Day 3

Well, our last real day of camping came upon us much too quickly. After an awesome breakfast by chef Brian of eggs, bacon & sausage we headed to the park's Petting Zoo. They had a short little hay ride that we rode, then we went in and fed the animals...goats, ponies, pigs, mules and fish. They were very tame and friendly, but willing to eat lots of food. That afternoon we took a canoe out on the lake. We brought Nolan's booster seat and put it in between us and he loved it and even went swimming. I was too scared to bring the camera on the boat in case we tipped...which I almost caused us to do! The weather forecast was a little uncertain for that night, so being in a tent, Becky & Tim opted to bow out early and head home. We were sad, especially since it was our turn to cook, but we were relieved that it didn't rain and we were able to enjoy one last dinner outside (steak night!). Then the 5 of us (us & the doggies), hung out around the fire and made some s'mores! The hay ride: The petting zoo: Nolan, Brian and our "adopted" goat feeding fish. This goat followed us, particularly Nolan, everywhere--it was so funny! Brian and Nolan sitting on the canoe, after our boating adventure: I snapped this pic of the canoes and lake, but it still so tough to capture the beauty of the lake. Nolan and Daddy roasting marshmallows about 10 feet away from the fire because it was really windy and we had already had one nasty spark get Nolan. He had a blister the next day, poor little guy!!! Trying to show Nolan how to eat a S'more (he wanted to just pick them apart). Mmm, soo tasty!

Day 2

Saturday Nolan slept until about 6:45 am...which he stuck to most of the weekend. Not bad considering there were skylights. We had a breakfast of champs, cereal and powdered sugar donuts, apprantely a McMenamy camping tradition. We then headed to the lake/beach for swimming. Tim and Becky, friends from Crestview joined us for the weekend but were tent camping in a different part of the park. They met us at the lake with their son dog, Brady. Nolan was having so much fun I went back to the campsite and made some sandwiches to eat on the beach. After he had turned into a fish from swimming so much, we headed back for a short nap. Tim and Becky cooked for us Saturday night and then we girls played some Bingo. Then we finished the night off by sitting around the campfire, snacking on S'Mores.

Brian and Nolan swimming.

A view of the beautiful lake/trees!Becky, Brady & Tim:I love that Becky tied Bucky up to this sign. It's not a camping trip without breaking some rules!

Nolan protested a nap profusely, but was sound asleep before his head hit the pillow! Haley couldn't resist an afternoon rest herself!

Becky & Tim's campsite, it was really shaded and pretty!Tim trying to "steal" her s'more. Never attempt stealing chocolate from a woman, it will never end well!

Nolan used one of their mugs to drink water out of. We told him it was "coffee" just like Mom & Dad and he used it the rest of the weekend, referring to his drink as "coffee" no matter what we put in there (milk, water, juice, whiskey...nah, not really, just seeing if you were still paying attention).Becky & I playing Bingo. I would like to say we won, but we didn't. Boo!! Oh well, it was still lots of fun!

Camping Adventure

Brian, Nolan and I arrived home safely Monday afternoon after a fantastic weekend of camping. Nolan literally cried when he realized we wouldn't be sleeping in the camper (that we rented from base) that night. We traveled up north a bit to Alabama and stayed at a great state park near Birmingham. My only complaint (other than bugs and critters, but I'm pretty much a wimp, I'm okay with that) was that we didn't have enough time to do everything we wanted. We're already contemplating a trip back before we leave. There's no way to post all the pictures from our trip, but I'll try to choose the best ones over a few posts. On a side note, thank you for all your prayers, phone calls and updates as to where Gustav was heading. We weren't sure when we left Friday what we'd be coming home to. I'm grateful our home was spared, sad that others weren't as lucky and relieved that it wasn't as bad as it could have been. There were LOTS of evacuees pouring into the camp Saturday night and all day Sunday and Monday. It was humbling to chat with these people. This is just another reason, that though I think this area is beautiful, I couldn't ever hang my boots. So, on a happier note, I want to hear about everyone else's (hopefully) long weekend...what did you do? Who did you see? Leave us a comment and let us know what you're up to!

The pop up camper, that Nolan thought would make a loud POP when opened. He was happy it didn't!

It took Brian 5 minutes to set this up. Apparently these "a-frame" type pop ups are fairly new to the camper scene and we were questioned all weekend on it. People were sooo curious we joked that we should charge a fee and give tours. It sleeps 4, there is a/c, a small fridge, stove, sink, one bed converts to a table & two chairs in the day, the other to a couch. There was certainly not much storage space if were camping longer than a weekend, but I will probably never camp in a tent again after this. Brian cooking up dinner the first night. Okay, I'd love to post more, but I'm exhausted, more pics to follow soon!