Camping 2018

This year our camping trip was planned with definite dates because we knew August would bring school and juggling of other people's schedules.  So when we got right down to our camping trip dates I realized that we've gone camping this same week or close to the same week for the last several years.
       We struggled terribly with deciding which favorite spot to visit this year.  Ended with a compromise of a favorite place with a new place in between.   It was a nice trip but felt kind of hard this year.  Not sure why.  Here's a photo dump.

Best feeling ever. 

I did this while those guys were trying to catch fish in the lake.  I personally don't think there are any fish in that lake.   But this food was SOOOO good.    Bragging a little but it was quite a successful experiment. 

Best thing to do when camping!  

looking down over the hill into the Niobrara National Forest.

Jeanie has a very real fear of lake and river water.  One of my favorite things is to sit on the dock and watch the sunset.  She was not into that at all.  She was sure it was going to float away and she didn't like seeing through the cracks.  Matt did his best to help her relax but as you can see her eyes were not happy at all. 

The moon was pretty amazing and my armature attempt at capturing it wasn't so good.  But it's an idea.  

Long Pine Creek.  We stopped here over night on our way to Merrit.  The mosquitoes were TERRIBLE and the campground was FULL.  But we came back on the way home again and walked right down this creek and fished for trout and caught lots and it was AWE -MAZING.  My most favorite place in all of Nebraska.  I want to live right next to this river.  While we were driving through the sand hills looking at the ranches I decided to google price of land and ranching.  I don't think I'll ever afford to live by this little creek in this life time.  My little six acre plot will be all my earthly allotment .   But I'm going to ask for a river like Long Pine when I get to heaven. 

Merrit Reservoir 

My biggest and littlest boys.   This is the stage of life where the kid is big and I keep forgetting that the experience and wisdom isn't quite as big.    He's a good kid.  Just needs a pinch or two to keep him realizing he's just a little boy and I'm still his mom. I made him do dishes last night.  One day his wife will thank me.  That's my one consolation to the snappy brown eyes looking at me disdainfully. 

We rented a fishing boat for a couple hours.  I declare that NE lacks fish but we have boys that like to try anyhow.  Someday I think we should take them to a Wisconsin lake where they can actually fish for fish. 

Morning mist.  

These two can't live without each other. My babies.  Babies are nice because mom is still cool and hugs are still important and  I still have answers for the things they get troubled and worried over.  

My middle child.  He's a fish in the water and a terror in a kayak.  Going all over the lake sitting on his knees in the kayak.  He still has that one dimple and sparkly eyes that either shoot joy or anger.   Of all my kids he makes me heart squeeze the most.  He can make me cry the easiest and amaze me the next.  I think he's a lot like his dad.  

This is the man who thinks too hard and works too hard and worries too much.  He won my heart this trip because he walked away from it just for us for five days.   That was hard on him but I'm thankful. 

I've been thinking of all the pictures I've seen of all the other 40 year old couples and I have decided that they aren't real.  This is reality.  In our sloppy clothes looking pudgy,     Terribly curious where those with the nice pictures come up with the perfect words to describe what they have together too.   Ours is too complex and crazy for that.  Having big kids and having a girl child changes some things up a bit.  My one piece of wisdom....Have a sense of humor.  It'll get you through.  I'm quite intense too often, 

We're a funny batch of humans.  But it's okay.  I kinda like us. 

And that's all folks.