Camping with Jon and Josh

Last weekend I took Jon and Josh to the camper with me.  Ken wasn't too happy that I was relaxing and he was working.  But that's life and he just needs to deal.  The weather was wonderful and the boys had a good time.  Of course there was a lot of fishing and fire building.  Seems that whenever these two are together there is a fire somewhere.  Luckily it is always in a fire pit.  At least as far as I know.

 I may have sabotaged their fishing experience by allowing the dogs to swim in the water right by where they were casting.  But my dog loves to swim so they can just move to the other side.  Actually, Jon caught six fish Saturday.  Josh caught zero.  That kid is the worst fisherman I have ever met.  I text his dad and told him I wasn't bringing Josh home until he caught a fish.  Which means he would probably be seeing him in July.  Moral of the story:  Don't rely on Josh for dinner.  You will starve!

 Bo is not so much into the swimming thing.  But he does love to get muddy and roll around in the grass.  Lucky me!

 My little fire starter.  Notice the awesome pots in the back??!!! I went to the grocery store and came back to Jon being all outback man.

 Call me crazy but this boy needs to put on a few pounds.  Good thing he is so cute!

 Just want to bring your attention to the flowers that are now around my pot sculpture.  It is ever evolving.  Ken is so thrilled.

Josh finally caught some fish.  4 to be exact.  I think Jon caught 12 or something.  Jon is on my team if I am ever in a survival competition.

The world is right again

HELLO from the camper.  Finally!!!  Longest. Winter. Ever.  And the worst part of the winter?  It is nice and every beautiful day all that came into my mind was the fact that I should be enjoying it at Cool Creek.  But now we are there again and our life is back to normal.  Ann is mad at us because we are never home (like she is) and Jon still has no clue if we are home or not.  Ahhhhhhh good times.  After another argument with Ann about the fact we are there so much I explained to her that she is welcome anytime.  Her response was that we are never there on a weekend that is good for her.  I just looked at her and told her we are ALWAYS there so that is a terrible argument.  WIN!

 The first morning we were there was a little foggy but the temperature was wonderful.  Sitting on the porch, watching my birds, brings me many stress free moments.

 Of course, opening weekend brings alot of work.  The tires on the golf cart were flat so Ken had to fix them.    I helped by shouting advise to him from my seat on the porch.  That is why they are fixed now  : D   Then we had to rake leaves,  clean off the roof, put all our garden stuff out, and fix some fishing poles.  But those are good jobs so I won't complain.

 Of course, the day isn't good if Ken doesn't do a little fishing.  I fish too, just from my seat in the sun, with the pole on the ground next to me.  I catch some "rays"  Ken catches the fish.

 Dinner!  Just kidding.  That would mean Ken would have to clean the fish he catches.  And that is way too much work for him to do while at the camper.

 Of course, while we are relaxing on the porch watching the rain Ken decides he is going to fix one of our birdhouses.  So during the lightening storm he takes the metal ladder out and reattaches the little house.  Sometimes I just sit back in awe.

My latest pinterest creation.  Tippy pots.  I love these so much I made two.  How cute are these.  Seriously. I'm in awe of my talent.  No really, I am.

Can't make this up

That's right.  A Casimir Pulaski Day actually exists.  And we found our way to it so I can cross that off my bucket list.  Actually it wasn't on my bucket list so I added it then crossed it off.  I think everyone should add this to your list.  The parade is something that shouldn't be missed.  It took place in Du Bois, Illinois, population 200 (maybe).  And there was over 1000 people there.  WHAT?!?!?!?!?!?!  And these people know how to party.  It was like Marti Gras there was so much carrying on taking place.  And the floats.  I had to take pictures or nobody would have believed me.

 There were alot of Polish flags in the parade.  Lots and lots of Polish flags.

 And there were lots of tractors.  A LOT of tractors.

 At least they support a good cause

 Ken's family

 Yes, there were more floats sponsored by bars than any other organization.

No words for this

 Aunt Marcie was excited she snagged a Stag

 Only parade I have ever been to where beer not candy was handed from the float

 There's some happy guys

 Cheers!!!

The kids face in the back cracks me up 

 Really?????

 The Clampets moved to Du Bois

 Uncle Vince was Grandpa John's youngest brother

 Aunt Hilda and Uncle Vince are the oldest married couple in the parish.  We decided Uncle Vince is 90 years old now.  He was mad because he was in the parade and could't get any beer.  So cousin Paul got him one  : )

Yes this an outhouse.  Yes Ken is inside.  Yes I am grossed out.  Yes Ken broke the door off when he came out of it.  Gotta love small towns

A quick weekend Getaway

I LOVE weekend getaways.  I look at them as a reward for not killing anyone during the work week.  This time the family plus their "significant others" headed up to Chicago for a family wedding.  This was the first time all six of us traveled together.  Alina has never gone anywhere with us so she was in for quite an adventure.

For the weeks leading up to the trip Ken and I were trying to figure out where we were going to put everyone in the truck.  Jon and Cody are too tall to sit in between Ken and I, Alina would probably be mortified to have to sit there, and Ann thinks she is to good for that spot.  Ultimately Ann would have lost out.  And yes, we heard about it for weeks.  Luckily we were able to work something out with Jen so that Jon and Alina would ride with her.  Ahhhhhh space.  Ken's dad rode with us too which put me in the backseat with Twiddle Dee and Twiddle Dum but it still worked out.  Until Ann decided she was tired and proceeded to lay across the entire back seat.  It's moments like that when I realize how much I love her.  : /

 We ended up having connecting rooms which helped when me and Alina were trying to get ready and Ann monopolized our bathroom.  It seems Ann wasn't having a good hair day and let all of us know it.  I think it was during these moments that Alina thanked her mom for keeping her an only child.

 Ken playing with the kids while we were waiting to leave.  Ken especially liked this one because he could stand in one place while the girls ran around and tried smacking his hand.

 I feel sorry for whatever photographer has to work their wedding!

 Better!

 First try thank you very much.  They need to teach Beavis and Butthead how it's done.

 The girls LOVE Alina.  

 The happy bride and groom

 Father daughter dances always make me cry.

 Monkey see

 Monkey do

 On Sunday we headed into Chicago.  The girls had never been to Shed Aquarium so we talked Jen and Alan into taking them.  I think they had a really good time.  I wish I had better pictures from our trip however flash photography wasn't allowed so my pictures didn't turn out real well.  So squint and they may look clear.

 Look!  It's a duck!

 Waiting for the whale/dolphin show.  Delaney was especially excited to see the dolphins.

 Harper, not so much  : D

 Delaney would't touch the star fish, Harper had no problems.  Shocking I know.