April 27, 28 , 2017 Another Fun Day and Peyton Goes Home

It was chilly again Thursday morning somewhere about 47 degrees. Peyton slept till about 8:20which is pretty late for him. We sat by the fire and played all morning. We did take a long walk, it was long because Peyton was picking up pine cones, sweet gum balls and rocks. He took a long nap from about 1 to 3:30 pm. Allergies were really bothering Susan again and she was feeling bad. When Peyton got up from his nap  we went swimming again. He really loved playing in the water. When we got back to camp he played outside all evening.  After supper we went in and he got his bath and then he read books and then did coloring books till bedtime.  Friday morning Susan was still feeling really bad. Peyton was up about 6:45. We watched cartoons and then he played outside all morning. I took him back to Byran. He was happy to see everyone .  Both him and Luke cried when I left cause they didn't want me to leave. I got back to camp around 3. It turned out to be a hot day getting close to 90. We sat out that evening when the wind was blowing and it was pretty nice.  We are leaving in the morning as bad weather is supposed to be coming in.

APRIL 26,2017 A Pretty Day, Then A Stormy Day

Everyone slept well last night. Peyton got up about 7:20 am. He played with the dogs and his little monster trucks for awhile. When we went outside he rode his tractor while we sat by the fire and watched. We cooked breakfast  and then headed to the lake to go swimming as it warmed up. We had the beach to ourselves. Peyton had a blast in the water, he played with his trucks and a little boat. We sat in our chairs and watched. About noon we headed back for lunch. After lunch we all took a nap. When Peyton got up he played with his trucks and coloring books. We got a rain and hailstorm around 3;30 pm. The dogs didn't like it but Peyton watched thru the windows. It lasted about 10 minutes.  We were able to go back out about 5 and we spent the rest of the evening outside.

April 25, 2017 Peyton Arrives

I slept really good last night. It was after 6 before I got up. It was a really nice morning. Susan and I sat outside with a little fire till about 10:00. We had some breakfast with leftovers Susan had from her outing at Big Pines. We both took showers and then took a nice walk. We talked with one of the camp hosts and she gave us a lot of info and history about  this park .  One of these days we might try our hand at being camp hosts somewhere.  Around 1 we left and headed toward Bryan. We made a couple of stops and took some back  roads finally meandering to our destination. Luke and Peyton were excited to see us. We visited a while and then headed back to camp with Peyton. Luke was not happy to be left behind. We knew we could only handle one child at a time while camping, our backs will still be wore out. This is Peyton's first camping trip and he was excited.  As soon as we got to camp I unloaded his little tractor and he took off riding in the grass and around the trees. He played all evening outside. We had chili dogs for supper nd he ate two. We finally went inside and Peyton took his bath and played in the floor till bedtime. I think all of us , dogs included were ready for bed.

April 24, 2017 Another Cool April Day

Wow, it was 46 when I got up this morning. That's pretty cool for Texas this time of year. The wind layed during the night so it feels pretty good.  I was able to sleep till about 6 am. Maggie and I took a nice walk around the lake shore. When I got back I let Sissy out also while I cooked me some breakfast. Around 10 I headed to Madisonville to pick up Susan from Big Pines (quilt retreat) . It was about an hour drive from here. When we got back we made a stop in Crockett at Walmart, then headed back toward camp. We were about 7 miles from camp when I got a call from Rick and Sylvia, they were sitting at our camp. They had just driven up from Westwood Shores where they are camped to look around and saw our trailer. We had a good visit, they thought about moving up here with us till Saturday but dr. appointments got in the way. After they left Susan took a nap and the dogs and I chilled outside. When Susan got up we stayed outside till dark, it was such a nice evening.

April 23 2017 Time to go camping

We are headed back to Ratcliff Lake for a week. We  are going to go get Peyton on Tuesday and keep him till Friday. This will be his first camping trip. The weather is supposed to be nice all week except maybe Thursday.  I took Susan to Belinda"s  around 11:00 am. They are going to a  Quilt Place between Huntsville and Madisonville. I will go pick up Susan tomorrow and bring her back .It was a beautiful day but a very windy drive. Its a little over a 2 hr drive from our house. I found a spot I wanted and tried to get in. The angle was terrible with lots of trees and a drop off on one side of asphalt road.  I really thought I  could get in with no problem.  Nope, couldn't see any of the trees as I tried to back in. Luckily two campground hosts came by and helped direct me in after lots of wiggling around. They said there are lots of complaints about getting into this site. I told them if I could borrow the John Deere I saw at the maintenance building I could fix the problem in about an hour. Anyway I got the trailer set up and everything unloaded. The front of the trailer and truck were covered with love bugs so I need to clean them off.  We have an extra dog on this trip, we are keeping John& Jens dog Sissy until they move into their new house. She is no problem and likes to camp. The squirrel's here give both here and Maggie fits. We just chilled out all evening. 

Getting ready to roll

We made it but not clean anymore

Pretty much set up

Now we are chilling

March- April 18, 2017 Its Springtime

We came home from Ratcliff lake on March 8. Since then we have been home for awhile. Everything has greened up and we have had plenty of rain. I have been planting a garden for the first time in 5 years.  The rain has hampered me some but I bet by July we will be starving for rain. We have stayed busy with volleyball tournaments on the weekends. Susan has done a quilting retreat in Celeste, Tx and several day things. I managed to get all the pasture mowed between rains.  John,Jen and the twins came over one day and John cooked shrimp and fish. The kids played all day. Holly brought her dirt bike and had fun riding it. We have been keeping their dog Sissy while they wait for their new house to be built. For Easter weekend we went to the lake with Mike/Kristi. The weather was perfect and the kids had a good time. We came home on Sunday. Life has been a slow pace for now. I'm sitting here today watching it rain again.  We plan on doing a short camping trip net week.

Flat broke the garden

Garden is disked and burning a stump

Mackenna at George R Brown  

Back pasture is mowed

Ashley

Nice little rain    4 inches in 1 hour

Lake fun

New burn pile , trimmed trees in front yaard

Kenna and Ashley

Holly  and Bubba

Holly John Kevin

More lake fun