Camping Trip - Part II

But first ... another life update: RIP Buckbeak and Hagrid II (today was a double fish flush day). Welcome Ron II, Hagrid III, and Hermione. For those keeping score, the tank's residents are currently Harry, Hermione, Ron II, and Hagrid III. It also needs to be said: Harry.Is.A.Bully.

Now, back to our regularly scheduled one-and-a-half month old post. 

Saturday morning, I accomplished the impossible. I got Brad to go running with me. Mike and Cheryl stood in disbelief when this actually happened. Then later that day, B went for a six mile bike ride. And C asked me what on earth I had done to her husband! B claims that next year when Eric's knee is healed, he has to take back the responsibility of running with me. We'll see - because after years of groundwork to get B to run with me, it feels unlikely that I will let that success go. 

Saturday afternoon, it was extremely sunny, but not particularly warm (which feels weird to complain about as it is currently so.very.hot in Minnesota). Nonetheless, Mike, Cheryl, and I brought the kids to the beach, figuring they wouldn't last very long. We were extremely wrong. The kids hung in there all afternoon and had the best time. Except Q. She got really cold in the water - but was such a good sport and just hung out on a towel or with the adults. And then eventually played in the sand with the kids.

As is tradition, the kids dug a huge hole and had the best time working as a team. It's so fun to see how they all play together. And although it is getting tougher for our girls (it is all boys in the "older kids" group - except for our girls. In fact, it's a rather boy heavy camping group in general. Conversely, Dec got to go fishing unsupervised with the big boys and pretty much lived his very best life), they hold their own playing with the boys. Quinn was all in on the badminton tournament. And put the boys to shame on the ninja course. Fiona (and Q) was happy to play with the littler girls - or read her Harry Potter book.

It was a lower key night than Friday (Mike and I called it a night much earlier) - but don't worry, there were still s'mores and cookies and popcorn and other such not-typically-mom-endorsed treats. It rained early Sunday morning - because it is just not Father's Day camping if we don't break camp with wet gear. But it cleared up by the time we actually started packing. Mike unintentionally hosted an 11 kid wiffle ball game (that he started to stop Dec's whining) and I joined in as both outfielder and occasional catcher. The rest of our group packed up while we entertained the kids - and then the rest of the dads took over so M and I could pack up our own gear.

The kids and I walked to the park to play while Mike went through the dump station (we are so grateful for him). We were home in time for a late lunch - where we celebrated Father's Day with homemade presents for Mike. The best one: the present Dec had made in school where he had to fill in Something My Dad Always Says ... Son of a Monkey's Uncle. We all laughed so hard!

We finished out the day with a lot of laundry, picking up groceries, and unpacking a few boxes!

The Return of Father's Day Camping

Alternate Title: I Love Mike So Much That I Agreed To Go Camping Right After We Moved Despite The Fact That We Were Surrounded By Boxes And Didn't Know Where The Sleeping Bags Were

[**Life Update First: RIP Ron and Hagrid the Fish. Sigh. It was as tearful as you would expect.]

There is nothing like trying to get organized for a camping trip when you feel like your entire life is in disarray. But we have proven that it can be done – with a little help from our friends!

We managed to find the sleeping bags, get some groceries, and be on the road to the campground by early afternoon on Friday. The rest of our group had set up camp on Thursday - but we had sports, work, and general preparedness to deal with so decided to just go up on Friday. The rest of the group was already at the beach, so the kids and I set up at the P's picnic table to eat lunch while Mike prepped the camper. This is why you go after others are ready!

They have since been located, but at the time of camping weekend, all of Mike’s levels had disappeared into boxes unknown (this is what happens when your movers think they are helping by grabbing stuff in your garage and shoving it into random boxes. It doesn’t help!). Mike has a level that he always keeps in his camping toolbox. Somehow that one was also sucked into the missing tools vortex. But a quick text (by me. while Mike muttered) to the other guys in the group helped us locate Dennis’ tool box. I feel like we are very good friends because we even returned the tools – despite the fact that we were level-less in real life.

Mike and I quickly got our stuff set up enough and then headed down to meet our friends at the lake. Apparently our timing was perfect - because the beach had been very busy and cleared out just before we got there! The kids had an absolute blast playing in the water. It was a hot and sunny day and the water was pretty warm as well. It was exactly the escape from the weeks of moving stress that we needed.

As Brad and I stood in the lake watching the kids swim that afternoon, he congratulated me that we had made it. I told him there was a 98% chance that we didn’t have propane for our grill. It was actually 100% and I knew that – but I wanted us to sound somewhat functional. Right before we started dinner, Brad showed up at our camper door with an extra propane tank. Don’t worry – later on in the weekend I totally paid it back by having a pen when Cheryl needed one to keep score for Yahtzee …

We may not have had a level or propane. But we did bring our slackline ninja warrior course - which was a big hit with all the kids! There was a running joke all weekend about what this said about our priorities. Mike and I told them that we embraced being the most fun! Ha! Day one finished up with birthday cake for Tiff, smores around the fire, a very late bedtime for the kids, and an even later bedtime for Mike and me! But sitting with our friends around the campfire was such a needed break. Mike may have been right about pausing the "to do list" and having a little fun!

Family Costume - and a Power Ranger

I say it year after year – campground trick-or-treating is far superior to actual trick-or-treating. There is no doorbell-ringing requirement, none of the awkward “are they home? Is someone going to answer the door?,” and less distance between bowls of candy. Vannestes look forward to this night all fall!

In September, we started the very important “what do you want to be for Halloween?” discussions. We’ve learned (the hard way) that early preparation is critical. The girls are currently in the heart of their obsession with Descendants (the third movie came out in August) – so they quickly decided to be Mal and Evie.

Then there were a couple of loooong days where Q decided she wanted to be Mal too and Fiona was.not.having.it. They worked it out and Q happily (?) returned to being Evie. Next step, they decided Mike should be Hades (Mal’s dad) and I should be Maleficent (Mal’s mom). I let that ride for a couple days to ensure Q didn’t get mad about Evie being parentless. She did not so we went with it.

Next up, should little brother be Carlos or Jay? What the ladies did not take into account is that little bro does not believe in group think and had decided he wanted to be a red Power Ranger. Despite their best marketing efforts (mom was proud), Dec stood strong – so red Power Ranger it was (let’s all pray this ability to ignore peer pressure remains rock solid in the teen years!). My Amazon cart was full of colored wigs – and a power ranger suit.

My shopping was mostly successful – except for Mike’s blue mohawk. It looked way more “flock of seagulls” than “Disney god of the underworld.” I put in one night of effort and a lot of hair gel to make it moderately better. Thankfully, Gma N has far more talent and patience than me and spent two days (when they were down watching the kids) making that wig a thing of beauty. Fiona is crazy in love with her purple wig and pretty much wants purple hair now.

The camping crew decided to skip the parade and getting ready was more relaxed. Mike even let me put some heavy eye-liner on him and he killed the look. It was so fun and the kids LOVED it! Real truth: the adults did too.

Trick-or-treating was less frigid than last year, which everyone appreciated. We went through 2.5 loops, found the site that hands out the shots, and called it when the kids all happily agreed with being done. Then it was back to the sites to hand out candy to the final trick-or-treaters and to participate in a pretty awesome dance party. We headed up to the program and our group took home a couple door prizes.

The only bummer of the weekend – they changed how sites are booked for the next year and when we went to get our sites for 2020, all the electric sites were already gone. After a group discussion, we committed to non-electric sites. And have a year to figure out how to not freeze to death!

Fall Break Camping When We Don't Freeze

I spent this morning hustling about, cleaning and packing up the camper for the season (while Mike raked the endless piles of leaves in the backyard). We go through the same cycle every year - we hustle our butts to get the camper ready for Father's Day camping in-between the end of school and Dec's birthday. And then we camp during Fall Break and have to hustle it up again to pack and store before .. you know .. things freeze. Mike actually did run the heaters one night this week because we hadn't drained the pipes yet. But - today was productive and Mike and the girls have successfully stored the camper in our friends' pole barn for the winter. Check and check.

Even though we know what the cycle will entail, it's totally worth it. This year's Baker Boo camping trip was nothing short of awesome. The weather was perfect (we are very grateful after last year's "Baker Brrrr" experience), the kids were in great moods, and it was just a fun and relaxing time. We also came more prepared for the cold with electric heated mattress pads and I was not sad!

We arrived early afternoon on Friday and the kids ran off to play with the Pilcher kids while the tall people set up camp. Then, as we did the year before, we wandered over to the giant leaf pile to give it a test run. There was lots of fort building, leaf jumping, and stick burning happening throughout the rest of the day. A new addition to our three campsites was our very own slackline - which was a huge hit and where Quinn spent the majority of her time! She and I mastered a couple pairs moves on the slackline that got me some solid "Mom cred."

My very favorite part of the day - after dinner, when it started to get dark, the eight kids played quite the game of Ghosts in the Graveyard. And the biggest boy T made sure that he and Dec were always partners so D both felt like a "big kid" but also didn't get lost in the woods! After a lot of flashlight games and some s'mores, it was off to bed for the kids. The rest of us hung around the campfire with the bottle of Fireball until 11:00 or so.

Saturday morning was chilly, so I sent Q and D out in hats and their winter coats. D even had gloves. I spent the next several hours occasionally collecting discarded layers of Vanneste outerwear as the sun warmed the day. We ended up HOT - and not sad about it. Quinn remarked that we were not in the camper all day. She was right! And it was just great to not need to warm up or cool down!

After lunch, we headed to the Halloween Festival in F loop. We watched the Pilcher boys brave the climbing wall and asked short Vs if they wanted to try. They did not. And then, Miss Fiona Grace Vanneste said "I'll do it." You guys, we were shocked. And proud. And quickly moved her into the line before she could change her mind! She did a.mazing! They put a "monkey tail" on her so they could help pull her down (she's right at the minimum weight), but she climbed up about 2/3 of the wall. Her sibs were sufficiently impressed!

Then we hit up the face painting line, the gross station, the game stations, the scarecrow stuffing area, and more games. Our friends were about to head back to the sites when the other two short Vs decided that they wanted to try the climbing wall too. I don't think Quinn liked being shown up by Fiona! Back we went to a much longer climbing wall line. But all three climbed and did a great job. Dec didn't quite weigh enough so his harness was actually pulling him up and making it harder. However, he did his best and had a good time.

After the climbing wall and a couple more games, we also went back to the sites for more playing, bike riding, perfecting our site decorations, and playing on the slackline. Then the traditional pizza dinner arrived. After a full day outside, those eleven pizzas did not stand a chance! We were grateful for full bellies - because next up was trick-or-treating!

Grandparent Camping at Bent Trout

We just got back from our annual camping trip with Auntie and the grandparents. I'm basically dumping duffel bags into the washer, pulling stuff out of the dryer, and putting it back into duffels because we are heading north again this coming weekend. I currently feel like my second jobs are laundry and packing. I'm quite the pro.

However, all that packing and laundry is well worth it because we are having so.much.fun this summer. Our camping trip with the grandparent segment did not disappoint and we have the bug bites to prove it! Everyone needed a shower (or two) when we got home - including Yogi - so you know we did it right.

See the OG of these three here

We left around 10:30 Friday morning and with a few minor delays for traffic, lunch, and DVD player repairs, we arrived at Bent Trout campground early afternoon. Gma and Gpa N, Gpa V, and Auntie were already there. The kids happily ran around checking things out, playing with the puppies, and exploring the playground and beach area. Once everyone was settled and Auntie's tent was pitched, we put our suits on and headed for the beach.

Last year, our camping trip was soooooooo hot! This year, the kids only lasted about an hour in the lake before they were ready to go because it was kind of chilly - and definitely windy. Auntie and I did get all three kids to swim out to the swim raft with us and they all were so brave and jumped off. After three perfect jumps, Dec suddenly got the yips (and subsequently learned what "the yips" are ...) - but I managed to coax him in one last time. After the beach, we played some games, did some batting practice, ate dinner, stayed up late, and capped off the night with rainbow flames and s'mores.

The next morning, we ate breakfast at our favorite place - Gpa's deck. The kids ate bagels and fruit. Then Gpa gave them a donut for their second breakfast. Then they went and had scrambled eggs with Gma and Gpa for breakfast three. If you think that lunch was then a bust, you are wrong! Gma and Gpa J arrived shortly before lunch to day camp. Gma brought her famous potato salad and between lunch and dinner, she left with an empty bowl and we all had happy tummies!

After lunch, it was back to the beach. We were so hot at our site and looking forward to getting into the lake. Then, we got to the lake, the sun hid behind a cloud, and the wind picked up. We had fun - but everyone got cold pretty quickly. The kids did enjoy the wooden swing with Grandma while Auntie and I swam across the lake ... which was almost exactly the same size as the bay at the cabin (x3). Before we called it a day at the lake, Auntie and I took Q and D out in the paddleboat. They both desperately wanted to pedal - but weren't quite tall enough.

The big treat for everyone was Saturday's snack. The girls had taken a cupcake decorating class earlier in the week and we had two dozen exquisitely decorated cupcakes to share. They were a huge hit and all the grandparents were sufficiently impressed by their skills. And they should have been - the girls did a great job!

After snack, Dec asked Mike to take the training wheels off his new big bike. So Mike did. And the rest of the camping trip found Auntie, Mike, or me walking the loop with various bike riders as D practiced and practiced. And practiced. And practiced. He only hit one tree and a handful of people ... and now is quite proficient and will from now on be training wheel free (we hope)!

Between the late night before, the swimming, and all the bike riding, the kids were tired and asked to go to bed fairly early. I was happy to oblige. It was a pretty low key evening and we all turned in pretty early.

Sunday morning, the kids again enjoyed three breakfasts (swapping out eggs for oatmeal) and continued their bike riding adventures. At this point, Dec could pretty much do the loop himself and by the time we left, he had also mastered the downhill trek to the playground. This was just perfect as all the tall people were busy breaking camp. We were able to leave shortly before noon, got stuck in a bit of traffic, and were home by 3pm to start the showering and laundry cycle. We are already talking about where to go next year! Such a great tradition and the best memories for the kids.

Look at these beauties!

Father's Day Camping IV: Back on Track

I woke up at 6:15 Saturday morning to the sound of Dec running to the bathroom. To pee. I had been worried it was something much more serious. Whew! I tucked him back into bed for another hour or so and then he was ready to be up for the day. His fever had mostly broken and he looked much better. Once he woke up a bit, he ate a good breakfast and really perked up. After a few hours, I sent Cheryl a text that he was bouncing off the walls and driving me crazy.

While it was cloudy and gloomy in S-town, it was raining up at the campground. We coordinated with Mike and when he told us that it seemed to have let up enough that the group was emerging from their campers, Dec and I loaded up and headed back. I figured worst case, we just went home again - and this time, we'd have our own car. Dec was pretty tired so he took a short nap on the drive, woke up as we pulled into our site, and never looked back. He was like a new (or the old) Declan!

Everyone was gathered on camping blankets playing with toys (Dec joined a pack of boys and proudly shared the monster trucks he'd brought along) or playing cribbage at the picnic table (which is where I went). After lunch, we sat around with the Ps and played giant Yahtzee for a while. It was even chillier than the day before, but nonetheless, mid-afternoon found us putting on suits and heading down to the beach.

And as always, it was exactly what we needed (someday, I'll stop doubting that!). The kids were in the water more than I expected based on the air temperature. But mostly, they had a blast wading into the water and playing in the sand. The six Ps and Vs play so well together - especially when it comes to water.

We headed back at dinner time and ate with the Ps. Then had some bike riding adventures around the loop. This year, for the first time, the girls were allowed to bike the loop on their own (usually with friends). It's a mile around and they were very proud of the freedom. Quinn determined that she rode it close to ten times between Saturday and Sunday. It was really fun to see them join the bike gang and hold their own with all the kids.

I owed Dec a s'more, so we got the fire going while keeping an eye on the weather. It was supposed to storm all day, but the radar kept changing and pushing the time of the storms back. Tiff brought out popcorn for the kids too (several of the big kids went to one of the campers to watch Happy Gilmore. Our big kids did not. Fiona was not happy with me until Jack and Coop described the movie the next morning. Then she decided it sounded stupid and was glad she didn't watch it).

We sat around the fire after the kids were in bed (or watching the movie) and marveled at the fact that the rain held off for most of the day. We really didn't expect to be able to have a fire - and instead, were out until the early morning hours once gain. It was another tough night of sleep in our camper and my 3 mile run at 7:30 was rough. But I did it and didn't die. Or quit.

After breakfast, we did let our crew join some of the others in Phil's camper to watch Frozen. Then Mike and I packed everything up without trying to entertain or redirect or yell at people. It was very peaceful and confusing. We left the bikes out because Declan had a goal of making it around the loop. He keep doubting himself and turning around all weekend. So before the camping trip officially ended, all five Vs biked that loop together. Dec was so proud and can't wait to ride it again. Then the kids and I hopped into my car and headed south while Mike finished breaking camp. We got home just in time to eat lunch and start on the mountains of laundry.

As usual, the sites are already booked for next year - which will be the fifth annual camping trip for this crew. Worth mentioning - it only took us four years to get a picture with all the kids in it!

Father's Day Camping IV: It Went Wrong

Fiona's legs looked the best

The day after Dec's birthday, I picked him up early from school and off we went to the doctor for his five year well check. Dr. H declared him ridiculously healthy, marveled at his calf muscles, and popped him with two shots so he's legal for kindergarten. Then we hurried home so I could feed the kids and be out the door for D's first night of t-ball. Mike was already up at the campground, getting us set up. We tried the same plan as last year - and hoped it would not go awry. I mean, shots, t-ball, late nights. How could it go wrong ...?

Mike got back to town, swung by t-ball to grab the girls, and then went home to finish packing while I sat in the sun and watched practice. Dec and I hurried home after he was done and loaded up to head to the campground. We got there about 8:30 and the kids were so excited to play with their friends. We were out of the car for maybe 7 minutes before I made them come into the camper to put pants on. And in that amount of time, Dec and Quinn's legs became nearly unrecognizable from all the bites. The mosquitoes were NO joke!

It was a beautiful evening and the kids were having a blast just running around together - so we let them. Until about 9:45 when I declared it was way past bedtime. Ours were not happy about heading to the camper, but once their heads hit the pillows, they didn't seem to mind too much. Then Mike and I headed back out to the campfire to hang with our friends. It was so fun hanging out and was close to 1am before we headed to bed. It started to go downhill from here.

About 3am, Dec woke up crying because his bites were so itchy. We battled that for a little over an hour before I pulled him up to the little couch by our bed. He settled in okay and went back to sleep. But neither Mike nor I slept well either. I was up shortly after 7am to meet Eric and Melissa for a 3 mile run. The kids were just starting to move around then as well, so I left Mike and the breakfast prep. [Both the kids and I were very grateful that Dennis was in the process of delivering coffee to Mike as our running shoes hit the pavement.]

When I got back, Dec was out playing with the kids. But shortly thereafter, he wandered back and told me he was really tired. That didn't surprise me as I knew he hadn't slept well. He and Quinn also continue to complain about their bites. We decided to head down to the playground (it was not super warm yet, so no one was thinking beach in the morning).

Declan asked to take a nap instead - which should have been my first clue that we were going completely off the rails. At the last minute, he changed his mind to park. But when we got there, no one really felt like playing so we wandered over to the beach. Quinn and Dec put their toes in and declared the water very cold. Then Mike found a turtle and helped it back to the water.

By the time we got back to the campsite, Dec didn't look too great. I brought him in the camper to take his temp ... 100.2. I tried to give him some tylenol, but he didn't like the taste, gagged, and then proceeded to throw up (thankfully in the toilet!). He put himself down for a nap and slept hard for about an hour. Then he got up, ate lunch, and asked to go to the beach. This time, I managed to get the tylenol in him and that seemed to help.

After lunch, the crew headed down to the lake. While the water was still very cold and the air was not very warm (maybe low 80s), that didn't stop the kids. All three had a blast playing in the water and playing in the sand. Dec, the Pilcher boys, Matt, and Grayson had some solid teamwork on the world's coolest hole. You've never seen five boys so proud of their hole! My favorite part was when Fiona fell into the water ... her shocked face was priceless!

When we got back from the beach, Dec was spent. Even though he napped again, he was really struggling. He wasn't hungry, his temp kept creeping up, and his mosquito bites were swollen and itchy. As Mike was making dinner, we made the call that after dinner, D and I would head home. I was worried about another rough night and keeping everyone in our camper awake. Mike drove us home in case Dec didn't bounce back - as he would need his car to bring the camper home. And everyone crossed their fingers that Dec and I would be back the next day.

As seems to happen every year, I was once again eternally grateful for friends who absorb our children into their world without a second thought. Even if they give the girls s'mores with two marshmallows and three rectangles of chocolate. The horror!

Baker Brrr: Part II

As I shivered my way across the campsites Saturday morning, Brad made fun of me. I was on my way to the shower building. He told me that you don't shower during fall camping! He had a point. It was low 30s and honestly, I was going to wear a hat all day. But after a brisk shower (where I didn't have to wait in line at all ...), I stand by my decision. It was just the thing to feel fresh for the day. And nothing wakes you up like a cold shower and frozen hair.

The morning was pretty low-key, with lots of woods exploring and kids running around. Dec tested out his plastic pumpkin and discovered that Brad had candy in his pocket. Once that nugget of information went through the troops, the candy didn't last long! After lunch, we headed to the fall festival in F loop. We were some of the first people there and had a blast with the green screen photo booth and a couple rounds of BINGO. The girls got their faces painted and Dec picked out a pumpkin. However, after about an hour, all Vannestes (including Mike) were pretty dang cold. So we headed back to the camper to color and warm up a bit.

After about an hour of downtime, we went back to the festival - and it felt so much warmer. We played a bunch of Boo games and Quinn and Dec found a couple tightropes. The "tightropes" were actually ratchet straps strung between trees, but they were a hit! Our gang would have been there all day if we let them! They were such fans that Mike constructed a tightrope in our backyard when we got home and half the neighborhood was over trying it out!

Back at the campsites, the kids settled into the big camper to watch Follow Me Boys. I don't think our kids quite knew what was happening in the movie - but they enjoyed the warm camper and hanging with their friends. The adults hung out around the fire until the pizzas got there. Then seventeen of us crammed into the big camper for early dinner. What a fun crew!

With full bellies, we threw our costumes on to get ready for the parade and trick-or-treating. I took the kids to the parade and told Mike to go grab coats (it was officially really cold!). When he caught up with us, he had coats ... for the kids!! I made it about 15 more minutes before I guilted Brad out of one of his layers. He's a good friend - and I was a popsicle!

We found the site with the grown-up shots, the kids got scared by the werewolf on a remote control cart, and we got so much candy. After about two loops, the Vs were cold and we happily returned to our own site. We changed into warmer clothes and sat outside to hand out candy to the hearty trick-or-treaters who were left. Then we made some hot chocolate and walked up to the stage to dance and see if we won any door prizes.

Well ... the girls and I walked up to the stage with Cheryl and the boys. Dec said he was tired and wanted to stay by the fire. Mike happily stayed with him. About 10 minutes later, the boys joined us. Apparently they could hear the DJ at the fire and Dec couldn't take it anymore. He told his dad that "the music got to me" and he had to join and get his dance on. All the kids were ready to be done after the door prizes though. We sat around the fire for just a bit and then it was off to bed for them. They were exhausted and not sad about it.

Despite Brad's insistence that C's family usually goes to bed early, we had quite the group around the campfire until the late hours of the night. We even got Grandma JoAnn to try some Fireball. Mike also demonstrated how spitting fireball on the fire makes an actual fireball. Yes - he still has his eyebrows. We had a great time and I've been told to make sure I bring my "bottle of stuff" back next year for the fire.

Our heater situation was optimized for Saturday night and we were much more comfortable (I still wore three layers and Mike slept with his Mr. Incredible leggings on ... so one would not say we were overly warm). Sunday morning, we enjoyed the milder day as we packed up. By the afternoon, the kids were running around without coats on (a far cry from the many many layers we wore on Saturday!). We took down decorations, climbed trees, jumped in a few more leaves, finished the fort, and were home for lunch.

If the sign of a good camping trip is a lot of fun pictures, great memories, plastic pumpkins full of candy, and the need to do laundry every night for five straight nights to get caught up, then I'd say we nailed it.

Baker Brrr

See what I did there ... I changed "Baker Boo" to "Baker Brrr" because it was a dang cold camping trip last weekend. Mike laughed when I told him the title - and that pretty much sealed it for me. He called me a dork. I told him that his pride in his MacGyver switch farm after the theater got struck by lightning (true story. It melted basically his whole network and he cobbled together a switch farm with random parts to get the box office back online. Also, if you mention the lightning strike in front of any of our children, we can no longer be friends with you) is how I feel about putting words together in a creative way. Mine just requires less duct tape.

Side note: Mike also "cracked a safe" (opened a locked fireproof file cabinet) that the folks at the theater haven't been able to get into for decades. We should maybe watch less Burn Notice. I joke. We shouldn't watch less Burn Notice.

Last Friday, we loaded up the troops, the camper, and several heaters and blankets to head to our second annual "actual camping" at Baker Boo weekend. Before we even had the tent beds popped out, C's mom told us that she'd already booked the sites for next year. We weren't sad about that fact. Friday afternoon was windy, but the sun was out so the chill was manageable. The kids ran around, explored the woods, and hit up various tall people for snacks. We made camp and helped get all the Halloween decorations out.

Just as the kids were starting to fritz out a bit, Mike and Dec found the world's largest leaf pile. All fifteen of us headed over to check it out - and the afternoon was saved. The kids climbed on hay bales and jumped in leaves for the next hour. Just as we were pulling dinner off the grill, they all wandered back. Or at least we assumed it was our children under all the leaves stuck to them!

A pretty serious soccer game started up after dinner. It looked so fun that we attracted extra children from other sites as well. Once it got dark, the game got even more interesting. Have you ever played soccer by light of campfire?!?! Dec lived his best life and impressed Libby with his natural ability. He proudly announced that he wants to play soccer this spring. Mike was not sad about that.

After a round of s'mores where C judged me a little for the small amount of chocolate that the Vs get on their treat, it was off to bed for the small ones. We sat around the fire ... and some of us continued to edge closer to the fire as the evening went on. Despite practically sitting in the flames, I got a bit too chilled by the time I went to bed and had a tough time getting warm enough in the "not hot" camper.

Saturday morning dawned a bit frosty (it had gotten down to 29 overnight). So we snuggled into the tiny table area for bagels to start what promised to be a fun day.

Our campsite decorations.
The girls made those faces all on their own!!

More Swimming in Duluth

One of my favorite parts of camping is waking up and going out in the cool morning air. So when Sunday morning dawned, the kids and I headed outside ... and had to find a swimming towel to dry the dew off the picnic table ... and immediately began sweating. It seemed Sunday was taking its cues from Saturday's blistering weather.

By the time everyone was ready for the day, we were already melting. So off we went toward water again. With a couple Emilys in tow, we took a trip over to Enger Tower to let the the kids check out the views of Duluth (and eat some ice cream). We climbed the stairs all the way up and down and decided we officially earned a swim.

Mike brought us to Twin Ponds, where the beach was significantly smaller than the day before, but the water was just as refreshing! We ate a picnic lunch, the kids practiced swimming, and we said good bye to Enchilada (who had to head back to the cities). As long as we were in the water, we were comfortable - and every time we got out for too long, we started to sweat again.

When we finally pulled ourselves out of the lake and got back to the campground, Gma and Gpa J had also arrived. Everyone was excited to see them! We played around outside and entertained all the grandparents ... for a couple hours. Then I could see everyone starting to wilt again in the heat. I sent Quinn in to smile big at Gpa J so that we could use him and Gma for their hotel pool!

As we were driving to the hotel, I briefly wondered if I was "forcing fun." Then we got into the water (yet again) and you could almost physically see us returning to human form (from crabby melted blobs). We did a lot of swimming and jumping and standing on shoulders. No one was particularly happy when it was time to be done, but it was closing in on dinner time and we were all getting hungry! Back at the campsite, it was another night of dinner, fire, and s'mores.

Monday morning was hot and dewy again. We decided to forego drying off our picnic table and hopped up on Gpa V's "deck" for bagel breakfast. Then Auntie and I loaded up the kids and drove over to Gma and Gpa's hotel to give them all showers (it was definitely time for soap to hit their bodies!) - and to get out of Mike's hair while he packed us up.

Then we loaded Gma and Gpa's car with waaaay more stuff than they came with, including three small Vs. And off that crew headed to GR for a few days -without Mom and Dad. They were SO excited to go with Grandma and Grandpa (and probably weren't disappoint about Gpa's decidedly less strict rules around dessert consumption). Mike, Auntie, Yogi, and I packed our dirty, sweaty selves into our car (we needed some soap as well!) - because we had a Gala to attend that night!

Duluth Swimming Trip with a Side of Camping

Testing ... testing ... is this thing on? I warned you that our August is crazy and the blog is feeling the impact. I'll do my best to get you all caught up on the fun!

Two weekends ago, the kids started their nine-day vacation up north when we headed back to Duluth for our second camping trip there this summer. This trip included Mike's dad, Mike's mom and Bill, my sister, and her friend Enchilada. My parents joined the group on Sunday.

We were on the road shortly before 10am Saturday morning. Emmy and Enchilada hit the trail about the same time - but since Emmy lives on the north end of the cities, they had about a 45 minute head start. By the time we got to the north end of the cities, Mike's phone GPS rerouted us because of construction on the main freeway to Duluth. As we journeyed along our new route, I got a text from my sister that they had moved about a mile in the last 30 minutes. We said really nice things about Mike's phone.

SO HOT

We connected with the main road north of the construction and stopped for lunch - just about the same time that Em and Enchilada pulled into the same town! We got a potty break for everyone, got some nuggets and fries for the backseat passengers, got ourselves a tail (the Emilys followed us), and continued on our way.

Everyone was super confused when we pulled in to Duluth. It was like a million degrees out - WAY too hot for Duluth!! By the time Mike finished getting the camper set up, his clothes were dripping wet and he was definitely overheating. He wasn't the only one suffering. My sister and Fiona had the red-face look happening and even Enchilada was feeling the heat (and she's a native Texan!). The campground was on the St. Louis River, so we wandered down to the riverfront. But the water itself was pretty dirty. It was definitely not going to help us cope with the heat. And I honestly shuddered when Declan laid down on his belly in it. We needed a new plan. Badly!

As one of the only people who could still make a rational thought through the heat, I made the executive decision that we were going to the beach. We piled into our car with the Emilys and drove down to Park Point (a point of land out into Lake Superior with a lovely long sand beach). As we drove to the beach, the sign said that the lake temperature that day was 60 degrees. Strangely, we all swear that the walk from the car to the lake took 40 minutes ... and it was less than a 5 minute walk on the way back ... We dumped our stuff in the first random spot we could find, cursed as we picked our way across the blazing hot sand, and returned to humans as the cold water regulated our body temperature. It was exactly what we needed!

After a couple hours of swimming and playing in the sand, we started gathering our stuff. About that exact time, the wind shifted and started coming off the lake. There was the "lake effect" weather we know and love in Duluth. The temperature immediately dropped 15 degrees, the waves got much bigger, and you could see people abandoning the water. The campground felt so much cooler when we got back and I even had to grab a long-sleeve shirt as we made dinner.

We enjoyed a colorful fire that night (Mike had brought rainbow flames for the evenings), complete with s'mores. Then it was to bed to prepare for another day of hot day of camping - which ended up needing a lot of the same coping skills as day one.

Duluth Camping Trip #1

Eeeks! I’m currently making a grocery list and packing for our camping trip this weekend. And thought … hmmm, maybe I should blog the last camping trip. So here goes …

A couple weekends ago, we headed up to Duluth for Mike’s high school reunion. We chose to celebrate that momentous occasion by camping. And getting ready for your significant other’s reunion in a campground bathroom … Because of the reunion timing, we left around 3pm on Friday and very quickly remembered why we never leave town on a Friday afternoon in the summer to head north. Once we got out of the traffic snarls, all we had left was road construction. While towing a camper. Good times.

The kids were excellent, the new Sea-bands I got for both Dec and Quinn did the trick for carsickness, and we arrived at our campsite shortly before 7pm. Gpa V met us there and had a great time exploring with the kids while Mike and I set up camp. Once we got ourselves settled, Mike’s friend Luke, his wife, and their little guy stopped by for a quick visit. The kids had a blast playing with Isaac and it was a great way to wind down the evening.

After the kids went to bed, Mike headed out for a classmates-only gathering at a nearby bar. Gpa V stayed to hang out with me around the fire for a bit and then we called it a night. However, shortly before midnight, I texted Mike to come back because it was freezing in the camper and I didn’t know what our heater situation was. Never thought I would have to send a text like that while camping in July but it got down to 51 degrees that night!

Saturday morning, we headed over to Luke’s house to spend more time with them. The kids ate donuts and enjoyed playing with the toys, the dog, the duck, the horses, the barn kitties, and the trampoline. We had a blast catching up with some old friends. It was lovely out and everyone was happy to be outside. We took Skyline on our way back to the campground and showed the kids the views of Duluth and the “big lake” (Lake Superior).

After lunch and some necessary down time for two of the three, we found Gpa V and Gma and Gpa N sitting outside at the fire. We convinced Gma and Gpa N to join us down at the lakewalk, so the kids could stick their toes in Lake Superior. We’ve been talking a lot about the Great Lakes at home and how cold (and big) Lake Superior is. They could not wait to see if we were telling the truth (spoiler alert: we were).

We walked through the maritime museum and learned about ore boats, some of us walked out to the lighthouse, we watched the lift bridge go up and down a couple times, and we froze our toes in the lake. Then we promised we’d be back in a couple weeks (or now, like two days) and headed up to Gpa V’s, so Mike and I could shower and get ready for the reunion. The kids ate dinner there and then it was back to the campground. If you are reading it like a whirlwind, that’s pretty accurate.

Brave Grandpa stayed with the kids and handled bedtime while we went to the official reunion. Mike and I both agree it was not as much fun as the 10 year (lots more kids in the equation this time and WAY fewer spouses in attendance), but it was still a great evening. Mike enjoyed catching up with lots of old friends and I visited with the few I knew, Luke’s wife, and my college roommate Brianne (who happens to have graduated with Mike). We were back to the campground before midnight to release Grandpa … who was glad to see us because he had just put the last log on the fire!

Sunday morning, we explored the campground and had donuts with Grandpa while we packed up. We were out of there by late morning and Declan emphatically proclaimed that the trip was too short. He’s not wrong. It was a quick, but fun, adventure.