Christmas In July Weekend

We had a great time this past weekend, in fact, it had been planned since the beginning of the year. Since my mom loves Christmas, it was her idea, after coming last year, to camp together during this weekend again. Ben, Tyler, Tyler's friend, Paul, Gabi and I along with my parents, Chad and his family camped at Jellystone (our seasonal) for the weekend. Chad, Amber and kids actually camped there from Wednesday to Sunday so they were there when we got there. On Friday, they moved to the site across from us, which made it more fun and easier to enjoy each other's company. We arrived on Saturday afternoon so after we grabbed a quick bite for lunch, Ben took Tyler and his buddy, Paul, tubing for a little while. Gabi and I took care of getting a golf cart that my parents reserved for the weekend while the boys were gone. Before dinner we played "hillbilly golf" - that game where you throw two golf balls connected by a string onto a 3 prong holder. Similar to cornhole I guess. We also had a great time around the fire - s'more, pizza pudgie pies, strawberry pudgie pies, stories of previous years, and lots of laughs that evening.

Saturday we had a big breakfast...eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns to start us off. Gabi, my mom, Amber, Presley and Addison took advantage of the craft hour where the girls made little reindeer ornaments. Later that morning, the campground also had a snowman decorating contest (newspaper crinkles inside a white trash bag) so my mom helped Gabi put one together quickly. No prize for Gabi's...but it was fun to do. We also enjoyed the family "sleigh ride," helped the boys shoot off water balloons (Ben fell in the lake participating), Chad took on Tyler in wrestling, fished and took many rides around the campground on the golf cart. It was a fun filled, yet not too busy of a day. Saturday evening we planned my dad's famous BBQ ribs, grilled asparagus, grilled squash and zucchini and Amber's yummy pasta salad for dinner. We also got a cake for my dad - celebrated a little early but figured it would be fun with all of us together. It was wonderful! That evening we had a cornhole tourney (Ben and Paul beat my mom and I for the championship) and also a poker tournament. My dad ended up winning that one (him and Tyler in finals), a $2.00 buy in so he gave everyone their money back....so like him!

Sunday was our lazy day...had breakfast - biscuits and gravy along with pancakes, and we just kind of sat around while the kids played. Before leaving we stopped at the store to enjoy the ice cream - one of my kids' favorite things to do before going home. It was certainly a fun weekend and may end up being an annual thing for us. Enjoy lots of pics here.

We kept in touch with Trenton...it was the only thing that didn't complete the weekend...we missed him terribly and we think he missed us as well. We said lots of prayers for him though and kept him in our thoughts constantly.