What’s been going on?

Not much out of the ordinary has been going on lately here. We have been going to the camper each weekend and from my perspective- it’s not what it’s cracked up to be. Weekend before last it was like a LABOR camp. Friends followed us down and helped us get our Dish Satellite set up. Of course we didn’t have all the needed parts… so we rigged it to the neighbors temporarily. Guess who dug the ditch to bury the cable?? (did you guess me?- you were right) Then this weekend we tried to fix it back correctly … and well… it’s not quite right and we just don’t know what’s missing.

We had a leak in the toilet that took us forever to find. It took two trips to the closest hardware store and still wasn’t the right part for the fix. Thankfully JB went to Clarksville and got the correct part to repair it this weekend. Luckily, no more walks to the bath house.

I gladly helped JB shovel some gravel around his camper to make a nice clean path behind it and this weekend mowed the yard. I am always glad to find an opportunity to do something to help him as he NEVER hesitates to come help me when I need him.

I spent all week at home cleaning some old outdoor furniture. It’s been in our yard here for years and we have never used it really. It was rusted, so I used the grinder to clean it and made some feet to put on the legs so they wouldn’t ‘bury up’ in the yard. That required all of three trips to get needed and correct supplies. I had a hard time getting the right PVC glue and enough paint… kept thinking it would go farther than it did. So for about $50 I have a nice patio table at the camper. Pattye, Paxton & I enjoyed eating breakfast on it Saturday morning.

There’s also a leak in the roof. Yeah, at this point we haven’t found the energy to address that one yet.

Here’s camp now with our carpet, a fab bench Momma got us that will
store some outside items, new steps built by none other than Terry & that patio furniture I mentioned.

BUT it is all worth it when you just stop everything and take Paxton down to the swimming beach and she JUMPS OFF the SWIMMING DOCK!! Not just once either, like over and over and over. She has a ball at camp and Granddaddy has let her drive the golf cart by herself. She really does quite well. She’s so tall, she easily reaches the pedals.

Our garden is growing and the weeds are right behind. The squash is coming in and the peppers must be on the most fertile soil. I have sweet peppers coming out my ears. I have some Coriander I am going to try to figure out how to preserve. Daddy brought me a gallon of Blueberries and I made jelly out of them. It is delicious! Made a small batch of salsa with tomatoes from our very own plants. It will be extra yummy! Bread making is still a hit and miss. Usually the taste is good, it’s just the texture and density that is not consistent.

We are counting the days till our Disney trip. I have booked our dinning and we were excited to get reservations at Cinderella’s Royal Table. That trip is the first of October.

Paxton is going to do another few days of swimming lessons with some friends from church. This instructor will hopefully incorporate some rescue swimming into the lessons too. The we will have one week of no lessons and I refuse to add anything to the calendar that week.

James, Sarah & Paxton

The second week of August kicks in and I hope to start more formal class schedule and Paxton’s dance lessons for start. She has done a few weeks of tumbling they finish this week. Dance this year will be a combination of Ballet, Jazz and Tumble. Miss Amy will be the teacher again and two of the girls from her class last year are in the class along with a friend from church. I dread dance this year as we are taking in the late afternoon and there will be LOTS of other kids and moms there at the same time. We have been lucky the last two years to have class mid-morning and about five girls in the class. I think right now there are 10 in the class.

I am going to take Tap lessons again this year and my classes start the following week on Tuesday evenings.

The Houston County Fair will be here before we know it and there is lots to do in preparation for it. We will start meeting weekly and or bi weekly next week. So before we even turn around our Fall is schedule is full. It may be months before I blog again! ; )

4th of July

Hope everyone had a good and safe 4th celebration and took a few minutes to reflect on the meaning of this holiday and how far our country has come or maybe how full circle we are going back too???

We chose to go to the camper and spend time with just us. After half-days preparation and packing we got on the road about mid-morning Friday. The weather was fabulous this weekend. Hard to beleive it was the 4th of July or that Global Warming is occuring. We had a delicious grilled shrimp and scallops dinner and then headed to the marina for a evening of dancing to a live band and a great fireworks show over the bay. Saturday’s weather was just as great and I took Pea and Laken over to the beach area to play in the sand and swim a bit. After lunch the weather was so pleasant and Granny was coming in later in the evening, we decided to spend another unplanned evening. So, I headed back home to care for our zoo of animals here at home and bring back more provisions. I got back to camp in time to eat dinner and then rush to get everything under cover as a storm was rolling in. UGH>.. we were stuck in our camper for the night. Pax went to sleep early and Terry & I passed the night playing rummy. All was safe at the camper, after the storm. Sunday was a day spent not doing much, a little fishing, a little swimming, a little cleaning up then head back to the house. All was well here too, after the storm and after a little garden work, blackberry picking and a few loads of laundry; have found my way to the recliner and all is well with the world again.

So let’s do the 4th of July check list:
1. Grilled
2. Camped
3. Family & Friends
4. Fireworks
5. Swimming
6. Fishing
7. Fresh Vegetables eaten & picked
8. Blackberries picked
9. Skeeter Bites

10. Ate Watermelon

11. Reflected on our Country the GREAT USA and those who have and do serve.

Camper Move In Day

We are officially “Camping People” now. We have joined the throngs out by the lake, sweltering in the heat, swatting at the mosquitoes, cooking on the grill, driving golf carts and going to bed exhausted.

Well ok, technically, this first weekend, Pattye did all the cooking, JB grilled and we used their golf cart, but I got the going to bed exhausted part down on my own.

Thanks to the help of Granny and Granddaddy, we are set up and ready for weekends of endless summer bliss at the camper. JB and Terry got the camper backed into our site, stabilized and level in no time. One trip to town and a few supplies later; the plumbing is working fine. After a few attempts at lighting the stove and oven, we puzzled out what and how to do it and we will be able to cook on the next trip.

We have a great “spot”. There is just one camper between us and JB & Pattye which makes it ideal for Paxton. She can walk back and forth unaccompanied, between the two as she pleases. Of course, I am sure that won’t happen much after dark! We are in an older part of the park and have some fabulous trees around us providing shade all day. We also have a ‘front yard’ and delightfully it has little grass. Ok, so maybe I am the only one delighted about that part, but who wants to mow when they get to the camper? Our view out the front of our camper is of a few campers and the lake. Now that I have watched that jet ski go past about 400 times, I am ready to get one myself! I want on the water. Uncle Kenny, Aunt Shonda and gang are just down the path and will provide some entertainment, too.

I have my list of what I forgot and what I need and am ready to start making another pile to take down next weekend. Top on the list this time will be FOOD!

Hope to get some outdoor carpet soon and a table and chairs. Terry will build us some steps so everyone can get in the camper. Paxton can not reach the door and has to crawl up right now.

Some folks take right to camping!
Here’s the kitchen and the little eating table.
It will be just right for a game of cards too.

Yeah, this is the entire kitchen, there’s only about six inches more of counter space that didn’t fit in the photo.

This is our bed on the bottom and Pax’s bed is a bunk above ours. It is not for the faint of heart as it would be impossible for me to climb up there and if you have claustrophobic or coffin issues….. well you’d probably rather sleep in the truck.

And here’s the view. Our ‘patio’ area, in the close foreground, steps leading down to the lower ‘yard’. Yes, all that gravel is the yard, the road is there where the golf cart is going by and the white blob in the background is the lake.

So now we’ll all be saying, “Let’s go camping PA!” (you know, from that commercial?)