I grew up on the east coast. I can still remember the first time I saw the ocean. I don't remember how old I was, but I can remember the smell of the salt, the sound of the seagulls mixed with the sound of the waves crashing onto the shore. I remember walking on the hot dry sand to the top of the dune and seeing nothing but miles and miles of sand and water. The ocean seemed to go on forever.
Our kids have never seen the ocean. Well, Morgan has but she was so little she says she can only remember sand. That's probably because she spent all her time building sand castles just out of the waters reach. In just a few days, we leave for our first family beach vacation to Ocean City, MD. I couldn't be more excited! The best part of the vacation....we are stopping on the way to pick up my mom who will be spending the week with us.
We have rented a "bare bones cabin" in Fort Whaley Campground. Last year, we bought a very large tent and spent a week roughing it in Indiana and Michigan in 100 degree temps. It was fun and we considered taking the tent again this year. However, we have had a very rainy summer season so far and the idea of spending the week soaked in a leaky tent just did not sound like vacation to me. So, the cabin we rented is just a step above our tent. It has electricity, but no water (bathroom). We will be using the bathhouse, which is a big issue for Baily. I'm not big on sharing a shower with a whole community of campers either, but the reviews for the campground on TripAdvisor are good, with clean bathhouses being mentioned several times.
I have decided to take our crock pot in case of rain for cooking some of our meals. I found some really cool crock pot liners at Wal-Mart. Those should come in handy as we do not have a kitchen to wash dishes in.
I have spent the week making lists and gathering some of our camping items out of storage. We will get Logan on Friday night, then Saturday we pack, drop off Daisy at the "Thomas Acres Pet Retreat" (thanks Lori), leave the fish at a friends (thanks Ashley) pick up the rental van, load up and try to get some sleep. Sunday morning before sunrise we are heading out. It will take us 12 hours to get to my parents house, then another hour to the campground. I see lots of family bonding time in my future next week (are we there yet? Stop looking at me! I'm hungry. I'm thirsty. I have to peeeeee. I feel sick)
Let the fun begin!!
Trina
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Friday, May 31, 2013
Park fountains and milkshakes
Yesterday was just a pretty awesome day from start to finish. I woke up to the most gorgeous sunrise and knew that it was going to be good. Work was work. I don't love getting up early and going to work every day, but there are lots of things about my job that I do love:
The hours are great
I go home most every day knowing that I have helped someone
I have the best co-workers EVER!
Work went smoothly without many kinks. Afterwards, I picked Taylor up from camp and we headed over to Dogwood Park. This is a small park right in the middle of the old part of town. It has been renovated from an old parking lot in the last few years and what a great place to hang out for an hour or so after work.
The main attraction is the fountain. Water comes down from a large fountain and small holes in the concrete release little spouts of water. The fountain changes colors and is really pretty after dark. There are nice sitting benches everywhere and paved walkways throughout the park. I just sat and watched the kids having fun in the water. Others around me did the same.
Some families had brought blankets and picnic baskets and were relaxing in the grassy areas. Others were throwing a football. Some kids were riding bicycles and scooters. There were moms strolling with babies, lots of dog walkers, power walkers and leisure walkers. There is a small rose garden as well as an outdoor pavilion where they hold concerts throughout the summer.
Taylor played in the water for about an hour and decided it was time to go. We walked the perimeter of the park to give him time to dry (we didn't take a change of clothes) then headed to McDonalds for a chocolate shake. What a nice evening! I am looking forward to this stop being a weekly thing for us.
Hopefully, today will pass quickly and my little Logan will be here to spend the night tonight. I am always missing him by Friday morning!
The hours are great
I go home most every day knowing that I have helped someone
I have the best co-workers EVER!
Work went smoothly without many kinks. Afterwards, I picked Taylor up from camp and we headed over to Dogwood Park. This is a small park right in the middle of the old part of town. It has been renovated from an old parking lot in the last few years and what a great place to hang out for an hour or so after work.
The main attraction is the fountain. Water comes down from a large fountain and small holes in the concrete release little spouts of water. The fountain changes colors and is really pretty after dark. There are nice sitting benches everywhere and paved walkways throughout the park. I just sat and watched the kids having fun in the water. Others around me did the same.
Some families had brought blankets and picnic baskets and were relaxing in the grassy areas. Others were throwing a football. Some kids were riding bicycles and scooters. There were moms strolling with babies, lots of dog walkers, power walkers and leisure walkers. There is a small rose garden as well as an outdoor pavilion where they hold concerts throughout the summer.
Taylor played in the water for about an hour and decided it was time to go. We walked the perimeter of the park to give him time to dry (we didn't take a change of clothes) then headed to McDonalds for a chocolate shake. What a nice evening! I am looking forward to this stop being a weekly thing for us.
Hopefully, today will pass quickly and my little Logan will be here to spend the night tonight. I am always missing him by Friday morning!
Monday, May 27, 2013
Summer is finally on the horizon!
Summer has been a long time coming, but it is finally here! I am so excited for warm sunny days and evenings on the porch swing. Winter just seemed to linger on forever this year. There hasn't been much to blog about. The kids are out of school for the summer. Taylor starts his summer camp program tomorrow.
We have been busy planning vacation. As much as we enjoyed Holiday World and Lake Rudolph last year, I have been promising the kids a beach vacation for a few years now. This is the year. We will be spending a week in the Fort Whaley campground just a few miles from Ocean City, MD in July. The cool thing about this years vacation is we get to spend it with my mom. She lives on the eastern shore and we are picking her up on the way. I couldn't be any more excited!
We were originally going to tent camp again this year. But, with this being my moms first camping experience, we decided to get a cabin. The cabin is rustic. No running water or a bathroom, but it will be dry if it rains and we wont have to sleep in the ground. Plus, there is electricity so we can still "rough it" with some of the comforts of home :)
The cabin rental includes admission to the campgrounds water park and a discount off a wild west show and mini golf. We are close to the boardwalk and also to Assateague Island where the wild ponies roam free. I think we will find plenty to keep us busy all week.
We have had a quiet Memorial Weekend at home. Got some things done around the house and in the yard. Danny worked today, so it has been a pretty lazy day for me. I am not excited about returning to work tomorrow, but it is right around the corner. Hopefully, vacation will be here just as quick!!
We have been busy planning vacation. As much as we enjoyed Holiday World and Lake Rudolph last year, I have been promising the kids a beach vacation for a few years now. This is the year. We will be spending a week in the Fort Whaley campground just a few miles from Ocean City, MD in July. The cool thing about this years vacation is we get to spend it with my mom. She lives on the eastern shore and we are picking her up on the way. I couldn't be any more excited!
We were originally going to tent camp again this year. But, with this being my moms first camping experience, we decided to get a cabin. The cabin is rustic. No running water or a bathroom, but it will be dry if it rains and we wont have to sleep in the ground. Plus, there is electricity so we can still "rough it" with some of the comforts of home :)
The cabin rental includes admission to the campgrounds water park and a discount off a wild west show and mini golf. We are close to the boardwalk and also to Assateague Island where the wild ponies roam free. I think we will find plenty to keep us busy all week.
We have had a quiet Memorial Weekend at home. Got some things done around the house and in the yard. Danny worked today, so it has been a pretty lazy day for me. I am not excited about returning to work tomorrow, but it is right around the corner. Hopefully, vacation will be here just as quick!!
Monday, January 28, 2013
A New Year
Annnddd.....I did it again! Here we are already well into 2013 and I haven't bothered to share a single post. 2012 ended quietly here at the Long/Henry home.
We spent the last of our cool fall weekends making donuts at our local high school football games. We had a blast trying to keep up with all the hungry customers, and the kids loved that we were all at the games together. When it was all said and done, we were able to donate a large percentage of our donut earnings to the Livingston High School Band, who runs the concession stand at the games and graciously invited us to come.
Taylor joined the local wrestling team. This was his first experience with organized sports. They practice 4 nights a week. Danny has been taking him and I suspect he enjoys it as much as Taylor does :) Taylor likes to play the big tough guy, but it didn't take him long to figure out those guys he was going up against had a bit more experience at wrestling than he did. His first competition, he was pinned in less than 10 seconds. Wait.....what just happened????
By the end of his 3rd competition, he had managed to make it a little harder to get pinned, but he decided that wrestling is just not his thing. We did get to travel the state a little and see some places barely on the map.
Morgan is still on the dance team and will be competing in her first competition this weekend in Nashville. She has danced at the football games, in the Christmas parade and at Homecoming. The girls on the team (including Morgan) suffered illness and injuries throughout the end of 2012, so hopefully this will be a fresh start for them in the competition category.
Baily is waiting patiently for tennis season to start, which will be soon. I'm not sure if she is excited about practices after school in the cold, but we are all hoping for an early, early spring! The tennis team was also able to use our little donut machine for a fundraiser in the fall and raised over $1,000 to help with expenses.
New Years Eve this year was spent with the Thomas family, our yearly tradition. Logan spent the night and we quietly rang in the new year with food, family, friends and a little Words With Friends. Heather brought some fireworks and even though it was sprinkling outside, her and Justin were able to light a few off at midnight.
I'm not very good at new years resolutions, but if I were, keeping up this blog would be on the list. I guess it's a good thing I don't make lists, because I'm already off to a rough start!
We spent the last of our cool fall weekends making donuts at our local high school football games. We had a blast trying to keep up with all the hungry customers, and the kids loved that we were all at the games together. When it was all said and done, we were able to donate a large percentage of our donut earnings to the Livingston High School Band, who runs the concession stand at the games and graciously invited us to come.
Taylor joined the local wrestling team. This was his first experience with organized sports. They practice 4 nights a week. Danny has been taking him and I suspect he enjoys it as much as Taylor does :) Taylor likes to play the big tough guy, but it didn't take him long to figure out those guys he was going up against had a bit more experience at wrestling than he did. His first competition, he was pinned in less than 10 seconds. Wait.....what just happened????
By the end of his 3rd competition, he had managed to make it a little harder to get pinned, but he decided that wrestling is just not his thing. We did get to travel the state a little and see some places barely on the map.
Morgan is still on the dance team and will be competing in her first competition this weekend in Nashville. She has danced at the football games, in the Christmas parade and at Homecoming. The girls on the team (including Morgan) suffered illness and injuries throughout the end of 2012, so hopefully this will be a fresh start for them in the competition category.
Baily is waiting patiently for tennis season to start, which will be soon. I'm not sure if she is excited about practices after school in the cold, but we are all hoping for an early, early spring! The tennis team was also able to use our little donut machine for a fundraiser in the fall and raised over $1,000 to help with expenses.
New Years Eve this year was spent with the Thomas family, our yearly tradition. Logan spent the night and we quietly rang in the new year with food, family, friends and a little Words With Friends. Heather brought some fireworks and even though it was sprinkling outside, her and Justin were able to light a few off at midnight.
I'm not very good at new years resolutions, but if I were, keeping up this blog would be on the list. I guess it's a good thing I don't make lists, because I'm already off to a rough start!
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Wow. Has it really been that long???
I can't believe I have not posted on this blog since we left on vacation! It sure has been an busy summer. Between work, kids and the new donut machine, I hardly feel like I have time to anything extra.
Vacation was great. Holiday World was alot of fun and has already made the list of things to do again next year. We stayed in Lake Rudolph in our new tent and that was a good choice as well. They are very family friendly there. Each night there was something fun to do. We watched a movie one night and attended karaoke another.
The campground rents out golf carts. Everyone decorated their golf carts with the most fun decorations and ideas. You could tell that alot of thought had been put into some of the themes. Each evening around dusk, all the carts would line up and parade through the campground. It was such a fun, family friendly place. I can hardly wait til next year. We will be decorating a cart of our own!
The shuttle from the campground to Holiday World ran all day. We never had any problem getting back and forth. It was nice to return to our camp site, have lunch and relax for a bit before returning to the amusement/water park each evening. (not to mention waayyy cheaper than eating in the park every meal). The staff at the park were all very nice and attentive. The lines were longer in the afternoon for the water park, but the wait times were not bad at all.
On Thursday we left Santa Clause IN and drove to Michigan to surprise Danny's parents for the weekend. Surprise them we did! They were happy to see us coming up the drive and we were able to hang out with extended family as they had planned a campout for the weekend there.
Danny's parents have since been to TN to see us. They spent 3 weeks traveling out west visiting with family and seeing some sights. They arrived here on a Friday evening and stayed until Monday. It has been very nice to be able to spend so much time with them this summer.
I hope to be able to keep the blog up to date. I really like being able to go back and read the older posts. I will be working on updating our donut adventures over on the Grams Mini Donut page so don't forget to check in there as well.
www.gramsminidonuts.blogspot.com
Vacation was great. Holiday World was alot of fun and has already made the list of things to do again next year. We stayed in Lake Rudolph in our new tent and that was a good choice as well. They are very family friendly there. Each night there was something fun to do. We watched a movie one night and attended karaoke another.
The campground rents out golf carts. Everyone decorated their golf carts with the most fun decorations and ideas. You could tell that alot of thought had been put into some of the themes. Each evening around dusk, all the carts would line up and parade through the campground. It was such a fun, family friendly place. I can hardly wait til next year. We will be decorating a cart of our own!
The shuttle from the campground to Holiday World ran all day. We never had any problem getting back and forth. It was nice to return to our camp site, have lunch and relax for a bit before returning to the amusement/water park each evening. (not to mention waayyy cheaper than eating in the park every meal). The staff at the park were all very nice and attentive. The lines were longer in the afternoon for the water park, but the wait times were not bad at all.
On Thursday we left Santa Clause IN and drove to Michigan to surprise Danny's parents for the weekend. Surprise them we did! They were happy to see us coming up the drive and we were able to hang out with extended family as they had planned a campout for the weekend there.
Danny's parents have since been to TN to see us. They spent 3 weeks traveling out west visiting with family and seeing some sights. They arrived here on a Friday evening and stayed until Monday. It has been very nice to be able to spend so much time with them this summer.
I hope to be able to keep the blog up to date. I really like being able to go back and read the older posts. I will be working on updating our donut adventures over on the Grams Mini Donut page so don't forget to check in there as well.
www.gramsminidonuts.blogspot.com
Sunday, June 24, 2012
Day 1 of vacation in the books
As I suspected, Friday lasted an eternity! I finally made it to 5:00 and headed to camp to pick up Taylor. He managed to get through 2 entire weeks without getting 1 disciplinary form! Oh, the difference an incentive can make :) We had been giving him hints every day about what his surprise was that he was working so hard for. By Friday evening, he still had not figured it out, so we told him.
Our girls are the same age, therefore have each other to hang out with during vacation. That normally leaves Danny, Taylor and I. We thought it would be nice for him to be able to bring a friend along. So, Taylor's friend Chase will be joining us this week. That will give him a little buddy to ride the rides with and I think we will all have a more enjoyable week.
After picking up Taylor, we drove to Rachael's and collected Logan for the night. He was so excited to see us. I love having him on Friday nights. We came home and played in the pool for about an hour, then had dinner. Baily spent the night with her cousin Jessica and Morgan stayed with her dad, so it was just me and the boys (Danny included).
On Saturday after Logan left I did some cleaning, picked up Baily and we headed to town to do some shopping. Morgan met up with us there and we then went to our friend Leah's Premier Jewelry party. Our girls day out was alot of fun and we all three wound up with a fun new necklace.
We leave on Monday to Lake Rudolph Campground. We will get the tent set up and Tuesday it is off to Holiday World. We will have wifi access in the campground, so I may try and post pics daily if I have any energy left at the end of each day!
Our girls are the same age, therefore have each other to hang out with during vacation. That normally leaves Danny, Taylor and I. We thought it would be nice for him to be able to bring a friend along. So, Taylor's friend Chase will be joining us this week. That will give him a little buddy to ride the rides with and I think we will all have a more enjoyable week.
After picking up Taylor, we drove to Rachael's and collected Logan for the night. He was so excited to see us. I love having him on Friday nights. We came home and played in the pool for about an hour, then had dinner. Baily spent the night with her cousin Jessica and Morgan stayed with her dad, so it was just me and the boys (Danny included).
On Saturday after Logan left I did some cleaning, picked up Baily and we headed to town to do some shopping. Morgan met up with us there and we then went to our friend Leah's Premier Jewelry party. Our girls day out was alot of fun and we all three wound up with a fun new necklace.
We leave on Monday to Lake Rudolph Campground. We will get the tent set up and Tuesday it is off to Holiday World. We will have wifi access in the campground, so I may try and post pics daily if I have any energy left at the end of each day!
Friday, June 22, 2012
Friday...I thought you would never get here!!
This has definately been the slowest week ever. I feel like I have things at work as caught up as possible. It's a good thing because my regular pharmacist decided to take the day off for a long weekend. Jill has an afternoon appointment already scheduled, which leaves me with a temp for the latter part of today. It's only 4 hours though, and once I make it to 5 o'clock, its vacation time!!
I'm pretty sure Logan will get to come and spend the night. I miss him through the week, but it makes seeing him on Fridays that much sweeter. We tossed around the idea of taking him with us on vacation. We decided he is really too little to fully enjoy himself yet, and we already have a vanload of stuff to squeeze in to take.
Taylor has made it through the week and managed to stay out of trouble! We have had so much fun giving him hints about his vacation surprise. So far, he has not been able to guess. I will give him the final hints tonight after camp. He is going to be so pleased.
Saturday evening the girls and I are going to a jewelry party at a friends house. I am looking forward to some girl time with them. Then, Sunday will be spent getting everything ready and loaded for vacation. We are leaving Monday morning for the week and I am ready!
Now, off to face my Friday.
I'm pretty sure Logan will get to come and spend the night. I miss him through the week, but it makes seeing him on Fridays that much sweeter. We tossed around the idea of taking him with us on vacation. We decided he is really too little to fully enjoy himself yet, and we already have a vanload of stuff to squeeze in to take.
Taylor has made it through the week and managed to stay out of trouble! We have had so much fun giving him hints about his vacation surprise. So far, he has not been able to guess. I will give him the final hints tonight after camp. He is going to be so pleased.
Saturday evening the girls and I are going to a jewelry party at a friends house. I am looking forward to some girl time with them. Then, Sunday will be spent getting everything ready and loaded for vacation. We are leaving Monday morning for the week and I am ready!
Now, off to face my Friday.
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