An Eventful Weekend

Hello all, It's me....a little sore....and a lot tired, but I'm back. We had a great weekend, but I must admit, tent life is definitely for the birds. Next time, and I stress if there is a next time, I will have an air mattress under my behind when I sleep.

Just a little heads up for you.....This may be long. I'm going to include several pictures with this post. There are just so many good ones, I just couldn't decide.

Friday, the girls all met up at the school to head to the park site where we would set up camp. Their first attempt at a "girl scout duty" was to get the tents set up.

Next up was to get the fire going. Yes, my little pyromaniac, Little Ann was one of the fire cheifs on first shift. Her daddy had taught her lots of neat tricks for starting a fire. One of the methods (and the one she chose to use) was touching a battery to a piece of steel wool. She blew on it a little to help it spread. I was impressed that it actually worked.

Here are the 2 fire chiefs on fire patrol while everyone else scurried around the site, completing set up, unpacking and preparing for dinnertime.

After set up, the girls roasted a few hot dogs over the fire, and our picky eaters fixed up some Campbells soups on the burners.

Every year, this particular state park, hosts what they call a "Ghost Roast" usually on or the weekend before Halloween, depending on the day it falls on. All of the tenants set up their campers usually for the whole month and decorate their spots. There is a contest for the best one. The kids love this and absolutely flock to it every year. Our girls were fortunate enough to catch a sneak peek of the sites as nightfall came and the park lit up with orange lights and sounds of ghouls.

Here is one of the camp sites I photographed as I walked past.

Of course, no camp out is complete until everyone sits around a campfire roasting marshmallows, making s'mores and singing campfire songs in their pj's......

Saturday, we rose up from our slumber fairly early to meet the day...well, actually some of us were already awake, because some of us never really got to sleep, because some of us had to sleep in a tent, and some of us didn't have an air mattress to sleep on. And I can thank my frugile hubby for that one. At breakfast, it was every man for himself. They each cooked their own pancakes, and others pitched in to fry up some bacon and eggs.

The weather was absolutely perfect for our midday hike. I swear, Little Ann had everything in her backpack but the kitchen sink.

And just as we were about to head out for our 3 mile adventure, I noticed the sun glistening through our own camp site Halloween decoration!

I can't say that I am a hiking kind of gal, but this one was quite enjoyable. Like I said before, the weather was gorgeous, the trail was nice and spacious, and I just enjoyed spending this day with Little Ann. She had the greatest time.

At the end of the hike, the girls had a little down time at the play area in the park. We left shortly after this so we would have time to stop my mom and dad's house to check on the newest member of our family.

Meet Amelia. She was born Thursday evening.

Thursday, Little Ann and I had actually just stopped by my mom and dad's for a brief visit and so meemaw could sew a few Girl Scout patches onto a blanket...unknowingly mother Abigail was in labor......lol. I can't say I have ever seen a calf born before now. Isn't she adorable?

Today has been such a good day too. My brother and his wife have reconciled after 10 long months of separation and an almost finalized nasty divorce. It was a shock to all of us and will take a long road of healing for everyone, but we are making a start. She and the boys came to church with my brother today and it was such a blessed feeling seeing them in the row in front of me again. Right were they should be. The boys like to sit with me and color and I just eat it up.

Tonight, a group went to our local Sunday night Mexican hangout and they went along for that too. I love sweet fellowship with my church family. If you haven't already, tell your pastor how much you appreciate him....this is Pastor Appreciation Month.

I guess I will go to bed now. I am substituing at the High School tomorrow!!

Have a great week!