We did enjoyed ourselves the rest of the weekend, though it wasn't perfect.

We went the pool, went boating, E made G a Father's Day present, forgot G's coffee pot and our slow cooker for dinner, J got to put stones in any container he could find, ran out of propane, had some campfires even though it was hot and humid, drove into a town and bought a new slow cooker and a used coffee percolator, E bought more candy than a 3.5 year old should have, played on playgrounds, and forgot our refrigerator when we left and had to go back for it.

Doesn't that sound like a splendid time?

We went camping this weekend to Camp Swatara. We were smart and decided to go an extra day. We left Thursday evening and stayed until Sunday.

The plan was to leave soon after G returned from work. He even came home early for the occasion. In past years, we have gotten up there so late on Friday that it's dark, and we've missed the group dessert time with all the other families from church.

But not so this year. We got smart. We went a day early. Planned to eat when we got there after we set up.

Well, what do you think happened? Yep, we set up in the dark sometime between 7:00 and 10:00 PM, having eaten on the drive out.

I will start by saying we do get credit for arriving before it actually got dark. It just took us forever to get the camper set up.

First. We got the camper where we wanted it in the site. Forward and back. Forward and back. Forward and back. And maybe another forward and back.

Second. We set to unhitching the camper from the car. But the handle to the wheel jack, what raises and lowers the tongue of the camper, was too close to the spare tire on the CRV. So we couldn't lower the wheel enough to raise the camper to get it off the hitch. We did know this could be a problem depending on the alignment of the camper and car. It's a very annoying problem. G used the car jack to raise and unhitch the camper.

Third. We needed to level the camper. What fun that turned out to be. To avoid some rocks and gullys in our site we had the camper on a slight incline. To get it level, the front stabilizer jacks would need to be open too far to really stabilize the camper well. After consulting with a neighbor camper from our church who also came a day earlier, but actually during the day, G decided to rehitch (remember - not as simple as the word sounds) the camper and move it over some to a flatter section of the site and unavoidably closer to the rocks and gully. (Which turned out to be not that bad.)

Fourth. After about the thirtieth time he moved the camper forward and backward, G got it to a better spot.

Fifth. Unhitching. It think it went better this time.

Sixth. Raising the roof. After unhooking the hooks, the top goes up, the sinks flips up, the door comes down, a bed transforms into a table and benches, B organizes stuff and makes the beds, and children (who behaved rather well stuck in their seats the whole time) finally go to bed. Parents follow shortly after.

Yesterday I went to get my son after his nap. He was in his crib crying. I walked in and saw a patch of orange on the floor. This alarmed me, becasue I had put him to nap wearing an orange cloth diaper. When I checked his bottom, sure enough the diaper was missing. It is a velco one, which Josh has apparently figured out how to work. Amazingly the diaper, his crib, and surrounding areas were not wet.

He is again wearing the orange cloth diaper.

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It's finally gone. She finally ate it. E was served a leftover twice baked potato for Saturday's dinner. After being served it at least five more times, it's gone, in her belly. Today, it's all she was served. If she wanted food, she got a bowl of potatoes. And since eating it, she has also partaken of her quesadilla (half of one) she didn't get Sunday night, and her mini shredded wheat (biscuits) she wanted for breakfast. Frankly, she's eaten more for lunch today than in the past two days. And get this, she just asked for more biscuits, because she's still hungry.

She is a wonder.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, P!

Today we went to a different church with P. It was too warm in the sanctuary for her. We didn't leave in time. She spent may moments on our couch cooling down.

Though she might have waited a little longer to get up. The stairs were not her friend this visit.

We were concerned about P driving home, but she decided to try it and did make it home alright.
I think that I won most of the games we played. (I don't really remember, but I am choosing to remember that I won.) Unfortunately I do remember that she just slaughtered my mom, aunt and I at Chicken Foot. It was embarrassing how badly I did. I think I lost by over 200 points. Disgusting.

I love my visits with P. She is always willing to lend a hand, change a diaper, do the dishes. Even when it hurts. Literally. She also gives much needed advice to G and I about parenting E and J. I also love to hear her opinions on things.

She does have this one flaw, though. She absolutely loves to win and hates to lose. I think she should work on that. And lose more. :)

Today P, my mom, and I went out.

First P treated us to Applebee's fare. I think we tried one of everything.

We then stopped by Wal-Mart. It sucked us in for many a minute, as it always does. We bought what wasn't on our list and forgot what was.

Our next stop was pedicures. There was only one lady working, so it was a longer time than I thought it would be. I had envisioned us sitting three in a row in the relaxing chairs, our toes dipped in the teeny whirlpools, chatting about anything that came to mind, while our toes, feet and legs were massaged, rubbed, cleansed, trimmed, and painted.

I didn't quite happen that way.

But we did all walk out with beautiful feet. And P was sporting her new fabulous flip flops. And bare naked feet. (A thing that never happens.)

Our next stop should have been home, but since we forgot the AC filters at Wal-Mart, we stopped off at the local hardware store.