Fresh Eggs

See what you miss out on when you buy your eggs at the grocery store. :)  God's creation is amazing!

(The eggs are shiny because they had just been washed.)

Camp Grist

We spent the last few days at Camp Grist.  This was the first time for us to camp at this park.  We chose to camp there because it is only about 20 minutes from where Darren works.  We arrived on Wednesday afternoon.  Darren went to work on Thursday and took Friday off.  This park was a lot different from where we usually camp.  There were only 11 camp sites in the entire park.  It was kind of nice camping in a quiet place with not a lot going on.  I am so thankful that we have the opportunity to go camping.  We always have so much fun.  I hope Nate has great memories of camping when he gets older.  I went camping several times as a child and have so many great memories from those trips.

Nate had a great time playing with his cars in mud puddles...



and in the dirt.  

He had the most fun swinging.  My dad had a great time aggravating Nate while he was swinging. 

The fish weren't biting, but Nate had fun trying.  He's getting a little more patient.

We rented a paddle boat for an hour and took turns taking Nate for a ride.  Those things will tire your legs out fast!  I don't think we even used the entire hour.  Nate liked riding, but he really wanted to be in the water. 

It was fun for us to see Nate get excited about riding his bike.  We do not have a good place to ride bikes at our house.  It will be easier when he is older, but it's not good for learning and riding with training wheels.  He got a bike for his birthday last year, but it was a little too big.  My parents got him another bike a few weeks ago and it's just right for him.  He's been riding some at their house because they have a nice concrete drive.  Even when he would ride at their house he would be super cautious and not want to "go fast."  This weekend he finally got more confident and had a great time "going fast" on his new bike. 

The lake at the camp ground is a man-made 100 acre lake.  There's a nice walking trail around the lake.  Thursday afternoon Darren and I decided to walk around the lake around 6:40 PM.  We thought the trail would stay close to the lake and would take us about 30 to 45 minutes.  We were wrong.  The path ended up being about 4 miles through very thick woods.  When you are in thick woods at 7: 00 PM, it's pretty dark.  I seriously began to wonder if we were going to make it out before dark.  I've never walked so fast in my life.  Darren, on the other hand, wasn't concerned and didn't make much effort to keep up with me.  I have been running some again and wanted to take off, but I was afraid I would trip or step in a hole or step on a snake.  So much for our nice stroll together.  Instead I was sprint walking through the woods, waving my arms around to keep spider webs off my face, imaging what my episode of I'm Alive or I Shouldn't Be Alive would be like.  :)  Yes I can be very dramatic at times. 

Have I told you we have bad luck with outdoor pets?

We've had at least 7 different outdoor pets over the last 12 years and all of them are not with us anymore.  Two are in animal heaven and three apparently just didn't like our neck of the woods and moved on.  All of these animals (except one) were stray animals that just showed up at our house.  We remember them all very well and they each have a unique story.  I won't bore you with those stories, just the current one. 

I don't know if you've noticed the "Adoption Timeline" tab, but we are adopting.  I haven't done an official post because I feel like it will take me a while to put into words how I feel and how grateful I am that we are getting this opportunity.  What does this have to do with animals?  Well, all of our "pets" have to have a rabies vaccine.  Emmy always gets her shots every year.  We have two outdoor cats that have never been to the vet.  I knew they were going to go crazy when I lured them into the cat carrier since they had never been in one.  They were moaning and meowing and making sounds I didn't know cats could make.  I double checked to make sure that their cage was closed well.  By the time we got to the vet's office they were even more freaked out and scared.  When I got them out of the truck the door on the carrier came open and they took off.  Nate start crying.  I could have started crying also.  I felt so sorry for Nate.  He was so worried about them.  We went inside to get some cat food to try to lure them back to us, but it didn't work.  We called them and looked for them for about 30 minutes but we never saw them again. 

The nice people at the vet said they would set traps for them for a few days and see if they turn up.  We are hoping they find their way back home.  Our vet's office isn't very far away.  If not, I guess we'll be looking for a couple of new kittens.  I've never considered myself to be a cat person, but I guess I've become one.