Camping 2021

 This past week we took our annual Labor Day week camping trip.  This year was a little different.  Darryl and I had a conversation back in July about the simple fact that the pop-up has become so much work.  It's hard to set up, hard to level, and a ton of work to load and unload.  We enjoy the whole camping experience but wish we had a better "home base".  I started looking at a cabins and came across the option to rent a camper.  That really seemed like the way to go so we booked it!  

We took off on Monday and started our trip off right. 

I should have taken a photo of our vehicle because we were packed in like sardines!  It was a super easy drive!! 

We were beyond impressed with our trailer.  It was "deluxe" and it was the true meaning of glamping!  Wow!  We unloaded and unpacked - which was so much easier than the pop-up! 

Once we unloaded, we put on our bathing suits and headed to the pool.  It was actually the last day the pool would be opened so we wanted to make sure we took advantage of it!  We had it to ourselves (but it was a little cold!).  Once we finished swimming we headed back to the camper for dinner.  Dinner was simple - Hot Dogs over the fire, sandwiches, and chips.  

We finished off our night by going to the beach to watch an amazing sunset.  It did not disappoint.  We watched the sun disappear; Darryl, Josh and Nate played some volleyball and I put my feet in the sand and watched the water.  It was amazing. 

Tuesday we woke up to rain.  We were anticipating the weather and planned to hang out in the camper for the day. We keep breakfast simple with just cereal, hard boiled eggs, and muffins. 

We watched a huge storm roll in from the lake.  It was pretty impressive.  

It was a huge hail storm.  I'm so thankful that we did NOT have the pop-up HA!  I'm not sure it would have faired very well in a hail storm!  

We enjoyed a simple lunch of tacos.  I had made the taco meat at home to make it super easy.  

As it rained most of the afternoon we hung out at the camper.  When the rain stopped, we took a walk, the boys all played some basketball and even a game of mini-golf.  I made a new recipe for dinner - pork chops and potatoes in the crock pot.  It was a hit!  So yummy!  

Wednesday - Wednesday dawned beautiful!  Cool and Sunny!  We decided to take off for the day to Lewis Adventure Farms and Petting Zoo after a simple lunch of sandwiches.  

The farm was so very good!!  This donkey was my favroite.  The animals were all so friendly and loved being fed! 

There were so many wonderful activities at the farm from the animals to the slides, to the jumping pillow and games.  We are so glad we went and would go again!  We spent hours there and treated ourselves to cider and donuts too.  

After the farm we headed "home" to cook our traditional steak kabobs over the fire.  We enjoyed an amazing bon fire and smores.  One of my favorite parts of camping - the campfire - did not disappoint!  

Thursday - The day we had to pack up!  It's never fun to pack up but we had to!  It, again, was so much easier than the popup.  Once we were loaded up, we headed into Ludington for a McDonald's picnic lunch at the beach and some time by the lake.  It was a bit chilly but still beautiful! 

It doesn't matter how cold the water is - Nate will ALWAYS go in!  He was the only one daring enough to do it HA!  

Darryl, Josh and Nate took off for a walk down the pier.  I 100% enjoy sitting in my beach chair, with my feet in the sand, listening to nothing but the waives.  The beach was pretty empty so it was so quiet and I was able to just rest my soul for a bit.  It was amazing. 

I wish this was my view every single day but, since it is not, I try to not take it for granted when I do get to enjoy it!!  

This little guy visited me while I was sitting quietly on the beach.  So amazing. 

We finally headed for home after one last stop at Biggby :-) 

It was a very enjoyable trip - more relaxing than past years and much easier all the way around.  We are still talking about what to do next year.  The cost of renting the trailer is more than just reserving a campsite and we have to decide if that price was worth it or if there are less expensive options.  Another agreement we all had is that with such a nice camper (basically a hotel room) we didn't spend as much time outside - even just sitting outside to read - but on the flip side, with the rainstorm on Tuesday we would have been so damp all day long!  So, obviously - pros and cons that we are still figuring out.  

2021 Weekly Photos #29

 This past week was focused on camping and I'll share all of our fun details in a post this coming week but I thought I'd share a few here for a look back at our week. 

It was a great week away with the family.  We enjoyed some relaxation, beach time, and a fun little side trip.  

Weekly Menu

 We had a great week camping but now, it's time to get back into the normal routine.  A little more planning AND sticking to the plan!  Football has started (which we love!), school is starting, music lessons are starting and church activities are picking up again.  I kind of miss 2020  and our super simple schedule to be honest but that's ok - we will enjoy what we get to do this year!  I have quite a few carry over recipes from the last few weeks that I plan on using this week as I work on using stuff up I have on hand verses buying lots of new stuff right now.  

Friday - It is take out night.  

Saturday - Dinner at my mom's

Sunday - Cornish Hens, Stuffing, Mac and Cheese, and Broccoli

Monday - Ham and Cheese Quiche, Asparagus and Tater Tots

Tuesday -  Chili 5-ways (Cheese, Spaghetti, Onions, Sour cream, and Frito's) and corn bread

Wednesday - Chicken Crescent Braid, Applesauce, and Cottage Cheese

Thursday - Ham, Scalloped Potatoes, and a frozen veggie

2021 Weekly Photos #28

 I missed last week!  I was at a scrapbook crop this past Friday and didn't get home until after mid-night so it just didn't happen!  So, here are a few photos from the past two weeks. 

Two Saturday's ago, Nate and I headed into town to watch a Tae Kwon Do testing where one of his teacher would get her 7th Dan (blackbelt).  He got to participate in warm-ups and then we watched lots of testing.  In the end, due to an injury, his teacher didn't even do anything - she was just handed her black belt.  It was slightly disappointing HA! 

On the following day, Sunday, our church held a baptism down at the local beach.  We decided just to go and watch for the sake of watching. 

Fast forward to this past week . . ..

I'm not quite sure what day this was but Josh found cattails alongside the road so we stopped so he could pick one and cut it open.  It was pretty cool to see all the seeds on the inside and set them sailing in the wind! 

On Wednesday we went out to lunch to celebrate that we don't start school for two more weeks.  HA!  Then we took Tropical Smoothies to my mom as a surprise :-) 

This doesn't show well but - - - - on Thursday Nate and I headed back to downtown for Nate's semi-annual checkup for his asthma (all is well) but . .. there are green and red lights over all of the parking garage spots to make it easier to find a spot.  This was amazing!  I truly dislike parking garages so the lights are kinda cool - I can just drive to a green light and hopefully find parking (except if someone parks funny or ALLLLLL the green ones in one section are handicap parking!) 

We've enjoyed are last few weeks of no school while are friends are IN school.  It's been a little bit of a blur, actually.  We are getting ready for a few down days of camping and then we will have to face reality and do school!! HA! 

Weekly Menu

It's Labor Day Weekend!!  The unofficial end of summer!!!  We are going to hang on to summer just a little bit longer though and head out on our annual Labor Day camping trip!  We are super excited for this trip - I'll share more about it later.   So this weeks menu includes our camping meals. 

Friday - This is our normal take out night but I'm not sure what we are doing yet.  With camping next week we might just eat at home today. 

Saturday - Dinner at my mom's!  

Sunday - Chicken on the grill, fried zucchini, Salad and Fruit

Monday-Thursday - Camping :-)  I'll be honest, at the posting of this, I haven't even thought about meals yet because I have been super focused this week on our Co-Op and getting everything ready for that.  

So, I'll share more of our camping trip after we get back including the meals!  .  

September Goals - It's (almost) Fall Ya'll!

 

September - it's such a beautiful month.  It (usually) cools off, the sky changes, and the leaves start to change.  I used to say winter was my favorite because I love the beauty of the fresh snow and how crisp and quiet everything is after that fresh snow but really, fall is my favorite.  The sights and smells are so unique!  The crunchy leaves and the crisp air; the smell of burning leaves and bon fires; hot chocolate and soups.  It is all so good!  It's all the time of fresh beginnings as we start another school year and I try to pick back up on some goals. (Or as my brother recently called them - Suggestions HA!)  

September will be a little different this time around though because, well, it's busy.  I was thinking the other evening what a difference a year makes.  Last year, 2020, at this time we had nothing planned. nothing on the calendar, just school.  This year I feel, well almost overwhelmed a little.  Despite my best efforts to keep our calendar "simple" we still seem to have a super busy September. There isn't anything that is on their that I didn't really think about before adding, it just is that feeling.  Maybe because we are going from doing "nothing" for a year and a half to do "lots".  

This is also impacting how I plan my goals for September.  Personally I am being very specific in choosing what needs to be done and what you won't see posted here is how I have it set up to get certain things done each week.  Well, for the most part you won't - it will be loosely broken down into weeks.  Instead you will see the basic overview and (hopefully) I can "tick" those items off the list before the end of the month! 

This is week 1 because September starts this week!  This is our last "vacation" week at home where our friends are in school and we are not.  

1) My main goal this week is to get all of the paperwork done for Apage, our Co-Op, that I have to do.  This includes family folders, printing a lot of things, name tags and more.  We have a meeting Friday and I plan to take it all and leave it at the church (check-mark!) 

2) My other goal this week is some cleaning.  Or maybe "picking up" is better for this time around.  Josh and Nate have some things in their rooms plus their school desks and I've been just trying to "undo" the piles that have sprung up this summer.  The master bedroom is already done and the living room is partially done. 

3) Get ready for camp!  Next week we are going camping.  This weekend we will gather our stuff and make sure we have all that we need so we can load up on Monday and head out for a few days of family fun before school really starts. 

4) One last goal - finish the trampoline.  We just need to put the enclosure on it and I think we can do that this week.  Then our garage will be ready to be parked in once again! 

That brings us to week 2- Labor Day Week.  Camping is our focus.  

1) There is really only one goal this week - enjoy camping and then, when we get home, take time to put everything away! 

2) Ok a tiny #2 goal - just make sure we are ready to start school Week #3!

3) Oh wait, a #3 goal - it's virtual scrapbook weekend and I'd really, really like to scrapbook!  This one starts Thursday even and goes through Saturday evening so I hope to spend some time preserving memories! 

Weeks 3 and 4 go together.  This is where things kind of pick up!  Everything begins: School, Running Club, Piano Lessons, Drum Lessons, Guitar Lessons, Youth Group, AWANA, and our Co-Op.  I'm' already tired.  

1) Decorate for Fall Ya'll!  Yes, that's right!  It's time to get all the fall decor out both inside and out! 

2) De-flower my summer pots.  I loved my flowers all summer until about mid-August and then they died HA!  

3) Pack for vacation :-) 

4) Make sure the house is ready for me to be gone - general cleaning and making sure everything is put away.  I just like to leave with it all done so I can come home to a clean house! 

5) Have a successful first two weeks of school!  It's always hard to get back into the groove so I want to make sure we start strong. 

And that's all for those two weeks.  I know there will be other things that I find that need to be done and such but with a busy month, these items are top on my list!

Week 5 -- Ready?  Darryl and I take off on a much needed, much planned for, much anticipated 20 year anniversary trip!  We've been looking forward to this for . . . .well, 20 years!  I'll be honest, we are both holding our breath and won't believe it actually happens until it does.  Why?  We planned a trip for both our 5th and 10th anniversaries and both times they had to be cancelled for various reasons.  We are in the countdown now so hopefully no more hurricane's blow into the Gulf of Mexico! 

Recap of Summer Goals

So, maybe this photo should really say "Goodbye Summer" but I hate goodbyes so we will keep it at hello!  Summer is always a tough call - some years I am all of projects and some years I'm not.  I started out strong in June and accomplished quite a bit.  July came and there were some hiccups - Darryl ended up being off work for a few weeks but was also struggling with vertigo.  Anytime he ends up being home for an extended period of time it takes a bit for me to get into a different routine . . . .he wasn't off quite long enough for me to do that!  Added to that - I ended up with poison ivy so I didn't want to do anything because then it would itch and then we all ended up with a summer cold (for real - not covid HA!) .  I feel like I spent half of July either trying not to itch or trying not to cough and sneeze!!  As August approached, though, I kind of got my motivation and hit my list a little harder.  It does help that my extra kids go back to school mid-way through August giving me some more time to work on my list! 

1.  Reading - I posted my summer reading goal earlier this week.   I struggled with reading - I didn't sit out on my swing every day because it was either hot or rainy or the wasps were enjoying my swing too.  I was also reading a couple of books that I didn't love but wanted to finish so they took a bit longer.  .  

2. Scrapbooking - 1) Match the printed album spines to the albums - Done.  2) Order 2011, 2016-2018 photos for September and October and 2020-2021 photos for May, June, July and August by September 1st(ish). I did get some ordered but not all of them!  3) Scrapbook March, April and May 2020 and 2021 4) Scrapbook at least one month in 2011, 2016-2018. 5) Add all memorabilia to any completed album (finally cleaning out my files!)  (Whew!  These are big goals!) I did not do any scrapbooking this summer for some reason.  I went to my first scrapbooking crop since before Covid this past Friday so I did finally get a little done!  

3. Completely clean out my file cabinet and organize it (a once a year project!) Done!

4. Progress through my "52 weeks of cleaning" list.  I got off track in April as we were getting ready for vacation so it is time to get back on track! I'd like to start September on the right week so I can finish strong. The main room I'm tackling is the kitchen but there is also the dining room, and finishing up the living room. I kind of spun my wheels on this over the summer.  I cleaned the dining room a few times, did some work in the basement, and helped Josh clean his room.  

5.  The basement - due to all of the plumbing things we had done, everything in the basement got shifted to one side.  Now the motivation is to get it all cleaned out so I can get to the Christmas decorations HA!  My goal for the summer is to finish the storage area of the basement - I had it about 80% done before the big shift so, really, this makes it easier to go through one bin at a time and then move stuff out!  This is about 50% done!  Josh really helped alot because he needed to make room for drums! 

6. Our Co-Op - I'm sign-up to teach two classes this fall.  My goal is to have my lessons ready for the first 4 weeks (of 8) of class by September and to have the second 4 planned out.  Done! 

7. Outside - we are slowly (very slowly) working on some outside projects.  We finished one already.  The second one is the garage/fence area.  We also want to power wash some things and re-stain my swing.  We got some projects done and then it stopped because I got hit with poison ivy!!!  Uuugg Talk about a motivation killer! 

8. Darryl's list - this list is a mile long LOL  I'd like it all done ;-) 

9. Piano - The kids are starting back up with piano this fall so the goal for them is to practice at least one day a week just to get back what they learned before and to be ready to start again.  My goal is to work on my Christmas song I want to "record" and post in December.  I don't think any of us touched the piano this summer.  Lessons start in September though so the kids need a quite review!! 

10. Birthdays and Holidays - 1) 4th of July - We need Fireworks and Fun. Done!   :-)  2) Finally celebrating Nate's 11th birthday with HIS day (we put it off due to covid) - Done! 3) Labor Day = our annual camping trip. - Done 4) Josh's 13th birthday 5) Thanksgiving - Done (My mom is hosting!) 6) Nate's 12th birthday and 7) Christmas.  I need to plan and/or plan ahead for all of these events. 

11. The Olympics - I love them and watch as much of it as I can  . .. for real :-)  It's important enough to make the list. Done! 

12. School - Clean out desks, make sure we have supplies for school and our co-op, figure out handwriting books, devotional books and any other "extra" stuff that is needed for the school year.  Done!

13. The Garage - I actually cleaned up the garage a few weeks ago when it was nice and cool out.  But, I have some bins that have been sitting in the garage for a few years that I want to sort through and clean out.  it will open up some space on the workbench to clean all of that out.  

14. Cooking - Remember that Macaroon set I bought in the spring - I want to actually use it and learn now to make them. 

15. Finally - just enjoy the summer.  It's easy to get wrapped up in a huge to do list and miss out on the sights and sounds of summer.  I love hearing the birds and seeing flowers bloom.  I enjoy reading outside and listening to the rain with the windows open.  So, just . .. breathe.  Last summer we stayed home most days due to covid - I found that I actually enjoyed the slowed down pace of life so I'm working purposefully to not get too busy but just enjoy every day.  It was a hot summer and a very wet summer at times so the windows were not open much and I didn't get to enjoy the outside relaxing much but I'm hopeful the fall will be better and maybe we can even have some campfires.

I'm actually happy with what I accomplished now that I see it in a list.  Could I have accomplished more?  Yes but I'm ok with what I did do and I also really enjoyed the summer as a whole!