Happy Kids = Exhausted Mom

Last Sunday our family joined 6 other families from our church for a 5 day camping trip to Cherry Plains.  It was an hour ride from home, so Wayne only came up the first couple nights and left from there to go to work each day.  That turned out to be an exhausting job, so the last 3 days he didn't come up. Work is very busy (thankfully) so he couldn't take the time off.   This worked out fine since our daughter-in-law Kerri came up from Tuesday to Friday.  The older kids begged to go on this camping trip and promised to do all the work...sort of!  

Slava, Sun, and Sand

 There was a small lake with a sandy beach which Slava really enjoyed.  He'd swim around then run out and lay in the hot sand to warm up.  Needless to say he had to then go back in the water to rinse off, then repeat the process all over again.  He was my buddy the whole time since the big kids were off with all the other teens from church.

Andrii the Chef with Poppy Ken

 Andrii promised to do all the cooking.  This worked out well for dinner, but I only brought pop tarts and cereal for breakfast.  Thankfully Kerri brought up some bacon and eggs so we had a yummy breakfast at least one morning!  My parents came up one afternoon and stayed for dinner.  Sierra and Anna did all the dishes.  I was on "Slava Duty" and made coffee morning and night!

Sierra showing off her volley ball skills - not!

 The big kids were busy non-stop with volleyball, swimming (not always legally), corn hole, darts, tag, and tons of board games.  With over 35 kids between the 7 families they had a blast.

Jordan 

 Jordan was such a good sport since he couldn't even go swimming post-surgery.  He
 grew up into a big boy the moment we got there.  I barely saw him the whole time since he was off on his bike keeping up with the big kids.  He stopped by on occasion for a soda, a pop tart, or some chips....well we were camping!

Anna, Emma, Laura, & Shannon 

The 5 days flew by and I did survive, but with the realization that "single parenting" isn't for me.  With all of Slava's issues (post coming on that soon) I barely sat still for 5 minutes at a time.  Thankfully friends did step in to help so I could get a break.  Curtis came up Thursday night and stayed over to help us pack up and get home on Friday.  Once we were home, unpacked, and in the throws of 10 loads of laundry, the exhaustion caught up with me.  Today I took a nap, worked on some home school plans, and now I'm getting ready to go out for a much deserved dinner with my hubby.