I think we may have hit the campground jackpot!

So our original plan this weekend was to go camping at Clinton, but apparently the lake is closed because of blue algae (??) so we decided that wasn't the best place to go! Travis went over to the Blaetz's for a "camping meeting" to decide what Plan B was while I was in Bloomington with Kiegan. They decided on Hickory Hills in Secor (just past ElPaso) and it turned out to be THE perfect camping spot for us!! In fact, I think we're going back there this next weekend! It reminded us a lot of the Yogi Bear Campground we went to last time, but MUCH less expensive. We stayed at Hickory Hills the whole weekend for less then one night at Yogi. The camping spots were a tight squeeze for all of us - oh there were four families that ended up going: Us, Blaetz's, Pfaff's and Hogan's - but we were one big happy family! This weekend was their Christmas In July & I think their 50's & 60's weekend (or something like that) so the place was packed, but the people there were very nice. They have a pool, miniature golf, horseshoes, fishing, basketball court, etc. There's plenty of stuff for the kids to do! Now when we go camping and it's time for Maddie to sleep, I tend to stay in the camper with her b/c otherwise I have no clue when she wakes up. I do plan to bring a monitor with me next time (if I remember) so hopefully that will allow me to still be outside with all of our friends while she's resting instead of stuck in the camper by myself. Speaking of being stuck in the camper....Saturday night the campground had a live band playing that was literally right across the road from where our campers were. We all headed that way and as soon as they started playing, it scared the crap out of Maddie b/c it was soooo loud! So the two of us headed back across the road to our campers and she wouldn't even sit outside with me which left us the only option of sitting in the camper. BOO. That basically ended my night for me! I was really super bummed, especially when I learned the next day that the band was GREAT and they even came over and invited our group to an after-hours party. Travis didn't even get back in the camper until the sun was coming up Sunday morning! I so badly wished I could have been a part of the fun. I think every now and then I might think about going camping without Maddie so that I can have some fun with the big people! We will see...we are heading back there again this coming weekend - just our family I think!

I took Maddie to Sears last night to get her pictures taken while Kiegan was at his appt. I also took her last Monday, but she didn't nap all day and was not the most cooperative. Not to mention that I put piggies in her hair and it looked like she had horns in all the pics. So I took her to Audra Bohm - who cuts my hair - and she trimmed away some of the baby fine stuff so that her hair would lay nicely around her face. So I just put a cute little flower barrette in her hair and she looked super cute! The lady got a few cute shots of her last night and I had a coupon for a $7.99 photo package that I had already set my mind on (the hard part was that you could only choose one pose). The lady I was working with was not very happy with me b/c I wasn't buying into her speal of purchasing a $200, $300+ photo package. But I stuck with my plan of using the coupon! Their system was down so I have to call next week to get the code that will allow me to access the photos online so once I get that I will share with everyone. I'm thinking that next time I get the itch to get her pics taken that I will NOT use Sears!

Lexi's been in Georgia for almost 2 weeks now! I guess she's having fun....I keep trying to strike up texting conversations with her and I don't seem to get much more than a "what" or an "ok" from her. She did call me while I was in Walmart at like 8:30 last Thursday night and of course I was in the middle of checking out so I couldn't exactly talk much, but I did get out of her that she met a friend the day before and spent the night at her house and they stayed up all night. I have a BIG problem with the fact that she JUST met this girl and is already spending the night at her house. Does her dad know this girl's parents? If not, then did he talk to them or meet them at all?? But there's just not a whole lot I can do about it from Illinois! Another one of the differences between him and us.....

Daycare is doing ok - I have a few busy days here and there, but mostly light ones. I suppose I should appreciate them since once school starts back up I won't have ANY light days! Today I only have four girls so we'll see how well they get along with each other. :o) I did have one day last week where I felt very appreciated for what I'm doing. I have one mom whose two little girls come here and when she came to pick them up she said that she noticed that morning that when she drops her girls off that she doesn't have a single concern for them and what a great feeling that was. She said that with their old sitter, she knew they were taken care of but she never felt 100% comfortable leaving them and always wanted to give them "just one more hug or kiss" before leaving them for work. That same day I had both of my new baby boys that will be coming with their big sister's in the fall (their mom's are teachers) and the one mom posted the following on Facebook: "I am thankful for my top notch daycare provider...while it sucked leaving my baby (and Kate too) today I knew they were well cared for...she is great. Thanks for making something difficult easier - I REALLY appreciate it!" Days like that make all the rough ones worth dealing with!

Now I'm not one to get all sappy and talk about personal stuff b/c that usually just makes me want to gag, but I've had a bit of a revelation here recently. I really LOVE my husband and I really LOVE my kids! I've even gone to adding a signature on emails I send that says "Wife to Travis, Mom to Lexi, Kiegan, Patrick and Maddie" b/c I want to show everyone my love for them. It's easy to show your kids how much you love them, but sometimes our husbands get pushed to the side or get the brunt of our grumpy days. Now this is not to say that I am a fantastic wife b/c I know I'm not. I know that I sometimes get irritated at him over silly things or if I'm having a bad day that I sometimes take it out on him. I also know that since John passed away our lives have become very different - Travis has taken on A LOT as well as Trevor and sometimes I feel very alone and I don't always handle it the way I should. The funny thing is that it doesn't bother me a bit when he's doing stuff for the farm. I know that's his dream and that the boys were basically thrown into that responsibility. I tell him all the time that I am his biggest supporter and will back up any and all decisions that he makes. Sometimes I wish I was able to actually DO more to help him out, but I know that being home and taking care of the house and the kids IS helping him. I think sometimes I get irritated when the few moments of free time is spent with friends instead of us. I know he needs his down time just as much as I do and I have to remind myself of that sometimes! I think 90% of the time Travis has NO idea that I'm upset. I know he's got a lot on his mind and it makes him feel bad to know that I'm upset so I make sure to not make snide remarks at him or put him down in any way. I'm also thankful for a wonderful sister-in-law that lets me talk to her about all of this! That helps tremendously...... Anyway, I've just decided that I want to be an even BETTER wife to him. I had a long talk with someone recently about what it means to be a wife in a marriage. I'll admit that I do a lot for Travis that most wives probably would probably roll their eyes at - I set his clothes out for him the night before, I make his lunch every day, I make his favorite breakfast every Sunday morning, I make sure that I have food/snacks around the house that I know he likes, I try to make a homemade dinner every night (if time allows - kinda hard on our Blm. nights to do that). I like doing all these things for him. I like that I can help to make his day easier by getting these small tasks taken care of for him. Isn't that why I married him? Because I love him and WANT to make him happy?? The biggest payoff is that what goes around comes around - the more I give to Travis, the more he gives to me. I know I don't ask a lot of him b/c I don't need a lot to keep me happy, but those rare times that I do need something from him I know he will not hesitate to do whatever he needs to in order to keep me happy. That's what marriage is - it's two people coming together to become a team, to support one another in their every day tasks, to do whatever needs to be done to make that other person happy and to show that other person how much you love and appreciate them. It's too easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks of getting through life, especially when there are kids involved so I am determined to find that extra time to do the small things that mean so much to my husband because I love him. There....I'm off my soap box now...I hope I didn't make you all throw up in your mouths or anything. :o)