Obsessed you say???

It might be true.

We might have a slight camping obsession when my middle child requests it as his birthday party theme!  LOL!!!  But boy oh boy did I have fun with this one.   I love letting my kiddos pic the theme for their birthday parties.  Wait.  Let me correct that.  I love letting my kiddos pic the theme for their birthday parties and Pinterest has a multitude of things to pic from!   As soon as that theme is picked, Mommy goes crazy.  I start googling, pinning, ordering, buying in stores, you name it.   I love it.  I'll do anything to make my kids happy.     

So, Ryan's 8th Birthday was May 26th.  Yup, Mommy screwed the pooch on that one.  Memorial Day weekend?   Great job.   Yeah, yeah, it's not like I did it on purpose.  The little bugger was 6 days late.  Not my fault.  But I can't have his birthday party on a holiday weekend so we had his party on June 8th instead.  I typically don't do Sunday parties ever.   For me, Sundays are for family time and relaxing.  Just spending the day together.  Whether it's a jama day if it's not nice out or a beach trip or whatever.   I normally don't want to spend the last day of my weekend running around like a maniac and hosting 20-30 children.  Not my idea of a relaxing before I go back to work.   I know, call me crazy.   BUT, Ryan's Godfather works for the postal office and the only day they are closed is Sunday so there we go.

Anyway, camping.  Ryan said that's what he wanted and that is what Ryan got.  I went on Pinterest immediately.  I found some great ideas for the cake and free printable labels and signs.  I found an awesome t-shirt on Etsy along with rock candy sprinkles I needed to finish off the cake correctly.   Scrolling through some other similar parties helped me build other ideas off of what I could serve.   The kids all loved what we had and the adults thought I was amazing/crazy.  I can't lie - it feels nice to get the kudos.   But that's why we do it, isn't it?   Yes, we do it for the kids - absolutely!   But it's nice sometimes to show that we CAN do it all.  Especially on the days that we feel like we're barely hanging on by a thread!   Then you have that GREAT day and you realize that you have those rockstar moments and they carry you through.  It's a great feeling.   

Okay, okay.  Let me get to the pics........isn't that what blogs are for anyway?  Aside from me running my mouth!  This was one of my favorite parties.  Enjoy!

Welcome sign at end of driveway

The Birthday Boy!

Some of the food - we had "Fish n Rods, Campfire Flames, Woodland Fruits n Berries, Cold Worm Salad and Bug Juice"

Kids lining up for Bug Juice

Campfire Cake and Cupcakes

Campfire Cupcakes

That smile, right there........yeah, that says it all

S'mores Party Favors

Most of the kids that attended

Glamping has OFFICIALLY begun!!! Oh and Happy Mother's Day too!

Yeeeaaaaah Buddy!!!!   Bring on the Glamping Season!!!!!   I will never get sick of uttering.....er typing those words.  We just have so much fun as a family on these weekend trips.  It's almost like a holiday because we get to go away but without all of the craziness of having to actually go too far.  There are all kinds of activities, the pools, the shopping nearby (HA!), the dances at night, the campfire, I could go on and on. 

This weekend was no different.  The Donaghy's came with us for the first time ever and we all had such a great time together!  This weekend was also Mother's Day weekend which made it that much better.  We always start off our camping season with MD weekend.  It's tradition.  Neil and John totally did right by Christy and I.  Saturday they took the kids to Bass Pro and let us have "down time" to read and/or relax.  Then they sent us for a massage nearby on Saturday evening and had dinner ready for us when we got back to the camper.  We took the kids to the dance Saturday night and then we sat by the fire and just hung out talking until we couldn't stay up anymore. The guys sent us to the outlets on Sunday to do some shopping........granted I did MUCH more shopping for the kids than myself but that's typical of me.  I think I bought myself one outfit for work and then a workout outfit.  What's the fun in that??  LMAO.  After shopping we came back to the camper and got to read some more.  It was just such a wonderful weekend!  

Of course the gauntlet has now been thrown for Father's Day weekend.  But, come on, seriously?  We're women.  Of course we can top that.  It's almost not even fair.  :-)

Everybody's working for the weekend

Or at least I am!

It's a glamping weekend!  YAY!

We're off to Canoe River tonight as soon as John and I get home from work.  Can't wait.   Susan is joining us tonight, Rob and Georgie will join tomorrow.  Janet has her own campsite so she'll be with us this weekend as well.   Weather report this morning says high 80's and sunny all weekend.  Mama will be working on her tan.  YAHOOO!   You know that's all I need for a good time.  Well, that and camping with my family, my BFF and her family of course.   Um, maybe a little booze.  My girlfriend, Tiffany, was kind enough to call me Tuesday night and share that she has tried Three Olives "Loopy" and it's to die for.  Bitch was half in the bag and bragging about how good it was and I had to try it.  LOVE HER.   LOL.

I'm so grateful that we are blessed enough to do this with / for our kids.  Camping is something I never did with my family growing up.  My Mom just wasn't into things like that.  Aside from the fact that she was a single mother raising three children.  She worked full time - she did it all on her own.  I know how hard it was for her.  I'm not faulting her.  I'm just saying these kinds of things totally weren't her bag.   That's okay.   But I love doing it and I love that our kids and our friends love doing it with us!

The kids are all so excited.  They are SUPER excited that The Taskers are coming with us.  Erynn has been talking about them all coming for days.  I love it.  I love that my kids love them as much as I do.  I look at Susan like she's my sister. I'm definitely closer to her than I am to my own sister, so it means a lot that my kids love her so much.  Warms my cold little heart.  *wink*

I fully admit that starting off this weekend with the midnight premiere of Magic Mike isn't making my day any worse either.  HA.  Lord almighty I can't wait to see this movie. I posted on Facebook the other day that I bought Lux Level passes to the midnight viewing and someone commented about lowering my expectations and I should be fine.  Um, expectations?  It's a movie about male strippers LMAO.  I have no expectations.  I don't care if there is NO plot.  Have you SEEN the commercials?  Have you seen the men that are in this movie?   I just hope to keep the drool at a respectable minimum thankyouverymuch.  Bring on the half nekkid men......yeah buddy!

Just in case you are living under a rock and have no idea what I am talking about I am happily willing to share the trailer with you.   Enjoy!!!

Out with a bang!

Our camping season that is. Oh boy.

We went to Normandy Farms for their Halloween weekend. Just like we always do. We had been getting weather warnings for snow and such......which I promptly ignored. Seriously......it's only Oct for crying out loud. Snow before Halloween? Nah, not going to worry about it.

Have I mentioned my daughter is psychic? She was telling her teachers on Friday that she was going to be camping in the SNOW over the weekend. We laughed and poo-pooed her. Until she was right. Yup, it snowed for our camping trip. ACK!

Friday was okay. Just cold. No big deal, that's what sweatshirts are for. Saturday was kind of crappy. It was pouring rain/sleet/ice. Trick or Treat didn't go very well. The kids got through one row of campers and came back soaked to the bone. Saturday night was awful. The power went out in Foxboro in the middle of the night. No power = no heat in the camper.

Now, some might say you were CAMPING, you aren't supposed to have heat. Yes, I absolutely agree. However, we would never have chosen to tent camp in an impending weather storm. So we expected heat. To lose it was not so good. Our friends Tiffany, Jon and the kids came with us. Tiffany does NOT do cold. She was not a happy camper. (no pun intended) To add insult to injury, they came with us last year and we ran out of propane and lost heat in the middle of the night then too. I think Tiff might be the jinx........LMAO. We've never had this happen before!

I always have extra sleeping bags stashed throughout the camper so, truthfully, I wasn't cold at all. BTW, those Coleman sleeping bags ROCK,I highly recommend!!! But Sunday morning, when it was time to go home, proved to be an issue. No power = no juice to make the bump outs come in. NO bueno. John had to drive me and the kiddos home, grab a generator and head back to the campground with Dad. They ended up having to jump the battery to the camper (who knew it even HAD a battery), clean all the snow off of the bump outs and then drive the camper back home. It was a very long day.

In spite of the crappy weather and the loss of power / heat, we still had a GREAT time. It's one of those trips that will be remembered. I'll absolutely be staying next Halloween weekend. The kids had a great time, the adults did as well. So I'm okay with all of it! It's one of those things that happen and you are put out for a while but once you look back you laugh. LML.

Catching up

It's been a busy week!

I only worked on Monday.

Jury Duty on Tuesday.

Camping Wed - Sun. We went to Pine Acres Resort in Oakham, MA. Up until we booked I'd never even heard of Oakham.

The campground was nice BUT I will admit we probably won't go back. It was a 2+ hour drive and not worth the gas money. I was disappointed because the place pretty much shut down at 7p for kids! What the heck?! The (one) pool they have didn't open up until 11am. Which, by the way, was grossly misrepresented in the photos online and in the brochure. The picture they posted looked HUGE. In person, not so much. It closed at 7p for kids and had adults only swim from 7-9p. They had mini golf but that closed at 7p. So what am I supposed to do with the kids? We did take them for ice cream every night. But still. I was definitely disappointed. Normandy definitely has a lot more going on. One friend mentioned that we did go for two weeknights. But, I didn't find that to be a valid argument b/c at least at Normandy the kids can still swim at night. There was literally nothing for them to do but sit at the camper at Pine Acres.

They did have a pond with a small beach which was nice. We spent two days there because the pond was warmer than the POOL. Not sure how exactly that is possible but that's how it panned out so we spent more time there.

Tiffany and her kids joined us for this trip. Jon U brought the kids up on Wed with him and Tiff joined thurs night after work. Jon left when she got there - they are having problems - but I was just happy to not be involved. We always have a good time when they camp with us and it was nice having them there.

Janet, Jenny and Michael were on the site next to us. The kids were great. My kids loved having their cousins to play with. Jenny and Erynn were inseparable which was a nice surprise considering the 9 yr age difference. We just weren't expecting what went on. That's all I have to say about that to be honest.

Next camping trip is Labor Day weekend. Fri - Mon. We might be going this one alone.....or Tiff and kids might join. Either way we are back at Normandy Farms and more than happy to be there!

Weekend recap

Yet another fantastic weekend of camping! We are SO blessed to be able to do this with / for our kids. I didn't camp until I was in my 20's. It's just not something my Mom did. If you knew my Mom this will not be surprising lol.

This weekend we were at Canoe River with the Wronski and Studley families. So. Much. Fun. These girls are like family to me - we have known each other since we were kids. It means so much to me that our kids get to grow up together like we grew up together.

Canoe River is a tad lot more rustic than Normandy Farms but it's camping and it's supposed to be rustic. Besides, we're in a 38 ft camper, how "rustic" does it really get?! All we need is a pool, a firepit and each other (kumbaya anyone?) and we'll be just fine.

Next scheduled camping trip: August 3rd at Pine Acres. A totally pimped out resort that we've never been to but have heard rave reviews about. Can't wait!!!

Weekend recap

I just loooove camping.

I got out of work on Thursday and headed straight to Normandy Farms. Ate dinner when I got there - John and the kids had already eaten - then I cleaned up from dinner and relaxed.

Friday turned out to be a craptastic day weather-wise but still a great day. We all had more time to relax. John took the kids swimming in the indoor pool while I cleaned / organized the camper (I am SO Type A when it comes to the camper lol) did the dishes, etc. Then I sat down for a while and read. A book. Yes, quiet time for reading. I actually read two books over the weekend. Didn't watch any tv at all. Just sat and caught up on some reading. BLISS.

Saturday's weather absolutely made up for Friday. It was a gorgeous, perfect pool day. We got up in the am, had breakfast, cleaned up and hit the pool at 10am. We didn't leave until 3pm. John ran back to the camper at lunch time to bring food over so we could just stay at the pool. We took turns going in the water with the kids....it was great. The pool that we prefer was SO much less crowded than the other two which was super nice. I get kind of nervous when the pool is jam packed because I like to keep a close eye on the kids. It's not like I need them attached to me but when there are SO many people trying to swim and so many kids I get anxious.

Saturday night Susan, Rob and "RG" came to NF to join us for dinner. We had fresh veggies with ranch dip, burgers, dogs and spicy fries. We are addicted to the spicy fries from the snack shack. After dinner Susan, "RG" and I stayed at the camper while John, Rob and the kids hit "Casino Night" at the Rec Hall. Susan and Rob left around 9p and I hit the Rec hall for the ending of casino night. We were up waiting for the auctions to end until 11pm. Needless to say it was off to bed after that.

Sunday morning we got up, ate cereal, I washed the dishes and we hit the road. It was super easy to pack up and get going because it was just the five of us. All three kids wanted to ride home with me so John got a nice truck ride home with the dog lol. We got home and then just started doing laundry (have to strip all the bedding from the camper for our next trip) and cleaning the house. A very productive day. Early to bed for the kiddos last night because they were up until at least 10p all weekend long. That's about it. Another great weekend.

We're camping again this week - headed to Canoe River on Thursday and we'll be joined by the Wronski and Studley families. Can't wait!!!

It's official! Glamping season has arrived!

I bet you are thinking, what the hell is "glamping?!"

Well, it's my version of camping. Glamour - Camping. I'm just being honest because how can you call sleeping in a 40 foot camper with two bedrooms, a bathroom/shower, kitchen and full-size refrigerator camping?? It's not really camping. So Glamping it is.

Memorial Day weekend officially kicked off our season. We have one weekend a month booked from now until October (well, two weekends in October) at Normandy Farms Campground. www.normandyfarms.com We LOVE it there. It's a bit more on the pricey side, I recognize that, but you get what you pay for and at NF you get a LOT. It's a super clean place first of all. There is nothing like camping somewhere that leaves you feeling skeeved out if you have to use the restroom. Gross. NF - totally clean. They have three outdoor pools and one indoor pool. One outdoor hot tub (right over the heated outdoor pool) and two indoor hot tubs. A sauna, a rec hall, a ceramics center, a huge playground, a Kampers Kitchen where you can get all kinds of food, snacks, etc. I could go on and on. It's just a really great campground and we've been going for about three years now.

This weekend was the first time Lisa, Stephanie and their families have come with us to this campground. I think they totally get the cost now LOL. We have gone to another place, Canoe River, with them in the past. CR is half the price of NF. I explained that they'd "get it" when they got to NF. We get nervous inviting people to go to NF because it is on the higher side around here. But, hey, people can always say no, they aren't interested!

We all had SUCH a great time. The weather was looking iffy all week. We were all stalking the weather forecast like it was our future husband. Thankfully it turned out to be a gorgeous weekend. Sunny, hot, perfect for spending two days at the pool. Which we did. All of our kids are Nemo in the making. Aidan actually was calling himself Nemo all weekend. I thought I was going to have to sit him down for a talk about why we couldn't change his name. Thank goodness that didn't have to happen. I walked away from this weekend looking like I went away and that is all I wanted. I've got my tan on!

This weekend meant so much more than just camping. Lisa, Stephanie and I have been friends since Lisa and I were 12 years old. I love love love that our kids are getting to grow up together just like we did. My kids call them "Auntie and Uncle" and I just love it. Thier kids are the closest my kids will have to cousins I think. I just love that we can do these trips together! I'm really looking forward to Sunday trips to the beach, when we aren't camping, like we have done in the past as well. Nothing better than having a whole day dedicated to relaxing with friends.

I can't wait for our next trip!