saturday morning so I wanted us to all sleep together in the living room. The winds had picked up in the afternoon and by evening were getting strong. The kids played outside until dark, then we all showered and got ready to hunker down. (By the way, Karen, I heard that word ALL WEEK from the news media, too!) We fully expected to lose power so we had flashlights and candles ready to go, along with a radio and battery operated TV. We were all set up with the air mattress in the living room and a kid on each couch. Once the wind got stronger and the rain started we let the dogs inside and watched TV until we lost power at about 10:30pm. We were all bummed that it went out so quickly! We turned on the radio for news and within an hour had all four fallen asleep. Caden slept through it all and Les slept through most of it. Cassidy and I both woke up continually throughout the night. The howling and squealing wind was scary. I would doze off for a while but the wind was worrying and waking me. I kept in touch with friends/family most of the night via text. The cell phones didn't start acting up until the day after the storm. Everyone would lose service on and off for several days afterward and some people could only text.

Our set up for Ike.


I woke up at 4am and it was completely quiet outside. Absolutely no wind or rain. I text'd Kelli asking her if it was over, not realizing we were in the eye of the hurricane and that we had another round coming our way within the hour. She told me to go outside and see if we had any damage. I grabbed a flashlight and took Jaxon with me cause I was scared. (Abby is going deaf and she slept through most of the noise). There were trees down and debris everywhere, leaves and twigs all over our cars and house, limbs down all over the place, but no significant damage. Cassidy and Les woke up and followed me shortly after. The still and quiet didn't last long.

We were still awake when it started again but at some point managed to doze for periods of time. Les had to leave for work at around 7am. It was still very bad outside and I was scared for him to drive, and also scared a tree might fall on the house or something after he left but he had no choice. He's emergency personnel and had to be there for his shift. Thankfully, we were all safe when it was over.

Our house and street the morning after. We had minimal damage. Like almost everyone else we lost most of our fence, a strip from our carport, some pieces of our storage shed, tree limbs and shingles.



I was surprised when I looked out into our backyard and was staring right into my neighbor's backyard. We lost 85% of our fence on all three sides. The tree on the right was laying on the power lines. We've had to keep the dogs inside almost 24/7 now and it's been a PITA. It doesn't smell all that great either. We can chain them in the front for a while as long as the mailman has already been by.

Our new bigger back yard.


By Sunday we were miserable without power. Lauren wanted us to come to her apartment but I just didn't want to leave. There was a lot of clean up left to do and I felt like I should be here to keep up with the animals and house since Les still had to work. We were able to get a generator Sunday evening and that made it so much better. It was expensive to keep running and required daily trips to get gas and waiting in those long lines but well worth it. We were able to run a few fans, our frig., watch DVD's, charge our phones and plug stuff in if necessary. The generator made a world of difference but it was still a rough and long week. I was definitely not cut out to be a pioneer woman.

Just like almost everyone else in this city we were eating from the grill almost everyday last week. We ate so much BBQ this week I don't think I want to see any for months but I'm DYING for Mexican food. We also had plenty of company. Everyone was in the same boat but it made it better to suffer together.




As odd as it sounds, we sort of had a routine this week. It usually required a trip to the gas station and a ride around town to keep from losing our sanity. The first few nights there were curfews and the main roads were so dark it was eerie. I had to break the curfew a few times to drive my nephew back to his apartment.

It was a good sign when the tree cutting trucks swarmed the neighborhood yesterday. I watched them cut the tree that was hugging our power lines from my bedroom window. By the way, it's not even our tree and everything he cut fell into our yard. Oh, and the tree cutter's do not take the limbs with them. Apparently that's our job, but I'm not complaining. Thanks to these guys Center Point was able to get to the power lines and I'm happy to report that we got power last night and slept with a/c for the first time since last Friday night. It was also nice to shower with a light on, rather than by a lantern or candle light.






The kids got out of school on the Wednesday before the storm and will not return until next Thursday, that is as long as power has been restored to all schools. Basically, we're on a two week break, if you can call it that. We're all going stir crazy. Everyone I know is feeling it. We've hung out, had some fun and made the best of it but we're all ready for life to to get back to normal soon.

A few shots of our area.







In spite of it all, I would do it again. I never wanted to evacuate. I was afraid of getting stranded out of the city and not being able to get back in to check on my family and our house. I don't regret staying here. We live fairly close to the bay but weren't under mandatory evacuation. I'm impressed with how well my house withstood the winds and thankful our friends and family are safe.

Thanks for the well wishes and Lauren for updating the blog. I've been so lost without the internet and might not ever catch up on my daily blog reading.
Teedee, how is your mom and her place? All of your family okay?

Update from Lauren

Thank you so much to everyone who kept my family in their thoughts and prayers this past weekend. All of our family and loved ones are safe and grateful no major damage has been done.

My mom requested I post an update blog since my family is still without electricity back home. I stayed in College Station and anticipated Ike to do a little more damage here in Aggieland than what was done, but thankfully nothing severe occurred and I still have air conditioning and running water.

Cell phones have been a big issue the past couple of days and I have only spoken to my mom a handful of times since Ike hit, our main conversations are in text messages. Our house withstood this ugly hurricane with minimal damage. We lost some shingles on the roof and the fences in the back yard are fallen down. Along with other minor things this is about the extent of the harm done.

They have been without power since the last post and are now running two fans, the fridge, and a T.V. off of a generator. Abby and Jaxon have to stay inside due to the lack of fencing, which I’m sure is quite interesting since we acquired a cat a few weeks ago…

I’ll leave the details for my mom to cover at a later date since this is all second-hand info and I wasn’t there to experience the eye of the hurricane… besides, she’s probably foaming at the mouth to share the stories ☺

My prayers and condolences go out to anyone who has suffered because of Hurricane Ike.

Yikes! Just Waiting on Ike

We’re preparing for Hurricane Ike’s arrival tonight. Things are pretty chaotic around here. The wind is picking up and it looks eerie outside. We have everything we need and have made all of the necessary preparations. I expect to lose power pretty early in the storm, and to be without it for an extended period of time (but would love to be wrong).
The candles and flashlights are ready to go. We have ice, water, food, etc. We’re letting the dogs inside soon and putting the air mattress in the living room, where we will all stay together throughout the night.
The cell phones are charged and we hope to have service to keep in touch with our family and friends who are also riding out the storm.
Lauren was supposed to be home this weekend. By mid-week we knew we might be in the path of Ike and it became obvious that she should stay in College Station. They’re going to get bad weather and hurricane force winds, but she’ll be safer there than she would be here. I just wish she was with us because I think we will be just fine. She’s worried about us and we’re worried about her. I don’t like being away from her during all of this.
We’re watching local coverage while we still can. Galveston is already a mess and Ike won’t be making landfall until the early morning hours.
I’m sure my phone will be in overdrive tonight as I try to make contact with all of my friends and family throughout the night. I hope we don’t lose service.
I pray that we all weather this storm with minimal damage.
We just lost power but its back on for the time being, so I better go and hope I can post this before it’s off for good.
No time for spell check!
We love you, Nawen! Wish we were together but glad you are safer where you are.

California Dreamin'

So, Lauren is officially off at school. She headed back yesterday. It feels weird. I’ve never gone longer than two weeks without seeing her and that was only once when she was out of town. It’s not like she’s in another state or anything, but I seriously doubt she’ll be coming home that often with the gas prices being so high, not to mention the amount of study time she’ll be putting in this semester.

We were talking about her cooking yesterday (especially to save money by not eating out) and it hit me just how clueless she is about cooking and grocery shopping. I actually feel guilty that I never forced her to learn how to cook. First of all, I’m no Betty Crocker, but there are a number of dishes that I can cook and cook well, though that hasn't always been the case. I’ve also been known to pull out the cookbook and try something new every now and then. (Granted, not as often as I should) Overall, cooking isn’t something I enjoy that much so don’t let me give the false impression that I’m really into it, because I’m not. However, I might like it much more if someone came along behind me and cleaned up the mess.

Lauren can make breakfast stuff, spaghetti and she loves the frozen pasta dinners that you toss into a pan for a ready-made meal, but that’s about the extent of her kitchen skills. I’m going to email her some easy recipes and suggest some must have items to have on hand for cooking at all times.

As she was leaving yesterday I thought back to the first time I moved away from home and just how clueless I was. I was eighteen-years-old and wet behind the ears with a two-month-old baby in tow. We were moving to Ft. Ord, California so Les could attend DLI for a year. My parents both took a week off from work to drive our car to California for us. Lauren and I were flying there courtesy of Uncle Sam. The plan was that mom and dad would arrive a few days after we did and stay for a week to help us get unpacked and settled into our new place. We had movers, also courtesy of Uncle Sam, to transport all of our earthly belongings from Texas to California.

We were moving into a 2-bedroom, 2 bathroom trailer located on Ft. Ord Military Base. We’d lived in a small house just a few blocks from my parent’s home right after we’d gotten married, but were only there for a few months before Les left for boot camp then I moved back home. I never really got domesticated or experienced being on my own until the move to California.

The movers came with all of our stuff that week and mom and dad helped us get all set up. We had hand-me-down couches (that actually received lots of compliments that year), a small dining table, our bed and dresser and Lauren’s crib and furniture. The trailer we rented was new and very nice and spacious. The trailer park itself looked like a regular little neighborhood/community complete with driveways and fenced in back yards. When we were done unpacking, it looked good, especially for a young married couple just starting out. We were very proud of our new home.

I’ll never forget how scared I was when it came time to drive my parents to the airport and say our goodbyes. I was 1800 miles from home and had no idea when we could afford a visit back to Texas or if my parents would be back to visit us anytime soon. I was a huge Mama’s girl, totally dependent on her, and completely clueless about managing a house and family. I’d been living back at home with them for months waiting until Les finished boot camp and got his official orders to move to California. My parents were very attached to Lauren (she’d come home from the hospital to their house) and were emotional about leaving us, too. I felt a panic set in as they started to board their plane back to Texas. How was I ever going to survive so far away from home, especially with Les being in school for such long hours and not having any friends or family nearby? I had pretty good maternal instincts but what if I couldn’t get Lauren to sleep at night and mom wasn’t around to help me when she was cranky? How was I going to care for this baby all by myself? (Les didn’t count; he was pretty clueless about babies back then). I was terrified. I was also sad that it would likely be many months before I would see them again. I’d never been away from home before (besides church camp) and it felt like I was being thrown to the wolves.

Did I mention that I also didn’t know how to cook a blessed thing? The most I was capable of cooking was a grilled cheese sandwich, scrambled eggs and bacon. Once, I’d even once blown up a glass dish that I was cooking bacon in while in the microwave. (There was a huge explosion and shards of glass covering the inside of the microwave) Oh, and I used to stir hamburger meat for my mom if I happened to be in the kitchen while she was cooking and she asked me to. That was the extent of my cooking capabilities and nothing more. I’m so not kidding. I had no idea how to make a meal if it didn’t come right out of a package and go straight into the microwave. Les could cook but it wasn’t exactly ideal for him to do so considering he was leaving the house everyday at 5am for PT, in class all day long and then studying for several hours every night. He was learning to read, write and speak Korean, which was intense, and he didn’t have time for much else during the week. If left up to me, we would’ve starved to death or just lived strictly on grilled cheese.

That next year would prove to be a challenge, complete with financial stress, homesickness, cooking 101, meeting new friends and learning to adjust to Military life 1800 miles away from home. (To be continued).

The Big Day

We spent all day Friday packing a rented trailer full of furniture and miscellaneous things belonging to Lauren. On Saturday we all got up and drove to College Station and officially moved her into her new apartment.

As we pulled into the complex we were amazed at the number of moving trucks and trailers, just like the one we were pulling, lining the parking lot of this enormous complex. As we started the long process of unpacking, we couldn’t help but notice all of the other parents doing the exact same thing.

Just when Les and Lauren’s roommates Dad were about to start unloading the heavy stuff, the Calvary pulled up. That would be the seven young men you see pictured below with Lauren. They were hired by the complex to drive around all day and help people move in. We just thought they were angels who arrived in the nick of time. Did I mention that she lives on the third floor? I think Les wanted to kiss these guys but instead he just tipped them.

We spent most of the day unpacking and trying to get her settled into her new home. By the end of the night we were all worn out. After packing and unpacking for two solid days it made me greatly appreciate the many times my parents helped us move from town to town during our Military years.

She’ll be back home tomorrow to spend another week before school starts so I haven’t yet felt the emotions of a real goodbye. As excited as I am for her, I do anticipate some booing and hooing on my part.

Her apartment is very nice. She has two roommates. Her bedroom is huge with three big windows making it feel so bright and open. They also have a huge swimming pool, work out facilities and even a small movie theater, which by the way, Caden and Cassidy loved. I know she’s going to love it there. College Station is a great town and she has lots of old and new friends there to keep her company. (It was great to see you, Trey! I know I don’t even have to ask, but please keep an eye on Lauren. She’s kind of a big deal to us!)

Tagged for a MeMe

I was tagged by Ronni at Ronni's Rants to do a meme as follows:

The Rules:
1. Link to the person who tagged you. (See above.)
2. Mention the rules on your blog. (Here they are.)
3. Tell about six unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag six fellow bloggers by linking them.
5. Leave a comment on each of the six blogger’s blogs letting them know they’ve been tagged.

I am breaking the rules (for myself) and only tagging three fellow bloggers. (I don't comment regularly on all of the 100 plus blogs that I read, so I am not sure they would participate if tagged by a "lurker"!)

Darla
Shauna
Karen

1. I cannot go barefoot, even in the house. I must have slippers or flip-flops on at all times, unless I am swimming or walking around a pool/lake/the beach.

2. I must have a LARGE cup of ice water next to my bed every night before going to sleep. I may or may not touch it, but it must be there just in case I get thirsty.

3. I have two special pillows and do not share them. (Everyone in this house knows that) I also have a third pillow but am not so particular about the third one. I will use any third pillow, as long as I have my special two. When traveling I must take at least one of them with me, depending on how much room I have to pack them.

4. I keep my cell phone on vibrate 95% of the time because I hate the sound of it ringing. I rarely turn the ringer on unless I’m waiting on a very important call.

5. I hate waking up to an actual alarm clock so I use an old cell phone, also on vibrate, which I stick under my pillow at night and the vibration wakes me. I hate the sound of an alarm, mine or anyone else’s.

6. Whenever we are go on vacation, (even just a weekend away) I have to clean the house before we leave, even if that means I am up all night packing/cleaning. (Which is almost always the case)

Sadly, I just realized I could post so many more quirks. I have only touched the surface of my quirky personality. To prove my point, here's an old post from 06 where I share many more of them.

Bring it on, Edouard!

It appears that we are in the path of a Tropical Storm, possibly strengthening to a category 1 hurricane by the time it makes landfall tomorrow morning. I'm ashamed to admit this, but I'm excited. No, I don’t want anyone to die or for the storm to severely damage or flood anyone’s property, but I do admit that I like storms. My friend, Kelli, and I are always excited when we find out we may be getting bad weather, especially TS or hurricane type weather. I guess that makes us twisted individuals or something. I have a friend in Corpus that is the same way and we usually fight over whose turn it is to get a storm. (Houston/Galveston or Corpus Christi/Padre). It’s usually just us wanting a day or two off from work! Since I'm off for the summer that really doesn’t apply now, but I'm still excited so I guess I really am twisted.

I was in junior high in 1983 when Hurricane Alicia hit. I remember the heavy winds and stormy weather very well. It was exciting and scary. We lost power and ended up all playing games and huddling together waiting on it to blow over. We were without power for almost two weeks afterward and had to stay with my grandparents. Being without A/C in Houston (especially in August) is never fun.

In 2005, when Hurricane Rita was churning in the Gulf, the city personnel and media had the entire state of south Texas in a panic. Evacuations were mandatory in most places, voluntary in others. They were preparing us for storm surges and major flooding. People panicked and the majority of the population in the area decided it would be safer to evacuate, mandatory or not. Most people began leaving their homes two days before the storm was scheduled to hit land. She was going to be a category 5 and people were terrified.

It was a big deal and the city was basically shutting down. I didn’t get off work in time to leave with my family and my husband was required to stay for his job. Once my parents and siblings had left and were already on the road, I really didn’t want to take a road trip with the kids and dogs all alone. I ended up waiting around before deciding what to do before what I was seeing on the news helped make the decision for me. All roads and freeways leading out of town were like parking lots. It was complete chaos. People were running out of gas on the feeder roads, driving the wrong way on the freeways trying to get off and find somewhere to get food and gas, getting sick from the heat, running our of food and water in their vehicles, etc. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing on the news and wanted no part of it.

It took my family, who were all driving in a caravan with a travel trailer and RV over 24 hours to get to my grandma’s house, which is typically a 3.5-hour drive. It was a nightmare.

The kids were upset with us for deciding that we would stay here. They wanted to be with their cousins on what they thought would be an awesome and exciting road trip/adventure. Plus, they thought we were basically setting them up for sure death. I saw the news and was in constant communication with my family. I knew it was no adventure that I wanted any part of. Funny note: (sorry, Mom) my mom actually had to squat in a parking lot to go potty. There was no other option for her at the time. That was huge and probably a first for her. I was so proud! I never knew she had it in her.

We were prepared to go to work (the police station) with my husband if things got too bad here. The building is old and tough and safer than our modest home. I took all of our pictures and home videos and stacked them up high in the house in case of flooding and we waited for the storm of the century.

The city was like a ghost town. Stores were closed. Roads were totally clear of other cars. I think we were the only people on our street that stayed. Our entire neighborhood seemed deserted and we seemed to be the only people left for miles. All of our friends and family had left. After two days of complete boredom, constantly watching the chaos of the evacuations on the news and the anticipation of what we had in store, we decided to go for a drive to get the kids out of the house.

It was so cool. We were the only car on the entire freeway. We drove for miles before seeing anyone else on the road. We drove to Kemah, which is usually packed with people on the Boardwalk and surrounding restaurants. There wasn’t a soul in sight.

On our way home we actually passed an open convenience store and everyone got so excited. We stopped, mostly to stock up on junk food, but I think we wanted and needed to see other people. At that point, we were feeling pretty alone. There were a few people inside. I remember meeting one couple that had stayed to keep an eye on their restaurant. We told the kids to get whatever they wanted. We were sick of them whining about the fact that we were the only people who stayed and how we should’ve gone, too. Believe me, the people who did leave went through hell trying to get out of town and I did us all a huge favor by not joining everyone else. We spent $60 on junk food before heading back home and that shut them up for a while.

In the end, the storm took a turn east more towards Louisiana making landfall as a category 3 and all we got was some heavy rain and winds. There were some branches down in the yard, but the storm barely even woke me up. I slept in the living room with the kids and when I heard the wind I got up and checked things out but then fell right back to sleep.

I was asked to drive by some houses after the storm to evaluate any damage, since most people were stuck out of town for a few days waiting to get back home and were anxious to know what, if any, damage they were coming home to. Fortunately, no one had extensive damage, mostly just fallen branches and limbs.

The city has since worked on improving emergency evacuation routes but I don’t think most people have much faith in the system. For the most part, the next time we are encouraged to leave, I seriously doubt that most people will go willingly after their hellish experiences in 2005. It'll be like crying wolf, in my opinion. No one will ever believe the big one is actually coming.

As far as this latest storm goes, it doesn't sound too scary. I have candles on hand (always do) but don't anticipate needing them. Cassidy and Caden are at their Grandma’s and we’ve opted to leave them there. She lives farther from the coast than we do in a house made of cinder block. (That house isn’t going anywhere). I’m sure she’ll try to coax me into coming over, too, but I’ll just stay here with the dogs. I’m trying to persuade Lauren into staying the night here just because I'll feel better if she is with us. As a precaution, most people are off from work tomorrow so maybe I’ll have a few friends over tonight for a hurricane party! Of course I hope and pray that no one is injured or loses their homes and/or businesses. Really, all we ever want is just some heavy rain and a day (or two) off from work. Is that asking too much?

Here are some before (the calm before the storm) and after photos from Rita, in no particular order. (Notice the looks of sheer displeasure on the kids faces).

And This Years Award Goes To.........

We went to Incredible Pizza tonight and most definitely got our moneys worth from our visit. We had two coupons for one free adult and child dinner, plus a $10 token card that expires Thursday and we didn’t want those to go to waste. We all ate and played for free. We actually have two more left but I seriously doubt we’ll use them before Thursday. That just might be too much pizza and fun for one week. Although, it would be another free dinner and I’m all about not cooking whenever I can get away with it.

We all bowled and played miniature golf. The kids rode go-carts and bumper cars before we left for the movies. This is where I earn myself yet another nomination for Mother of the Year. I know, I really should let some of you other mother’s out there have a fair shot at this nomination and award, but I just keep going that extra mile.

We’re all big Will Ferrell fans in this house and were dying to see Step Brothers since we saw the previews. I just didn’t know that it was rated R until after we bought our tickets and were actually walking into the theatre. Cassidy brought it to my attention. We really do have a PG 13 policy. There are exceptions, (like allowing Cassidy to see Strangers, which was rated R for violence and language) but for the most part, they aren’t allowed to watch rated R movies.

So, there I was, faced with the realization that I wasn’t expecting. I had screwed up by assuming it was PG 13. I cringed and hesitated before finally going on into the theatre and hoping it wouldn’t be that bad. I guess you could call that wishful thinking.
We covered their eyes twice (in between bouts of our own hysterical laughter).

It was somewhat awkward sitting there laughing hysterically and grimacing at the same time. At one point I actually asked Les if we should just get up and leave and we both gave it some serious thought before agreeing that they’ve probably heard it all before (and maybe even worse) at school. I mean my first rated R movie was Young Lady Cha*terly, which made this look like a G rated Disney film (and I was younger than Caden when I saw it late at night on cable TV)!

As we were leaving the lights were still off and Les whispered to me, “Let’s get out of here quick before someone sees that we have our kids with us”. Then we walked shamefully to the car.

We're Back! (In One Piece)

We pulled into the driveway last night (ummm, or this morning) at 3am. Ahhhh, home sweet home. We decided we couldn't miss the fish and shrimp fry so we stuck around for dinner and got a late start back home. We were technically paid to stay through Sunday but always prefer having a full day of recovery before going back to work, so we didn't care what time we got home as long as we woke up in our bed today. (which by the way, was after 1pm) Of course, this is my first year to not have to return to work tomorrow since I'm off for the summer but Les has my deepest sympathy.

In spite of it raining the first three days we were there, we still had a blast and were actually wishing we had stayed the full two weeks. I'm actually leaning towards going back with Lauren and her friend tomorrow for a few more days. It's a five hour drive but worth it.

Highlights (and non-highlights) of the trip:

Having Lauren ride to and from with us for the first time in about five years. It was nice to have her stuck in the car with us again for a change.

Les and I being stuck in the tent in the rain for hours at a time on and off for the first three days then realizing we'd forgotten to even pack a deck of cards. At least we had vodka, 7 Up and our excellent personalities to keep us from shooting ourselves.

Repeatedly sweeping our picnic area off and hosing down the dirt from our outside camping stuff after each downpour, only to have another round of rain come through a few hours later making everything dirty and nasty again.

Going out into the rain about 100 times to move the dogs from their chains to the tree to inside of our utility trailer to keep them dry. Fun? Not so much.

Taking the kids Geocaching in the rain. That was really cool. If you haven't heard of Geocaching before, it's basically like a scavenger hunt for something that you use a GPS to locate. People from all over the world participate and post the coordinates of things they have hidden on a website. Les had written down all of the ones located in the park prior to our trip so we decided to go even though it was raining. You have to use a GPS to locate it. We were basically hiking through the hills and trails trying to find the hidden object. Other than the fact that I forgot my tennis shoes (among other things) and got two huge blisters on my feet from wearing my water sandals, it was awesome and the kids loved it. The rain made it more adventurous.

Staying up with some people in our group late into the night laughing and sharing our greatest poop stories of all times. I laughed so hard my stomach and face hurt. A few of those stories might make it to the blog one day (with identities protected, of course).

Losing track of the day of the week and having someone else remind us that it was our 21st wedding anniversary. Hey, at least we BOTH forgot!

Sitting down at the picnic table and being stung where the sun don't shine by a bee. I ran into the tent screaming and jumped onto the bed sitting up on all fours asking Les to make sure the stinger wasn't still in. It wasn't, but it hurt like hell for 20 minutes. At least he finally quit telling me that the bees weren't going to hurt me anymore. LIAR! I knew there was a good reason to be scared of them. They hovered over the kids empty Coke cans all week. Those sneaky and unwelcome bastards!

Making it through the entire trip without a single episode of family drama!(Or at least any major drama!) Record books! Note: This could be a result of the fact that our site was located a good distance from camp central, so we had more of our own personal space than usual.

Sleeping in a tent while it rained. Now that's a relaxing and peaceful sound.

Not having to use the park showers one single time, thanks to our new handy dandy camping shower that TOTALLY rocks. (see below) Note: Sold at Academy for $40 and worth every cent!

Having great mother daughter bonding time with Lauren for an entire day of just the two of us relaxing in the water for about five plus hours. We got so burned! Turns out she loves sitting in a chair in the water for hours on end as much as I do. (as long as the cooler is nearby) Who knew? Oh, and among other things she shared or confessed to me, she told me all about the times she used to sneak out of the house during her junior and senior years. What am I supposed to do now except laugh? It's not like I can ground her now. I was actually so shocked that I couldn't stop laughing! OMG! I was the master at that age but had no idea that she had ever pulled it off. She even used the pillows in the bed trick. Whatever, I invented that! I threatened her with her life that she better not ever tell Cassidy her tricks.

Having to use wet wipes to clean my feet every night before climbing into bed to wipe the dirt off of them. You just gotta love camping!

Washing dishes after the guys have cooked for like 40 plus people, not so fun.

Our tent totally rocked and withstood the rain very well. It was big enough for our bed, two chairs and the tons of tubs containing all of of our "stuff". Plus, we could easily walk around and had plenty of open space. Everyone made fun of us for bringing two TV trays to use for our night stands. These would be the same people who are living it up in their travel trailers! We have an air mattress on a stand so it's pretty cool that it doesn't sit on the floor. Oh, and did I mention that we also take a portable air conditioner every year that keeps us from dying in the Texas heat? We're usually freezing in the mornings. (see below) Does that make us real redneck campers? Please, don't answer that.

I actually had so much fun that there's a good chance I'll be going back for a few more days with Lauren and her friend for the rest of this week. She came home with us to ride back up tomorrow with her friend (and to see her boyfriend for a few days) before returning for the rest of the week. Caden decided not to stay for week 2 but if I end up going back tomorrow, he's going back with us.

It felt good to sleep in my own bed and to actually have and keep clean feet after a long, hot BATH, but I would love a few more days of the river and some quality time with the friends and family.

These are the pictures I took with my phone, I've been way too tired and lazy today to bother loading the pictures from the cameras. Did I mention I slept almost all day? Cut me some slack on run-on sentences, spelling or grammatical errors.......I'm still recovering. I have two huge trash bags of laundry to do and 2,000 tubs to unpack but haven't so much as lifted a finger all day. Sigh. However, Caden and I are catching up on all of the shows he DVR'd while we were gone.

Here's a little taste of our week.

Lauren and Caden used this tent. (mostly Caden) Lauren had her stuff in it but for the most part she floated from trailer to trailer (and earned quite a reputation for making her rounds through the park! Ha! Of course, they were people in our group!) Cassidy visited us but she and her friend had their own bunks in MeMe and PawPaw's trailer.


"The shower"


The good 'ol A/C. See it down there on the right?


Our site.


The master tent that totally rocked. It's new and pretty roomy.


Oh, the view and just a short walk away from our site. Also where I spent the majority of my time RELAXING in my chair.







The dogs haven't moved since we got home.