Camping, Fireworks and Fishing...OH MY!

Okay, I think that I have finally recovered enough to tell you about our great holiday weekend! It seems like it takes so much work to get ready for a vacation, and so much work after vacation, and the vacation itself goes by way to fast with not enough time to actually relax...ugh! But, overall we had a great time. We really hadn't planned on going any where for the weekend, but then Haley said she was going to go camping so we decided it would be fun to go with her and the girls. Unfortunately, Ariana ended up being sick so Haley didn't go at all. Since we had already planned on going, we went anyway, although we were sad that Haley and the girls couldn't join us.We were not able to make reservations (as none of the campgrounds were taking any) so we just took our chances that we'd find a spot available. We left after dinner Thursday night ( a little later than I had hoped) and headed off to Lake City. We knew we weren't going to find any spots at the campground near the lake so we thought we'd try Crooked Lake campground first. After driving around for awhile and realizing we were on the wrong side of town, we finally found the campground, but they were completely full! Our next idea was Goose Lake and Long Lake. These are state forest campgrounds...rustic as can be...water pump, and out house included....Of course they are on the opposite side of town from Crooked Lake so we headed back there. It was getting darker by the minute and I was afraid we were going to have to pitch the tent by the light of the moon. When we arrived they seemed to be packed! We drove all around both of the lakes and didn't find one spot. I was beginning to lose hope when we decided to take one last turn down a little side road and sure enough, right there at the end was one lone spot!!!! I couldn't have been a happier camper...LOL! We jumped out of the truck, unloaded the tent and got it up with just minutes of light to spare! Talk about an adventure! Actually, I take that back...the very first thing we did was grab the mosquito spray before we got eaten alive! Then came the tent. After we were all settled in Andy tried starting a fire, but it didn't go so well as the wood was a bit damp. But we were all so tired that we decided to just go to bed.The next day Mike, Teresa, Haley and the girls all came up to visit and celebrate Mikes birthday. First we had lunch and then headed off to Lake City to spend the day at the beach. Well, the guys dropped us girls off at the beach and they went fishing. The weather was just beautiful. And the lake is shallow for a long way out so the kids had a blast playing in the water. I didn't end up taking any pics (i know...I'm shocked too) but, I had the pleasure of holding onto Adalyn as she slept...and slept...and slept. I could have given her back to her mom, but honestly I was being a baby hog!! She was just to precious, and she was sleeping so soundly I didn't want to disturb her. After they all left we headed back to the campground to get some rest and eat dinner before the big Firework Show. We decided we should probably get to the lake a little early to make sure we get a good parking spot and a good spot to see the fireworks. The kids were excited because that meant they'd get to play on the playground. There were people that had brought their own fireworks so we got to see a few amateur displays. Which in the end we were very grateful for because apparently the actual firework show had been moved and no one was aware of this. We could not see the fireworks from where we were, and neither could most of the people there. So, although the fireworks we scheduled to start at 10:30, most people were leaving by 10:40 because we were all on the wrong side of the lake! It was very disappointing, and I'm guessing that who ever was in charge got a lot of complaints the next day! But, to be honest, it was a blessing in disguise, because that gave us enough time to go back and sit around the campfire and just hang out as a family. We had some pretty funny conversations and I think that was my favorite part of the whole vacation!
Saturday, Andy took us all out on the boat to go fishing. Since there wasn't a dock, he put the kids in the boat while he was loading it into the water. Sammy freaked out! He was okay once we got going though. Annabelle was the first to catch a fish. Then Alivia. Andy also caught a fish...on Annabelle's barbie fishing pole! The only thing Sammy caught was weeds. He wasn't to happy about it...
hmmm, wonder where he gets that from?!?!After we were done fishing we decided to pack up and head home. We could have stayed till Sunday, but we thought it would be nice to have that day to actually rest! Over all it was a great weekend and I'm so glad that we went. The kids were exhausted and didn't make it 2 miles down the road before they conked out!After recovering for a few days, and getting the house back in order, I'm getting stuff around for a yard sale this weekend. We just had one last year and sold a lot of stuff...so I'm baffled at how much stuff I have to sell this year. Where did it all come from? Hopefully I will sell it all because I'm not bringing it back!!!