Visiting :: Rough Creek Lodge '17

This summer we didn't originally have any plans for a vacation (after our gifted cruise, it didn't feel like a priority). But when our friends- and usual summer travel buddies- moved away at the beginning of July, we decided we did in fact need to plan something, even if it was just a four-day weekend something, before the summer was completely gone.

So we decided to meet at Rough Creek Lodge.

We got there in the late afternoon on Friday, and were immediately greeted by Angel and Cowboy, the grounds' free-roaming (retired) ponies. Henry ended up forming a special bond with the smaller one, Cowboy, which even impressed the staff, but more on that later... Our first day was mainly getting settled, trying out the pool, and having our first fancy dinner, then watching the sun set while making s'mores and hanging out on the back patio.

On the second day, right after breakfast, we figured out there was a falconry demonstration scheduled for that morning. It wasn't hard to get everyone in our group on board for that one, so we all played yard games until the birds came out and then headed down to the lake to see a Harris hawk and a Peregrine falcon do their thing. After that we did a little fishing, then spent the rest of the day at the pool, followed by our second fancy dinner (the kids ate at the Kid's Club party every night).

On our third day, the adults who woke up early took the kids who woke up early down to the dock to fish while the sleepers "slept in." We were fishing with tiny micro-hooks and little pieces of hot dog, mainly trying to catch bluegill... but Austen caught a bass! We were as surprised as he was. Once we were joined by the rest of our crew, the kiddos got to take turns having a boat ride around the lake, then we went back to the pool for the afternoon. Remember how I said Henry bonded with little Cowboy? That little pony followed him right up to our room door and would not leave. He would jiggle the doorknob with his mouth, and actually tried to follow him inside at one point. We had to leave for dinner out the back door, and that little guy stayed right in front of the front door with his face about two inches away, waiting for Henry to come back out.

After dinner we did our third round of s'mores and lawn games.

On our last day, we rented trail wagons and toured the 4-mile-long nature trail around part of the grounds, ending at Gunn Mountain for the panoramic photos I was coveting. While we were waiting for the trail wagons to be readied, the outdoor sport staff commented on Henry's friendship with Cowboy (who had found him again), adding that no one is usually able to get near him or touch him. Henry would practically hang on him, and that little horse loved him for it.

We drove around the grounds, did a little fossil hunting, and after everyone got their amazing-view-photos, we packed up and checked out.

We parted ways vowing that we'd maintain our summer trips together, even though the distance between our families has exponentially increased... because after all, when you can find common ground like this, what's a little driving between friends?

She Reads

When Audrey gets back to school and has her turn telling her class what she did this summer, I'm afraid all she's going to say is, "I read books." ...because that's seemingly all she does these days (though we've had other stuff going on, I swear!).

Every time I turn around, every time I pass through a room, there's Audrey with her nose in another book. We've been participating in our local library's summer reading challenge this summer, wherein each participant completes 5-hour reading logs to earn an invitation to a water park party, and Audrey has completed four of them thus far. She usually has hers finished in less than 2 days and is stuck waiting for Bubba and Mama to catch up (which doesn't bother her, she just keeps reading while she waits). It's totally her thing right now.

Honestly, I was the exact same way when I was her age, and it makes me so happy to see her get it.

So if anyone asks what Audrey likes to do with her summer down time- she plays with her Bubba, she swims, she snacks, she plays Minecraft... but mostly, she reads!

Little Campers :: Cooking Lesson

Today we all gathered 'round the ol' kitchen island for another fun Little Campers activity- cooking! We decided not to do anything too complex due to the age (and coordination) ranges of our group, but instead went with a timeless standby: granola. We based our activity off this recipe from LuSa Organics' blog, which I've had success with before, and this recipe from Once Upon a Chef, which Keri has tried and tested. Each recipe was loosely followed with a few tweaks here and there to fit our tastes and the supplies we had on hand.

Everyone got a chewy granola bar to taste, their own jar of crunchy granola to add dried fruit to depending on their preferences, and for the conclusion of the session they were all awarded adorable hamburger enamel pins Keri found at the Target dollar spot.

And everyone went nom, nom, nom, all the way home...

Last time: Movie Making Project

Next up: Photography!

Monday, In Photos

Right Now

Right now, I'm...

...looking around at the remnants of play (tumbling pillow forts, piles of Legos, tucked-in babies, books and magazines with various forms of page markers, lots and lots of paper crafts...) with a mixture of twitchy desire to clean up and mushy sentimentality because the summer is starting to draw to a close. It won't be long before my kiddos are back at school during the day and the house will sit for hours undisturbed...
...feeling relieved that today is the last day of swim lessons! My Littles are little fishes... but having to prep, load, drive, and wait through swim lessons every morning has really felt like a handicap in my ability to get things done! We haven't done a proper grocery store run in almost two weeks, y'all.
...eyeballing two five gallon buckets of Asian pears from my mom's that have all hit that perfect state of ripeness all at once. They need to be put up ASAP, but I'm proving to be quite a clumsy pear canner- yesterday I put up seven quarts without adding the acid necessary to keep them safe while sitting at room temperature. So today I'll have to open them all up, add the acid, and re-process them before I can start on the next batch. Plus, I'm the slowest pear peeler ever, so yeah. (I'm using this basic recipe right now)
...roasting all the tomatoes left out in the garden with heads of garlic and packing them in olive oil, because they're coming in pretty beat up due to the heat and bugs working against everything out there, and roasting hides a lot of ugly!
...loving the look of the freshly cut and baled hay field out all the front windows! That grass was waist-high and crazy thick, and our hay guy got 17 bales this time around!

Right now we're caught between the ramping down of summer activities and the ramping up of back-to-school prep, and somewhere in this in-between I'm trying to find that lazy summer vibe we've blown right past thus far.

Is it Thursday already?

Wishing all a little of that lazy summer vibe... happy Thursday!

Little Campers :: Movie Making Project

Our Little Campers meeting this week was all about silly, creative fun- movie making! We talked about scripts, costumes, props, the role of the actor and the role of the director, and then the kids paired up and brainstormed their plots and characters. Finally they each made their own little movie using tablet devices, and that ended up being good practice for sharing and patience, too!

Once each pair had completed their movie, we gathered and watched them together, then talked about different film genres and how some people prefer one type of movie over another, but that doesn't mean one type of movie is right or better (because our group gets a little wrapped up in comparing work sometimes). Art is in the eye of the beholder!

Henry and Spencer's Movie:

Audrey and Piper's Movie:

Their badges for this activity were handmade by Keri:

The boys got a little lost looking for a plot, and some of the girls' dialogue was hard to catch, but everyone was proud of their end product, and we had a lot of fun watching them pull it all together!

Last time: Wild Plants/Foraging

Coming up: Cooking!