Campin' on the river

Instead of starting off this post with a rambling "ohhh I've been away so long; worst blogger ever" tirade, I am just going to jump right in. If you were wondering what we've been up to the past 11 months, just go read the previous entry, because I could basically repeat it word for word here. That's how exciting our lives are. :) [I will say I have high hopes of regular blogging from here on out, especially once school starts up and we have some semblance of a routine around here. The boys are growing up SO FAST, I simply must be better about journaling our days, regardless of whether they're monotonous or exciting. I'm pretty sure I've already typed this exact italicized statement on this blog somewhere in the past.]

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Last week we camped at one of our favorite places. Its on a riverbank in the middle of nowhere. We went with a group of dear friends and unanimously agreed it was our best time camping ever. The weather was unbelievably gorgeous. Our long weekend consisted of delicious meals & even better snacks, fishing, laughing, mosquito-slapping, and star-gazing (there was supposed to be a meteor shower while we were there, but we were usually too tired to stay up late and watch; we saw lots of shooting stars but nothing we'd call a meteor).

Here are some photos of our camping adventure (all of which were taken with our little point-and-shoot; I never have the desire to be Ms. Professional Photographer on camping trips):

I'm told this is a helgramite. Never heard of it. The kids loved finding the empty shells (carcasses? bodies?) on the riverbank.

Morning coffee, lip balm, and flowers. The kids picked a ton of these wildflower bouquets. They were all over camp in plastic Solo cups. The minute a breeze came by, they'd tip over, sending water & flowers all over everything. :)

Kids eating breakfast at the stump table. Such a gorgeous camping place!!

My filthy hobo camping hands.

 

Daxie.

Xander relaxing after breakfast.

Xander was about ready to lose that top tooth. I was hoping he'd pull it out while we were camping, but nope, its still there, hanging on by a thread of skin. Bleh.

Poodie relaxing on the riverbank. Why do kids never swarm relaxing daddies the way they do relaxing mommies? A mom could never sit way down there all alone without kids noticing.

Boys playing with their trucks, safely zipped away from mosquitos.

Camping guacamole. Yum.

Our spot on the riverbank.

Boys relaxing with their lunches.

Crazy Daxie!

Daddies taking the kids on a river float.

Yet another reason we're not having any more kids: I can't possibly carry any more water bottles one-handed. Although I don't know why we each have our own bottle since everyone, Poodie included, prefers to drink out of my bottle. Hmph!

Yummy corn on the grill.

 

As you can see, poor Daxie had a terrible accident on Saturday night. He was running (in flip-flops) and did a faceplant. He was such a trouper. Cried a while, finally let us put ice on it, ate his dinner (steak), and did his best to prevent us from force-feeding him smashed up Tylenol and Advil in strawberry jam. [We were ultimately successful but wow, what a mess in the tent.] When he woke up the next morning with his eye totally swollen shut (above) his first comment was "am I wearing an eyepatch?" :)  As of now (four days later) it looks much better, and yet worse at the same time. I'll post pictures in another entry later.

Anyway, we spent most of the trip down at the river: relaxing, swimming, and fishing.

 

Such fun. We can't wait to go back. Now that we've had a good, hot, relaxing camping trip, I feel ready for fall to start! I confess I am That Mom who looks forward to "back-to-school time." Plus I just love fall and everything about it. Baking, cooking, decorating, buying new fall fragrances for the Scentsy warmers, school supplies (remember in You've Got Mail when Tom Hanks' character tells Meg Ryan's character that if they knew each other, he would buy her a bouquet of sharpened pencils?! I die!) .. oh, I could go on and on. Anyway, Xander is very ready to go back to school. He wails "I'm bored!!" about 16 times per day. Dax isn't going to preschool this year, although he went last year. I am going to keep him home and hog him all to myself before he starts his life of being a school kid. He is only four, after all, and so much fun to be around .. I'm not in a hurry for him to be out of my hair. ;)

Poodie's schedule has changed, so he now comes home at 8:30ish every night. I'm just glad he has a job I'm just glad he has a job I'm just glad he has a job. This is my mantra. :)  Guess I'd better go spiffy up the house and start dinner before he arrives!