A little of this . . a little of that . . .
When it’s too hot to be outside and nobody wants to sit inside – you head to town for ice cream and go for a drive! Even though it’s unbearably hot outside, we can still enjoy the scenery from the truck. I love the cornfields and the Queen Anne’s Lace – it is blooming everywhere right now. And the clouds were beautiful!
Joe came home early from work on Thursday. He’d had a not so great day and was wanting to just “get away”. He walked in the door and asked if I wanted to go camping. I had no food in the house, a pile of laundry, hadn’t showered yet, and the list goes on, but – we went camping! Back to Belva Deer we went. Dad and Mom were already out there so I had them tag us a spot, I got the chores done and watered flowers, did a couple loads of laundry, jumped in the shower, threw some clothes in the camper, all while Joe loaded up fire wood and bikes and chairs and off we went.
You know, we wouldn’t be able to do this if we weren’t so blessed to have a beautiful county park just a few miles down the road. We are able to run home and chore if needed, run to town for groceries if needed. (Which I did!) We can camp and run Drew into the bowling alley to bowl with friends for a birthday party that’s scheduled on a Friday night. (Which Joe did on Friday night!) It’s wonderful to have Lake Belva Deer so close. To be able to get away for a weekend and just be. Joe said the best part of the weekend for him was Saturday morning. He got up early and started a fire and fixed breakfast for us. There was nobody around to bother him. He could take his time and enjoy the morning and enjoy what he was doing. I enjoyed it too – I got to sleep in and then wake up to a wonderful breakfast of bacon, hash browns and scrambled eggs to eat by the campfire.
My favorite part of the weekend was visiting with Uncle Jerry and Aunt Konnie. They came down for the afternoon on Saturday. Aunt Konnie is battling cancer and it’s nice to see her out and about. They didn’t stay long but she said she was glad she came – it helped make the afternoon go by for her. Sometimes her days get long. We’re planning another trip to Belva Deer next weekend and hoping they can bring their camper and stay with us. We’re praying she feels up to it. We’re also hoping to having Braxton too. Wouldn’t a camping weekend with our grandson be fun??!!
A weekend of campfires, hiking, bike riding, sparklers, visiting with family, staying up late and sleeping in. Sometimes the unplanned trips are the best!
We headed out to Belva Deer last Friday to camp with Dad and Mom. Joe got home late Thursday and was just too tired to hitch up the camper to head out then. We spent Friday getting settled in and Drew spent the day making friends with the little neighbor girl and later the two boys across the way. They had so much fun riding bikes and drawing with sidewalk chalk. Camping and kids just go together and it’s fun to see these little ones make friends so quickly and have so much fun. This is one of the reasons why we camp. The kids learn to make friends with whoever is around and they have so much fun.
It was looking like a good possibility there would be storms coming through the area Friday night so we decided to go home to sleep. Better safe than sorry right? Of course, since we didn’t stay at the campground it didn’t storm! But, if we hadn’t gone home we wouldn’t have seen the hundreds of fireflies. They were absolutely beautiful. When we got home, I went and stood under the oak trees and just watched them. I have never seen so many fireflies in my life and never in the trees like that. It was breathtaking to say the least.
Saturday was a quiet day of relaxing. We took some walks and went on some bike rides and were basically just lazy all day. It was so nice. Abby and Braxton visited in the afternoon and stayed for supper. We sat around the fire and when it got dark we went for a walk to see the fireflies again!
Sunday for Father’s Day Eric and my sister Beth came out. We had a nice lunch and enjoyed each other’s company. It was another nice relaxing camping weekend spent with family. Lots of memories made!
As usual our first camping trip of the season wasn’t planned – just a spur of the moment decision on Thursday morning. Let’s go camping! We loaded up in the afternoon and headed out and got there around 4:00. I left Joe at the campground and Drew and I ran back into town for groceries for supper. We had a simple supper of brats and poppers and a mint dessert I made earlier in the day. A bike ride around the campground and then a nice quiet evening.
Up the next evening and headed back home. Joe had to run to Pella for work so Drew and I stayed home and watered flowers, fed and watered Izzy and the chickens and let Izzy out to run. Then we packed up clothes for the weekend and when Joe got home we headed back out. We rode bikes again and fixed a quick supper of leftovers from the night before then Dad and Mom came out for a visit. It was a beautiful evening to sit and relax.
Saturday was such a nice relaxing day. We slept in, had a late brunch, rode bikes, sat around, went for another bike ride, Drew played at the playground, rode bikes again! Dad and Mom came out for supper and we went for a walk then had a fire and s’mores. It was one of the most relaxing days we’ve had in so long. It was a perfect day.
Sunday saw us up early and heading home by 8:30. I think that may be a record for us – we usually don’t leave until afternoon but we had to be in Burlington by 1:00 for a graduation get together for a cousin. It made for a long day but we had a great weekend and lots of fun with family. Glad we decided to camp and that we made sure to go to Burlington for some family fun.
I had two things I planned to get done over the long weekend – help Joe finish the lean to and hang some lights I had made on the pergola. What did get done? The dog kennel and lots of fun! Sunday we spent the day in Des Moines with my sister. They have neighbors who own a “lake” where they get to camp for free and they are the only ones who camp there. It’s 10 minutes from their home in Norwalk so they go out often. Lots of fishing, playing in the sand and yummy food was had by all! We were there all day and didn’t get home until after 9:00 p.m. and we were wore out!
The lake was an old quarry and back in the 90’s it was known as Clearwater Lake. They held concerts there and the lake was used for swimming. The Beach Boys played there at one time. I remember hearing about it but Joe and I were busy starting a family in the 90’s and never went. The old stage is still there and the old lifeguard stand. It’s a neat place for Beth to get to camp.
Monday saw us up and revamping the kennel. We made it out of hog panels and steel posts. The dog house is in one corner and it’s very roomy. Izzy had spent the past few years living in a horse stall so we thought she would enjoy the freedom of this kennel. And she seemed to be okay with it. As long as we were outside. As soon as we went in the house she would get out. We discovered she was climbing up the hog panels and then jumping out! So, we put a chain link cover over the top. And we covered one end with a tarp for shade. I know – it sounds very redneck. But it doesn’t look too bad and she is nice and safe. Plus – it didn’t cost us anything as we used what we had. She can’t get out, she has a nice insulated dog house, plenty of shade, grass to lie in, food and water. She seems happy and we can relax knowing she is comfortable and safe.
After finishing up the kennel and eating lunch Joe mowed the yard while I finished planting flowers and swept the deck. Then we took Izzy to Belva Deer where we met Dad and Mom for a picnic. Eric met us out there too. Izzy loved it. She is such a people person and she loved on everyone and she loved going for a walk. She was wore out after so much excitement and fell asleep on the way home. Then when we got home she went straight to her dog house and laid down. I think she’s liking her new family and home!
For a weekend with no plans except working around the house we sure did a lot of running but it was also a relaxing and fun weekend. Lots of family fun!