Well how's that for a helluva trip?

Good golly, could you ask for any more to go wrong? You know, though, at the end of the weekend I still smile at the memories I have from this past weekend. Each year of our annual Amity Mama campout something else happens and each year we do it again. Last year was miserably hot and still fond memories of laughing with friends and watching children grow abound. This year will go down in the memory book as soggy. Ha! That's funny coming from me. I like soggy, but not THIS soggy. I also prefer soggy without the lightning and hail. Both of those situations aren't as much fun in a tent. Or huddled under a picnic shelter. Or contemplating further shelter in camp bathrooms. "Fried Ham" kept us occupied for a good long while, as the sun set around us and the storms rolled through again and again. Camp mats and sleeping under picnic tables and scrounging jackets and blankets to keep away the cold wind will forever be etched as well. And poor Dawn and family. I'm sure their short visit will go down in holiday memory history. Too bad the storms didn't make the baby come. Now THAT would have been a memory, lol. In the end we saw the beauty of a $500 tent, and the misery of an old $50 tent, lol. Our tent had about 3 gallons of water in it. We like this campsite mostly because it's a half hour from home, a statistic that saved us this time since there would have been no way to sleep in that tent. It saw it's final campout as we trashed it instead of trying to salvage the soggy mess. I feel a little sad about it, because it saw lots of good memories. But, they're memories in my head that I simply cannot attach to an old leaky broken-zippered tent, and so into the garbage it went. The ticks were awful too, but thanks to my dear friend and her love for adventure and ability to find joy in the most chaotic of situations, I managed not to call Neall and demand he come get me and my babies RIGHT NOW. The ticks numbered in the hundreds before all was said and done. Most of them tiny "seed ticks" but a good number of them were the big ugly ones. Ick. Thank the goddess for tweezers and Ms. Becka :p.

(((hugs))) to Esther. That's all I'll say for now, since I don't have permission to post details. (((hugs))) to her mama too. And to her little brother. And her big brother. A fitting end to an adventurous weekend.

Finally, to a dear little girl named Serenity. A.L.L. is not something I am familiar with, but my heart aches for her family. May this darling child fight the hardest fight she's ever faced and come out the other side glowing with a strong light and surrounded by her amazing family. They are all in my thoughts and prayers this evening and every evening from here on. Peace sweet little girl. You are surrounded by love.