Camping

This past weekend we went camping at Sesqui Park with Gran and Grandaddy. (To be clear, Gran went back to our house to sleep...she was sure that Franklin needed her!)
I went to the park in the morning and reserved a spot for us and I'm glad I went when I did because I got there around 10:30 and they only had 5 spots left!
JP cried all the way home because he wanted to stay and camp! He couldn't understand that we were going back later. He had been so excited and told EVERYONE  at preschool  that he was going camping. This was the first year he got to spend the night.
Gran and Grandaddy got to our house early afternoon so we headed over to the campsite so we could start setting up. I left Ruthie and JP with them and went to pick up the big girls from school...camping close to home definitely has its advantages!

The kiddos helped collect wood for the fire and then we headed over to the playground.  They played and then we "hiked" (walked a short ways on the trail), checked out the waterfall, and the kiddos climbed some trees. Then we headed back to get dinner ready. Paul didn't get there in time to cook dinner so I was the chef. We had hamburgers and hot dogs.

becoming one with nature

We had a Halloween themed dinner..spider web tablecloth, pumpkin plates, and ghost marshmallows.

Once it started to get dark we did s'mores. The kids had been looking forward to the s'mores all day!
The kids were so excited about sleeping in their sleeping bags in the tents. We had 2 tents...my dad and Ellie slept in one and Paul and I slept in the other one with the other kids. Ellie definitely lucked out...she was in the tent that got sleep!

In the morning my mom came back over and Paul cooked us a delicious breakfast! After breakfast we packed up and headed back to the park area where we rented pedal boats for the lake. We did this last year and it was one of the things  they were most looking forward to. It worked out really well...Ruthie gets her peanut dose in the morning with breakfast and then has to rest for 2 hours. So the boats, where she just had to sit and enjoy the ride, were the perfect activity! We had a great time boating around the lake! Grandaddy did manage to give Ellie a small heart attack when he got the boat they were on stuck in the mud...I had flashbacks to salt marsh canoeing with my dad at Kiawah and got a good chuckle out of the whole thing!

JP was the captain of our "pirate ship"! 

Ruthie might have been judging her drivers.

After we finished boating Ruthie's 2 hour rest period was over so we let the kids play on the playground for a bit. Then we headed out to Chick-fil-A and since Gran and Grandaddy were there the kids got ice cream which they love!

While we were leaving the playground Ruthie was climbing over the sidewalk railing and she was sitting at the top of the railing and fell off onto the sidewalk (giving me a minor heart attack). She landed on her arm but it didn't seem to be broken. She played on the playground at Chick-fil-A but after her nap kept complaining about her arm hurting. I took her to the walk in ortho clinic near our house (best thing ever!) and we were in and out in 30 minutes with xrays and a splint and a diagnosis of a sprained wrist. After a few days, her wrist is now all better!

I think everyone had a great time camping (although hotel camping is still my choice!) and JP was thrilled to finally get to be one of the big kids!

Fair Fun

Ellie has been BEGGING to go to the fair the last few years so this year I got my act together in time to preorder tickets and pick a day to go. On Tuesday I picked the girls and Evelyn  up from school and then swung by and picked up Amy (Evelyn's mom) and we headed to the fair! We checked out the animals, watched a magic show, watched the pig race, ate LOTS of yummy food, saw some dinosaurs and checked out all the home made craft items...the kids were amazed (and Amy and I were quite impressed as well!). We also let each kid pick one ride to go on. Ellie and Evelyn rode the ferris wheel with Amy, JP and I rode the monster trucks (he was absolutely fixated on them after he saw them!) and Emmie and Ruthie did one of the fun houses. We spent a fun 3 hours at the fair and the kids are already making plans to go next year!

the duck slide...always entertaining!

Emmie volunteered for the magic show. Then she found out they were going to make her "float" on a board. She decided perhaps she didn't want to do that! She still got a participation prize though and I was really proud of her for volunteering!

That's our section's pig in the lead! He ended up winning and Emmie was the "cheerleader" for our side and so she got Oreos and a pig nose. Evelyn's pig won next and so she got them too!

The sand sculpture is always one of my favorite exhibits!

Evelyn and Ellie on the Ferris Wheel.

Ruthie and I got doughnut burgers. Honestly, they didn't taste too much different than a regular burger. I was quite impressed that Ruthie ate every bite of hers! (We had a discussion the other day about how much she had to weigh to move to a booster and I think she might have been trying to gain the needed 7lb in one meal!)

The kids got to pick a treat before we left...Emmie and JP had cotton candy and Roo and Ellie had an Icee.