Camping - Labor Day

 

 We had a ton of fun camping this year.  We got out of the expensive primitive cabins and did the tent thing.   The boys got along great.  They play so well together. Atlas thinks he's 10, Ares acts like he's 5, it all works out in the end.

The kids played very well, aside from the morning of the last day - while we were packing up.  Ares and Eve were at each other's throats.  The argument?  Who ate more of the other families food.  Like really, who the heck cares?  (BTW, Eve definitely ate more of our food than Ares did theirs).  However, we packed plenty of food, plenty of snacks KNOWING that they'll be sharing, we never ran out of a single thing, (aside from Plums, but I actually told Eve 'no', because I knew we had limited amount, and she wasn't sure if she even liked them).   It was the most ridiculous argument ever.  If we were hurting for food, or only bought a tiny amount because it was expensive, sure, but man, this was ridiculous.   But funny.   See the photos below. 

 

 

But as you can see, it all got better not too long later.  Good thing, as they are in the same classroom and sit next to each other.  (Not sure I like that). 

On Monday, we packed up and headed home.  We went out to eat at Fun Buffet.  Atlas got a whole plate of food, ate a piece of TINY watermelon, and then promptly fell asleep.   Ah well.    Adam and I bottled our wine after the boys were in bed (Atlas around 6:30, Ares around 7:30). 

The Raging River

OK, it's just the Mohican River, so it's pretty much the farthest thing from raging. Adam and I went camping/canoeing this past weekend with Leah and Rob (My sister-in-law and her hubby) and Doug and Shawna (Adam's best friend and wife). I had a great time. It turns out, the place is only about an hour and 20 minutes from our house. I had thought we'd have a long drive, but it really wasn't so bad.

We got there, and it was a perfect day for canoeing. The weather was warm, the sun was clear, it was very nice. First we got our tents and stuff up. We originally had 3 campsites, but two were connected and shared a fire pit, and was quite large, so all three of us set up camp on the two sites. It worked out well as one couple then wasn't isolated.

Canoeing is very interesting with the Miller/Hott clan. I had never experienced "cross country" canoeing before, and you've never canoe'd before until you've done so. (This is very similar to "cross country" boccie ball.) The goal of cross country canoeing is to try and get through the smallest crevasses possible that the river leaves for you. This includes fallen trees that require you to either a) crawl under the bench to allow enough room for the canoe to go under or b) to jump over the log and hope that the canoe still goes under the tree. Either way, you end up getting some cobwebs to the face, scratches on your arms, and a wet butt. Each group of us went under/over some pretty magnificent things. We got trapped in a torrential downpour the first day. At least it was warm out, and we eventually dried out as the rain stopped. The first day we did 15 miles. The second day was 7 miles.

The second day Doug and Shawna left before we canoed to go pick up their baby and get ready for a party. This was one of the more fun days though, as the river was full of children with water balloons and large water canons to drench us. I'd say we got them back pretty well, as Leah and Rob had a water canon of their own, and Adam is pretty spectacular with the oar. Me, I just sat there, in the front and got wet. Really wet. Ballpark didn't like the cold water so much. He just sat there, in my lap, paralyzed with fear shivering endlessly. Needless to say, we left the area drenched and laughing, but the group of kids were probably worse off than us, but still laughing. It must have been a sight to see for the adults sitting on the shore watching us.

Adam made a rookie mistake and left grapes and cherries out on the picnic table over night. This must have gotten the raccoons excited, as they then ate through a cardboard box and somehow managed to open up Ballpark's Tupperware container that his dog food was in, but didn't actually damage the container at all. Ballpark was bummed, he got to eat a bratwurst and some bacon for breakfast. The raccoons left some dog food behind though. I guess if the raccoons didn't eat all of the dog food, it must be bad stuff. I sometimes wondered why Ballpark is so skinny!

I think we all had a great time, although my shoulders are killing me today. It is still true that I have no upper body strength. I am excited to say that I still do not really have any pregnancy symptoms and managed to enjoy the entire weekend. Leah's going to kill me after she reads that I already knew I was pregnant when we went canoeing and that I didn't tell her. SORRY! There was a good reason. We were fighting over who was going to have kids first. I insisted that it was going to be her because we already had a puppy. I guess you were right Le! I hope you're not too mad! We'll let you babysit, how's that?? hahaha.

Does anyone know how to spell canoeing? Is it a real word? Stupid spell check says it's not. Pictures of Ballpark in his doggie life preserver to come soon.

29 days of class left (including tonight's)
6 weeks, 3 days