Camping!

Last weekend we went camping with my side of the family. It was a lot of fun. Andy goes camping pretty regularly it seems with hunting and mens' camping trips at church, but I haven't been camping since I was in high school. I forgot how much fun it was. The kids really enjoyed it too. We slept in tents, which was so much more fun than a camper, except for hearing every single sound really well. We took Daisy with us, and sleeping in a new place took us right back to her first night here when she whined. I'm a really light sleeper, so every little whimper (which was constant) was driving me crazy. I thought that maybe if I put her in the tent with us that she would go to sleep. She did around 1:00am, and then woke up bright and early around 5:00am. It took me back to those days of having new borns, which I discovered that I don't miss as much as I thought I did. Anyhow, the second night Daisy was much more comfortable with her surroundings and got quiet after minimal whining...I think. I was so tired I fell asleep pretty quick that night. One great thing about camping is that the men do all the cooking. Andy and my dad cooked us a big breakfast, and then grilled dinner for us both nights. And then Erin and her boyfriend, Lee, and I got really optimistic and decided to take the kids and Daisy on a hike, which we cut short as soon as we found a rode that Andy could drive on to come get us. I think me and Erin and Lee could've made it, but the kids became whiney and I was practically dragging Daisy. Boy, I really feel like I've focused on the negative, but we did have a great time!

The Beach

As promised, here are the pictures from the beach. We had a nice time, and the vacation was long enough that I was ready to come home. On some of the shorter trips I've been sad to go back to the old routine, but after 9 days, I missed it. I missed Georgia water, or really, anything besides Florida water (what's the deal with the water treatment down there?), and 9 days of sand is enough to drive a person crazy. Sand is one of those things that just shows up everywhere -- the bed, the food, and constantly stuck to the bottom of your feet. I've made it sound miserable, but it really was nice. Destin is such a pretty beach, and the kids had a blast, of course. Plus, there was plenty of relaxation. We stayed up late watching TV in bed, and slept until ridiculous hours for us. I'm going to have to get myself back on a realistic sleep routine. The beach is definitely my favorite vacation spot, and having kids makes it even more fun, but now that I'm home I have a whole new adventure to look forward to. For anyone who hasn't heard, I got a job teaching 4th grade at Drew's school, now my school, too. I'm so excited about it. I've gotten my class list and seen my classroom - my very own classroom. It still doesn't seem real to me that after all this time I have a career...a real official one!