Camping was an interesting experience. We arrived at the campground at about 4:30 on the 9th of July (I started the day out with a birthday breakfast for Katie). We were the first ones there, so we got to choose the best site. It was so shady and really nice.
Alan's brother and his family arrived about 2 hours later. I was making dinner then, so we just let them get set up in the site right next to us. Alan found out that a project he was working on was needed on Saturday, so he had to work the entire time. Unfortunately, there were no electrical hookups, so he had to sit in the bathroom to do his work. So much for not lifting a finger. Anyway, I fed the kids tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, and they ran around on the grassy area, playing with their cousins. At dusk, we lit a camp fire, and roasted marshmallows. My kids were wonderful, and actually put themselves to bed! A great first day!!!
The next day, we woke up to find that the rest of the family had arrived during the night. I got breakfast for the kids (cereal and milk), and then we got ready to go out on my SIL's boat. Here's where things went downhill. We got the boat to the launching ramp, and backed it into the lake. It wouldn't start at all! We wasted about 3 hours there while Alan and his brother argued about who was at fault. His brother said some really nasty things, and it just went downhill from there. I let me kids swim on the beach, though, so they were happy with that.
We ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch, and the kids swam some more. At around 5:00 we went back to camp to start dinner. I planned taco salads (I'm all for easy!). I had cooked the meat before we left home, so we just had to chop the lettuce and tomatoes, and put it all together. Very easy. We were done and on to s'mores while my BIL was trying to figure out how to grill hamburgers without burning them on the fire, since he forgot the propane for his camp stove. HAH! We let the kids run around again and the rest of us just visited and had a good time (Alan was still working in the bathroom). We all went to bed around 11:00 p.m.
On Friday morning, we loaded everyone up in vans and cars and drove about 4 miles to the drop off for the river run. We got everyone and all the tubes, rafts, kayaks, etc., in the water, and then I ran to the nearest town for some things that had been forgotten. They had a great time, running the river, and I had an enjoyable 3 hours to myself. When we got back to camp, everyone stayed in their own campsites to get their Dutch oven dishes ready. We all cooked and then sampled everyone else's offerings. We had turkey, bbq chicken, beef "un"shiskabobs, corn on the cob, rolls, and 3 types of cobbler. Yummy!!!!!
Saturday morning, Alan was done with his job, and had it delivered! He celebrated by taking all our kids fishing and swimming at the beach while I repacked for the trip home. When the kids were all blue-lipped and tired, we loaded them in the van and drove home.
It was a good trip, but I didn't get as much "me" time as I had hoped. Oh well. It was a nice thought!