Springing into Summer

What is it about April and May that makes us crave the summery sunshine? Maybe it's the constant mood swings of Mother Nature, you know temperatures changing from 92° one day to 32° the next, or maybe it's because it's finally warm enough for bonfires and evenings relaxing on the deck. This "almost summer" is the perfect weather to get me in the mood for camping. ⛺️

Every spring we make big plans for camping and it never fails, we only end up following through on one or two trips each year. This is the exact reason we continue to hang on to our old, circa-1983 camper. It's big, dry, has tons of storage and fits our needs. It seems like every spring we get the itch to look at new campers and by mid-June we realize it's pointless. When you live half a mile from a lake, or in our case a big pond, why would you want to pack up and leave for the weekend? Speaking of lakes, when we moved to Minnesota we learned The Land of 10,000 Lakes should more accurately be called The Land of 10,000 Lakes, Ponds and Drainage Ditches. Every single body of water is referred to as a lake, don't get me wrong, we love our little lake. It's perfect for paddle boarding, tubing and playing on the Paradise Pad.  

Elsie loves the
paddle board

The dads frequently take
over the water mat. 😆

The last few summers we have spent our weekends on the lake as much as possible, but in May that water sure is chilly. This is likely why we camp a lot in the spring/early  summer and spend the rest of the summer on the lake. If we do go camping, there's a strong probability that it will rain most of the weekend. Our friends have come to terms with this fact and continue to camp with us, even if we bring 2" of rain and storms. Since we are already predicted for storms all weekend, we have decided to not camp this Memorial Day weekend. I know we'll miss it but I'm sure we'll find plenty of other things to do.

 

Our neighbor's wonderful view

A serious game of Kan Jam

Glow Bocce

In anticipation for the camping season, we opted to "pseudo camp" last weekend in our friends' backyard. We got together to celebrate a birthday and decided to play it safe so we brought the camper so the kids could go to bed when they wanted and we didn't  have to worry about driving home  late. The evening consisted of yard games, good food, drinks, a fire and night games. We played bean bags, Beersbee (Polish Horseshoes), Kan Jam, and Glow Bocce.  Check the Amazon links on the sides of the page if you are interested. Matt made our own set of Beersbee, but if you're not craft, they sell it pretty cheap on Amazon. We forgot to bring the yard dice or there might have been a game of Yard-zee or Farkle played, as well.

Bailey stands guard to
make sure the layers
stay in the fencing

After a night of typical camping like activities followed by an afternoon of golfing and more games, it was an early night for us all. When I got home from work the next day, Matt had given the chicks an opportunity to see what life is like outside their brooder. The broilers appeared to enjoy the space and they are big enough that most of them can't fit through the holes of the chain link fence. The layers, on the other hand, could run in and out of the holes freely as if they decided on their own to be free range. I'm just afraid the cats might think otherwise. 😼🐤 The goal for this coming weekend is to get their coop built, line the fence with hardware cloth to keep the layers in and any predators out and then move them out to their permanent home. I can't wait to get them out of the garage and away from the pine shavings. Those little buggers are constantly kicking the shavings into their water, making it a necessity to change it at least 3-4 times/day.


After the most beautiful few days, we spent Sunday afternoon doing what we love most. We enjoyed the day on the water. It was a cold day for the swimming kiddos but it didn't stop them from getting. We kicked off the season with the first, of many, Sunday Rumdays of the year relaxing in our friends' pontoon. Hopefully we can get our boat and pontoon de-winterized this weekend so it's ready for the next warm day. With only 4 days of school left, I look forward to a summer filled with ball games, lots of memories made, great times on the water and new adventures for our family. Summer hasn't even begun and the calendar is already full.