I Didn't Even Pick My Nose Once

I love love love love LOVE Fall. The problem I have with Fall though, is that it goes far too quickly & lame-o Winter arrives. When Winter is here, I freeze my tail off, slide around the streets & sidewalks, ruin my shoes, drag mud into the house, & oh yeah, the sun never comes out. Joy.

Well, thankfully summer seemed to last a little longer than normal this year. (The only way I can tell for sure is they didn't close the pool over Labor Day Weekend.) And what better way to prolong the summer is to go CAMPING in OCTOBER.

One time, many many years ago, we went camping in October & the only way we managed to stay warm was with a flask of rum in a hot springs pool. (Mind you, this was before we became responsible & had a child.)

This year, we went with the Bradleys, who own a camper. No rum needed.

I hadn't seen my Dad in a few months, so he decided to make a trip from Coeurd'Alene down to spend the weekend with us. He came down on a Thursday night (his birthday) & we celebrated at Texas Roadhouse with a few steaks. Mmmm Mmmm Mmmm.

Friday, we spent shopping for our camping dinner. Dad brought a homemade campfire grill that he had made himself for hunting camps, so we bought some steaks & chicken. I attempted to make some Red Lobster cheesy biscuits & they were a flop. I also made some homemade mac & cheese which tasted good but didn't even look remotely like noodles; it looked like brown goo. Another flop. (As usual, I don't plan to quit my day job.)

On Friday night, I was invited to be a model by my hair girl, Natasha to demonstrate how to use Oribe hair products. Oribe is some famous dude who apparently is J-Lo's stylist & has a salon in Miami. He flew out & taught all the stylists how to use his product & then they had to practice on us.

Afterwards, the salon hosted a cocktail party on the river behind the salon. It was absolutely beautiful & the food was amazing. My hair looked fabulous too & I had a great time meeting the other girls. (While all this went on, the boys were at home watching football & eating pizza.)

Saturday morning, we packed up the car & Dad's truck & drove up to meet the Bradley family at the Silver Creek Plunge.

After many many stops to let Cashe get some fresh air (since he inherited his father's car-sickness-gene), we got there just in time to witness Bob attempting to set up his satellite in order to watch the BSU game. Maybe an hour later, with all the testosterone we were able to muster up, there was no such luck.

We spent the day lounging in the sun, taking the kids for walks to the creek, & going for 4-wheeler rides.

Dinner was a hit. We roasted corn on the homemade grill & then did the steaks & chicken. Everyone humored me & tried my yucko side dishes. And afterwards we roasted a few marshmallows & shared a few pieces of a really small Costco apple pie that could've fed the entire Silver Creek Plunge campground.

Believe it or not, we were in bed that night by 9:00 p.m. Bob & Jen have a fancy queen-sized bed in their own room in the camper, the kids were all in bunk beds, Shad slept on the couch & Dad insisted on 'roughin' it' outside under the stars (C-R-A-Z-Y).

Since it was Cashe's first night in a bed-bed without anyone, I figured it would be best that I sleep with him in case he rolled off. Undoubtedly, he curled up into his usual ball with his blanket & MY pillow at the top of the bed & I had to scrunch myself down to the bottom of the bunk. I wound up building my sleeping bag into a make-shift pillow, but then I started to freeze. I grabbed an extra blanket just in time to have Ella crawl over into bed with me with her pillow pet, her stuffed dog & her teddy bear.

As uncomfortable as it may sound, it truly was a special, yet hystercial night that I will never forget. To make the experience extra special, Cashe was snoring super loud, I'm sure you could've heard him in Boise. Then Ella says to me, "When does the baby come out?"
Me: "What baby?"

Ella: "The baby in your belly." (Her Mom, Jen is pregnant right now.)

Me: "I don't have a baby in my belly. He already came out."

Ella: "Who is your baby?"

Me: "Cashe."

She was totally confused & there was a long silence ...

Ella: "I went to the playground today & I didn't even pick my nose once!"

It took everything I had not to burst out laughing & wake the whole gang, not to mention the whole campground. Nevertheless, I managed to keep my composure & congratulated her, covered her up & we fell back asleep.

[More camping photos to come in a separate post that requires less strategic placement around my story ... ugh.]