Camping Grade

I wouldn't say it is the best vacation in the world for me. But it beats other things...I guess. I didn't have to fish. That's a plus....

So the rest of my weekend after I got back the first time from my first night camping had its ups and downs for sure. On Saturday, after Gabriel and I went in to town and did some browsing at Best Buy, I came back home and played with Gabriel by himself. I had a really good time with him. I forget how it was just to have Luke alone and all the stuff I could do with him (even though by the time he was Gabriel's age I was already PRETTY pregnant with Drew and Evan and starting to get pretty miserable....) but I LOVED spending the day and evening with him. After letting him play alone in the bathtub which is a rare treat for him with so many older brothers and getting him off to bed, I looked at the two movies that I got the other night from NetFlix. Apparently, I was the only person on the planet that didn't realize what Brokeback Mountain was about because...um...well do NOT watch it. I'll have one image in particular burned in to my retinas for a while....Believe me when I say that God and I have done a great deal of talking about this one. Mostly I have been pleading for forgiveness because it was even in my house. Ewwwww. After that fiasco, I decided to look over Sunday's worship folder in the living room because it was much cooler in there than in my room. I took my stuff out and sat down on the couch. When I felt my eyes drooping, I decided to set my cell phone as an alarm so I'd be sure to get up on time for church. I sat the cell phone up on the back edge of the couch. It was no surprise to me that I fell asleep on the couch while preparing for yesterday's worship service. In the middle of the night, I got up because I had to go to the restroom. When I went back to lay down, I went to my room. No alarm set there, so Sunday morning, I roll over and look at the clock and it said 9:22!!!! (Church starts for me at 9:15.) NOT GOOD!

I literally put clothes on, grabbed Gabriel and dressed him as I walked out the door in the first shirt and shorts I could find for him, and drove to church. I didn't brush my teeth or hair. I didn't do ANYTHING. I walked in to find the worship team already started and finished with the first verse of Our Love Is Loud. Handed Gabriel off to the nearest person (thanks, Kendall) and walked up on the stage in the middle of the song. Now, I SOUNDED terrrrrrrific! So after the set was over, I left Gabriel at the nursery and ran home to get a much needed shower. I walked back in to the church during the inviation. CRAP! I missed my cue again! So I walked up and hid behind the screen until prayer when I slipped in and sang the closing song....in a new outfit. The congregation just kept giving me these smiles like, "We know what has happened to you today..." Oh well. I'm really thankful that Kendall understood and so did other people. The night without sleep at the camp really did me over.

So after church it was off to Cracker Barrell with Dad and Jen and Gabriel. Then home to pack a few quick things and back to camp. I got there, and the kids were brown as berries but Chad was slightly pink. The moms there soon took the kids to a "beach" (more like a gravel pit with some ice cold water) while the dads stayed back and shot the breeze or pulled each other's fingers or something like that. Guys are gross.

Everything was fine and dandy until we were sitting around the fire last night with the kids completely zonked out in their respective tents. That's when I heard it. A laughing so hysterical from the woods - it was creeping me out. Everyone pretty much ignored it, so I thought maybe I was hearing things. I was half asleep, after all. Then there it was again. Finally, I couldn't take their nonchalance and I said, "Doesn't anyone hear that???" Dennis, a guy there, said, "Oh that? It's just a raccoon."

"WHAT?!?!" It had completely escaped my mind that I might encounter wildlife. I was so focused on the fact that it would be hot and dirty that I forgot about the creepy crawlies and such.

For some reason, one of the wives had bought these spotlight-like devices instead of flashlights. So her husband, Zach started shining them up in to the trees to see if we could see their beedy little eyes. I was instantly spooked. I kept shining the lights....listening....the laugh kept coming....I finally calmed down after much ridicule from the other more experienced campers....and could barely keep my eyes open, so I retired to my tent. Now if any of you heard my story regarding the toilet about a week ago, you know never to mix bleach and toilet cleaner..It burned so bad,....and I have a little trouble with coughing right now until all the meds fix me up...) So after a bout of coughing my scarred lungs up, I finally started to doze when two raccoons started fighting over food about 8 feet from my head. (Okay, the tent was separating me from it...but STILL!)

Other than the raccoons, the HEAT, and the next door neighbor who apparently stole something from a guy down the road who came with language ablaze with an explitive around each possible word in his sentences (followed by about 4 "Sorry, kids...bleepity bleepity bliggity bleeps") ----- I didn't have a horrible time. Showering is a plus though, so next time we go, I need to make sure we have that capability. I think I can catch up on the sleep this week while I'm NOT teaching school...so I can handle that.

All in all: Camping gets a B from this teacher.