Camping

Every year, our church takes a camping trip together.  We go to one of the local state parks, and there's about 15-20 families from our church on this one stretch of road, a cul-de-sac in the campground.  There are pop-up trailers, and big RVs, and tents galore. 

This has become my vacation. 

As hard as it is to cook over a fire, and to sleep on an air mattress, and have my routines thrown out entirely out of whack, it is my vacation, and I look forward to it every year.

We play games (mainly spades), and eat smore's and other things we don't normally have.  We get to talk more one on one with people we may just see in passing at church.  We sing together and we become more unified as a church, as a family.

This year, I taught Little Bit how to ride her bike.  We had gone up on Tuesday.  (Most everyone else shows up between Thursday and Friday.)  Actually, we've been working on it off and on for a while, but I got her ON her bike WITHOUT training wheels, and told her to go, and we did our very best and worked really hard, and guess what?  Little Bit can now ride her bike. 

We tried some new meals this year, as well.  We tried Campfire Cones, which were actually a BIG hit.  Everyone liked them, including the elder that we were sharing a site with.  We also tried 3 Minute Pizza.  The girls and I enjoyed it pretty well.  Dale wasn't there to try it.  ;)

Oh my, I'm rambling in this post.  I'm so sorry.  I'm kind of out of the habit of posting on a daily basis. 

I also discovered that my dog doesn't like camping.  For lack of better words, Nana was GRUMPY!  She would growl and bark at just about anyone.  The worst was Little Bit's best friend.  GA is the granddaughter of the elder that we were sharing a site with.  Nana wanted NOTHING to do with her.  I ended up taking her on a walk around the lake (3+ miles) in order to wear her out.  That and had GA give her a peanut butter treat.  It helped, but she still makes me nervous around the little girl.

Tonight...  we're going camping again.  It's just an overnight trip here in town.  It's W.O.W.  Wonders of Wildlife.  It all will count as school, because tonight there is a talk about owls.  Tomorrow, we get classes in archery, canoeing, fishing, map and compass, and outdoor cooking.  Our friends have been going for years, and this year, we get to go too. 

Well, I'm posting while Little Bit works on her science notebook.  I guess I'd better get back to paying attention. 

I'll try to post pictures once we return.
Hugs,
Melinda

I'm back

So, you might have noticed that I haven't posted in a while.  Turns out I needed a longer break than I anticipated.  After some shin splint pain that didn't feel quite "right," I went to the doctor instead of just the chiropractor.  Turns out I had an "overuse" injury.  I trained too fast, too soon, and I had to stop. 

No running for 4 weeks. 

I could bike and walk the dog, but no running. 

And I've hated every minute of it.  Almost.

The part that I hated was the fact that I couldn't run the Plaza 10K.  It's disappointing, you know?  To train and psych yourself up and then not be able to do what you know you could do if your body wasn't resisting the work.... 

Oh well.

Like I've told several people, I'm going to be ready for the race next year.  Like I told the doctor, I'm disappointed, but not discouraged.  I'm not going to give up, but I am upset that I have to stop for a bit.

One and a half weeks to go!

Ugh.
Hugs,
Melinda