Labor Day "Getaway"...

As anyone that camps already knows...it is a LOT of work! It is also a lot of fun...but for me it means days of "prep work" in loading the trailer, making sure we aren't low on any supplies, planning a menu, shopping for all the necessary supplies and groceries, stocking the trailer pantry with all the essentials and a few "extras" just in case.... and the list goes on. While on the trip I have to do most of the cooking...although Dan does any of the dutch oven or outdoor cooking, keeping the trailer clean and organized... and then when we get home it takes a couple of days to unload the trailer, wash all the sheets and remake the beds, clean it from top to bottom, do all the laundry, etc... like I said, its a LOT of work. Now please don't get the wrong idea... I love going! I love the quiet...I love the cooler temps, I love playing games and reading our scriptures at night before the kids go to bed, I love not having cell phones and TV programs competing with the quality family time. What I really was trying to get at, is that when we go, it needs to be worth it! We decided to go for the Labor Day weekend, and after much planning and prep work, we took our trailer up to where we wanted to camp on Thursday night and headed back home. We wanted to make sure we got a great spot! On Friday after Dan got home from work, we headed up and were so excited to get out and have some fun! I had uncharacteristically been suffering with allergies for a week or so before going, but took extra Claritin-D with us, and figured I would be fine. Friday night I had the "sniffles" a bit... but I was okay. On Saturday morning I woke up pretty congested, but took my pill and hoped for the best. When Dan and the girls embarked on a "nature hike" I told them to go without me... but then reconsidered because I felt like I was being a bit of a wimp. BIG mistake! By the time we got to the top of the mountain behind us I was sneezing so loud any deer within 10 miles was long gone! I suffered the rest of the day...and most of the night! And poor Dan...he finally got up at 3:00 am after I had kept him awake all night and started loading everything outside the trailer into its proper compartment and hooked it up to our truck. I secured everything inside, then woke up the girls and told them we were heading home. I thought they would be upset... but they were great! I ended up being sick for about 3 more days... so I'm not sure if I had a cold and allergies, or if it turned into a sinus infection. Needless to say... this is one camping adventure we could have done without! But on the bright side, as soon as we left it started raining and Sunday night it snowed! Only about 4 inches, and it melted right away, but a friend of ours camping in a similar area not far from where we were, ended up stuck in the mud and couldn't get his trailer out until Tuesday! So, we Floyd's choose to believe that my suffering was not in vain! It saved us from getting stuckin the mud for an extra day, from being confined to the trailer for almost a whole day because of bad weather, and most of all from a disgusting and muddy clean up job! It wasn't a complete disaster... Dan still made dutch oven chicken, potatoes, and cobbler on our back porch when we got home! We hope everyone had a fun Labors Day weekend... we sure did...just not where or how we thought we would be! And like I often say... family time doesn't have to be perfect, to be memorable!

McKenna and Courtney Mommy and Courtney "The Hike"... if Id only known!

A friendly game of checkers! The girls at 3 am... trying to smile!