That will be our mantra for 2016, our 13th season! We arrived at Camp yesterday. We knew before we arrived that we would have open water and little/no snow. What a difference from some of our arrival experiences!
The trip itself was fairly uneventful. There were new procedures at the border for our work visas so we were there a bit more than two hours. Freya had had enough of the whole thing! Even drugged, she has these horrid meltdowns in between sleeping phases. She has ripped some holes in her carrier. This year I would look over and she would have her nose and one hand sticking out. Oy. She yells during the meltdowns, causing me to yell back. I am not proud of that. I tried music other than my usual God rock (Rebecca’s term, not mine, for Sirius FM’s The Message). The Barenaked Ladies, Collective Soul and Led Zepplin seemed to keep her calm(er). She does not care for the Counting Crows or Pearl Jam’s “Masters of War.” She liked PJ’s “Daughter” and “Black,” but became quite angry when I subbed “Wild-eyed, crazy Freya” for the lyrics of Crazy Mary.
The temp upon arrival was incredible! Check out the “snow” and our ice situation.” The weather stick promises good stuff:
A BIG dead bug rode all the way from Wisconsin with me…
En route, Gruper saw a bear (I did not because Freya and I were fighting in the vehicle behind his). I saw a beautiful fox. We’ve both seen grouse along the driveway! Our trail cams revealed nothing of interest; however, my first walk-about told a grizzly story of a rabbit and wolf encounter:
Staying in Iowa so late allowed me to see some of our yard beauty!
Sal and I were able to get in many good walks with my late departure as well! I took this pic on a cool new route we discovered this fall/winter:
Gruper was able to do his thing as well!
While he played, I worked! I subbed quite a bit of elementary and special ed as well as several times at our Juvenile Detention Center (Rebecca is a para there, so it’s a bonding experience). I did find some time to play, though. We spent the holidays on Marco Island (FL). Gruper caught an incredible grouper!
We played dress-up ’cause you know how much he enjoys that;)
I’ve decided I like sandmen better than snowmen. Gruper can find a golf cart anywhere!
I can find a lizard anywhere!
We ran into a couple of last Packer fans and took them under our wing;)
It’s hard to give Kraig and Jenny a hard time, though, ’cause they watched the Rose Bowl with us and didn’t laugh at Iowa…
Not blogging left me with a lot of time on my hands. I continued to attempt to be creative…glass blowing, crocheting, string art, etc.
That last item is supposed to be loon feathers:( Some lucky cabin will be sporting those as décor.
I/we were able to spend some time with family as time permitted. The greats are all doing great! Mackayla is rocking 3rd grade and joined the chorus:
Mya is finishing kindergarten and Emma will be 3 in August. They got a new little brother, Gizmo:
Alysha is finishing kindergarten as well.
Her mom, niece Wendy, is finishing her first year of teaching first grade. She will live to tell about it. Here she is with her big brother, nephew Danny:
Jack is now 4! We saw him last fall in Washington but I had to steal a more recent fb pic:
Gavin is 2…and living up to his nickname “The Beast.” Here he is with niece Jamie:
So…we were at 4 girls and 2 boys. Leave it up to niece Anna and her husband Benny to even things up! We got Michael and Joshua in April. They were a bit early but are healthy and home! I have not met them in person but here’s a pic;)
Sweetness! I’ll close with a shot from my last evening in Iowa. Rebecca and Sal came over to wish us well. I miss everyone already!
