Live from Tormville!

A great weekend for camping

I felt like it was the most disorganized camping trip I'd ever been on - having sold the camper this spring, our stuff was a chaotic Rubbermaid assortment of stuff at best - but it was a good trip to practice tenting again on, as we camped conveniently in my husband's aunt and uncle's backyard with a gathering of cousins. We couldn't have ordered better weather. Sunny - upper 80's/low 90's in the day, no humidity and cool evenings. Perfect.

 

It was so nice that the older boys slept out in the open air under the double moon and starry skies. Brian, who uses a lot of hand gestures when he talks, is telling the boys all about how he is going to start kindergarten in just a few more days after (va)cation.

 

On Saturday morning, breakfast was an assortment of pancakes, sausage, eggs and velia.  I skipped out at this point because I was heading out to a baby shower and a skip back home to get a few things that we'd forgotten (horribly disorganized) and to water the gardens (and take a shower - such a cheater camper I was)

 

Getting back to the camping took a bit longer then I had anticipated. The Jeep, which has been acting all sorts of crotchety lately, died on me. I managed to irk it to a park & ride which a little bit creeped me out since it was quite isolated and there were a few guys just hanging out when I got there - but, thank goodness for cell phones, I called my mom and made her talk to me until Greg arrived 30 minutes later to pick me up.  He confirmed that the Jeep was dead....all that smoke coming out from under the hood was a giveaway.   He just called a few minutes ago and the garage has confirmed that we need a new engine.  Call us a single car family for awhile - and thank goodness all my appointments were last week.

We arrived back at camp just in time for a game of water balloon volleying. 

 

And a bike show

 

And a rowdy game of smoosh (smush?) ball.

 

The rules were minimal.

 

We wound down the end of each day with some smores and guitars. On Saturday we got to enjoy both Suzie and George.  I snuck (why is snuck not a word when it makes so much sense?) out for a bit when everyone was captivated and got my Saturday night sauna in early.

 

On Sunday morning we gathered around to listen to church via speakerphone while sucking on Tootsie Pops. A trick I learned this weekend - put the cell phone in a metal phone and it acts as an amplifier.

As soon as church was over, it was a race to the pool. Many many hours spent on sauna swims and swims and diving contests this weekend.  My kids are all fish, and today we have sunburned shoulders.

 

We then accomplished the what we thought impossible and fit two vehicles worth of camping gear and six people into one van for the ride home. We stopped at the Jeep on the way to see if we could irk it a bit closer to the garage and got a few miles down the road before it sputtered out completely.

I'll be without a vehicle for at least a week. Once again I find myself thankful for town living - we can walk to open house, walk to the hair appointment, bike to get Allan's books and so on.

Time to get some beach towels and camping gear swinging on the line. I'm not quite up to my normal Monday pep this morning.

I wonder why....

This photo was carefully checked over for stray underwear before posting

Not this photo, although there's no sayin'.....

This past July the kids and I (the hubby is always busy in July and it's rare that he can vacation with us. The work he does generally makes him busier when Ford does their two week shut down - as he's often involved with the updating that happens during that time.  anyway....) went camping at McLains State Park in Upper Michigan.  It's a favorite of ours - and being that I never know if the hubby will be able to come or not until the last minute - I prefer to stay in a cabin.  At least until the little boys are bigger.  I'm a wimp, what can I say.  This cabin, Hemlock, is my favorite of the 7 cabins. The kids made a lot of use out of that ramp - the out house is just to my right - just out of the photo, and, well, I just like it.

Some of you had asked for a closer look.....

(this is the photo. that was checked....)

They are cozy, especially on day five of five of us living in it.  But they are warm and dry.  Two little space heaters, a hot plate, refrigerator....

....a cot, for extra sleeping - but we used the air mattress on the floor instead.  As it worked out - there was only one (or two?) nights when we needed that as Allan and Wendy both spent nights at various places during that time.

It's the renters job to clean back up when their stay is over.  This is how it looks all ready and fresh. It's a bring your own bedding establishment

 

All in all - I recommend them.  Lake Superior is right out the window, the heaters keep it cozy (they actually rent these year round for snowmobilers/skiiers/winter camping nuts) and again - dry.  drydrydrydrydry

 

I just might be up to doing it again next year.

Maybe

(Camping without any other adults and four kids, wasn't quite all that....but memorable)  ;)

our cabin in the wood

I have a list taped to the inside of my cupboard.  It says.....

1. Hemlock (this cabin)
2. Cedars
3. Maples

That's the order of my favorite cabins at the park.  This one was ideal for us on this trip as that ramp was utilized extensively by my little boys with their bikes and the big kids with their ripsticks.

I also like this one because it's set back from the road, with plenty of sidewalk for the kids to play on.

Cozy, warm and dry. They rent these even in the winter time for the real die hards. 

Anyway.

Back at the ranch......

it's raining. finally.  my grass is soaking it up.
I'm looking forward to an at home day today - making my list of what to do's
I told the kids that there is no teasing or fighting allowed today.  And I meant it. Dog-gone-it.
Wendy has a sore throat
Markie still isn't sleeping
Today we'll home remedy - tomorrow we'll decide if we have to go to the doctor - again
I'm so sick of going to the doctor I could screech
I picked up some new books at the library last night - a Patterson and a Kingsbury - talk about far ends of the spectrum
My house is a mess
If I were rich, I'd hire a maid to clean and cook
then I might actually get my binding done......

be good!

Company at the Camp

Good Morning
Friday - sunny - a lovely 64 degrees.  I should make a plan for the day.
grocery shopping
exercise
laundry
sew binding on quilt

there. plan made.

now then - how 'bout some more camping pictures?  I didn't realize how many I had until I try to figure out how to share them.  This round is camping company (I just sensed all my company cringing at once)

We'll start with Claire.  Claire was camping two cabins down for one night - and while we have never met, Wendy and Claire became fast friends.  Our families have enough in common with faith, friends and connections that I had no problem with Wendy going to spend the night when Claire left camp for home - and Wendy is excited to have made another friend close to grandma's house.

And then there's my grandma - she came out to visit several times. She likes to watch the action and makes for great company.  Allan really filled her ear with tales when he shared the fire with her.  Hmph.  It seems he told her that when his dad says no, he means no - but when his mom says no, he has no clue what she means.

as if.

The Laakso's came out too - yeah - the ones who live just a couple miles from us here at home.  I don't know what Wendy will ever do if we vacation at different times as she was begging for Elizabeth as soon as we got up north.

These guys showed up with their swimsuits on and towels around their neck.  Apparently it was a few degrees warmer in town. We dug thru Wendy and Brian's suitcases and layered them up a bit for our lake weather.  Then, to keep them busy, I started them on a fort building project with all the cut down wood on the edge of our camp.  They had a ball - until they found all the rabbit poop in their north wing.

They came out with my mom - as they had just enjoyed an overnight there. My mom came out everyday which was a huge help - she had a bit of time off during my stay, so it worked perfect.

This bunch of boys came out several times as well - Allan's cousins plus one.  They enjoyed our ramp for their rip sticks.  (Ripsticks?) 

Speaking of Ripsticks - guess who else tried it?  And who's son needs a few more lessons in panning, but his framing is just about right.  ;)

Those boys came out with this mom - Auntie Sherry - who is Pa's oldest sister and two days older than me.  I think you might have heard me mention that before.....

I returned from my morning walk one day to find Wendy entertaining a passel of Johnsons at our table.  She had made friends with yet another one not pictured here (I went to school with their dad) and loved the novelty of *knowing* people in the campground

This guy wins the prize for my best dressed visitor, and I feel certain that he won't be making any special trips to visit me at the camp in the future.  He didn't even stay for coffee.  ;)

My grandma came again (I think she came four times total) with my Auntie Barb.  They were a huge help as Markie had just fallen asleep, Allan was gone, and I needed more firewood.  Thanks Auntie!

And this is Carl - he came with his mom and siblings, and Aunt Laura and kids on my last night at camp.  The weather had suddenly turned a bit warmer, although Wendy tells me the water was still quite cold.  It was a perfect sunset evening for the beach followed up by smores at the fire.  Mark had just woken up from that nap - and was a horrible bearish creature - so I didn't get many pictures and those I did were one handed.  But I like this one.  We visited Carl out at his farm last spring - but they are just down here temporarily, and have the good fortune to live by that big lake all the time.

While I captured quite a bit of our company - I missed a few as well.  I didn't capture Claire's parents, the rest of Carl's tribe, or Marvin and Cindy as they wandered into my camp by accident late that first night..... but I think I have enough here for a good two page spread in the album.  :)

happy friday!

How to eat a smore Markie style

First off - this is one of my favorite camping shortcuts - I still thank whoever taught it to me years ago. Well, I would, that is - if I could just remember who it was.  If it was you - Thank you!

Fudge stripe cookies make smore making easy peasy. but our Markie is our first to actually utilize it to it's full extent.

So - as per Markies instructions.....

1. Have mom or older sibling cook marshmallow to brown toasty perfection
2. Layer marshmallow between two fudge stripe cookies
3. Insert finger into hole.  mmmmm.  Even better if the hands and fingers are camping grubby

4. Hand posture is everything
5. Nibble way around the cookie/smore
6. Keep wary eye on potential smore thieves portraying themselves as loving mothers and grandma's

7. Enjoy and Repeat


This little guy, who had been sleeping better - had another rough few nights.  Last night was horrid - we were up all night long.  I just woke up - having hired Allan to watch the crew while I went back to bed.  It wasn't quite enough but it will have to do - there's stuff'es to be done - after all.