Independence Day Weekend

Food experiment Wednesday included some stuffed mushrooms. I made one for lunch to test out before I made a batch for the family for dinner. They went over well. Nancy and I both really enjoyed them, and Kyle thought they were good, too. I stuffed the mushrooms with sauteed spinach, broccoli, and pepper mixed with cottage cheese and baked.

I headed to Molly's house to babysit then Wednesday night. Molly is the little girl I helped babysit for Sarah the day she was sick a week ago. Was there from about 7:45-11:30pm. Got there, and she was ready for bed. Slept well, too. So, I spent the night chilling on the couch with Abby, the dog. I read about three chapters in a book, which is the most I have read in one sitting in a while.

After a little morning workout on Thursday, I met up with my friends Cassie and David for a little brunch. David was in town to hop on an airplane for Lithuania for a little conference. I met David at Morningside, and he is originally from Paraguay. He does a lot of work with politics, and he has helped lead many projects in Latin America. It was fun to meet up with him for a bit and chat some after not seeing him for over a year, although we did send a few messages from time to time.

We met up at Wheatfields just off Pacific St, where Cassie suggested. Pretty good stuff. The coffee was served in clear mugs. I always find that a bit funny. Cassie and I both ordered the red, white, and blue waffles. It was Independence Day, but honestly they just sounded yummy. The waffles also were infused with a little almond, which was delicious. Added a little crunch. Yummmm plus the fruit and pudding on top.

I had e-mailed my parents a few days prior asking if they would be interested in a little camping over the weekend. Dad decided on a place out West, where he figured it wouldn't be busy. 4th of July can be a popular camping weekend. He chose Keller Park State Recreation Area, which is close to Ainsworth and Springview, NE - where the boys go deer hunting each year now. We pulled in, picked our campsite by the creek and started unloading.

Dad realized we did not have the proper adapter from the grill he had brought for the propane tank. The grill was borrowed from Uncle Chuck, but Dad brought his own propane tank. Well... We headed into Ainsworth to pick up a bag of charcoal. On our way back, Mom was on the phone with Sheldon telling him, "You know how we always have a funny camping story... grill... charcoal..." I told her, "Mom, you may not want to say that yet. The camping has just begun."

So... It had become a bit more cloudy out. Before we left, Mom had checked the forecast to find a 20% chance of rain. Dad started putting up the tent, while Mom and I worked on supper. Began to look more ominous, and then dad realizes we don't have the rain cover for the tent. On our old tent, that wasn't as big of a deal; with our newer tent, there is a big screen on the top. One really needs a rain cover if it's going to rain, and they don't want to be sleeping in water.

Mom headed back into Ainsworth to find a tarp. I kept working on the food, and then here came the rain. Oh great... I threw all of the food I had been preparing under some cover, which included some a few burgers, burnt pizza dough, and toppings that had been chopped but not cooked yet. The ears of corn I had on the grill in their husks continued to sit there as Dad called me over to help him. We struggled to get the tent to just flip back over. If we could have it lay upside down, the inside would have stayed mostly dry, but it wasn't going. (Later we realized it was because the poles had already been hooked to some things.) So, Dad and I stand with our feet on one side of the tent, pulling it up over our heads and standing with our backs sort of protected by the tent from the rain coming down from the Northwest. We were both already soaked from running around trying to fix things. haha We both were laughing standing under there.

It started clearing up a bit after Mom had made it back with a tarp. She just laughed when she walked up seeing us hold the tent in the fashion that we were.  I didn't blame her. I felt a bit ridiculous and wondered what we looked like. Dad and I had already shared laughs on the matter. haha

As soon as the rain let up, we put her all up and draped the big tarp Mom found over the top and secured it down. Then, we were ready to sit down and enjoy the supper I had been working on that was mostly prepared. Ended up eating our pizza with cold toppings, which still worked fine - spinach, mushroom, tomato, onion, and feta cheese. The favorite piece of the evening, though, was the grilled corn on the cob. That was some of the best corn I had ever eaten. I highly recommend grilling it in the husk. I had learned this with the family I had lived with the summer I worked at the zoo in Des Moines. Simply fantastic. Sure, a little burnt from sitting on the grill too long on one side (thanks to the rain fiasco), but man almighty... we really enjoyed it. Juicy and good natural flavor.

After supper and cleaning up, we went on a little walk. A bridge led us over Bone Creek toward these fishing ponds and a nice view of a hill. I loved all the trees! Felt like I was up in Minnesota. Great walk with Mom and Dad, and I took way too many photos. :-)

This is a view of our campsite from across the creek. You can see the pickup off to the left and our tent with the lovely tarp off to the right.

Set up the timer with the camera on the pickup so we could take a group photo at the campsite. I really do love my timer.

A little artsy shot with one of our chairs and the tent.

As we put the air mattresses into the tent, I ask Mom where the rest of the blankets are. She had handed me two small fleece blankets to put inside. "Oh, your Dad won't use one. We'll be fine." Well, we sort of had left the windows open on the tent. I fell asleep a little after 10pm curled up in a ball in my long pants and long sleeve shirt under my fleece. Woke up about 11:45 and needed a bathroom run. Mom came along with me, and I learned that she had not slept at all yet. She was soooo cold. Dad was half asleep and couldn't believe Mom was cold.

Dad woke up a few hours later on a bathroom run, came back, and then he was shivering. Picture two full grown adults trying to share a small fleece blanket. Yes, the ones you can pick up at Wal-Mart for $10. I slept off and on through the night, and apparently Mom tried grabbing a towel to use as a blanket at some point as Dad had accidentally hogged all the covers. Here's another story for the camping trip. That's three pretty funny ones, now. Told you Mom. ;-)

Woke up at 7am, and I originally had hoped to go for a run up the hill. It was a bit chilly when we woke up, and since it had rained, the sandy trail would have been a bit difficult. Mom and I decided it was best to just get going with making some breakfast. Slightly burnt pancakes (they are a bit hard to do with the camp-stove  where it's hard to control the temperature), some scrambled eggs, fruit, and a little sausage (for those who wanted).

The night before, I made a comment about how crazy it would be to run into Uncle Steve Boschen while out this way since his brother Glen lives up here, and we used to run into Uncle Steve all the time camping in Calamus when Sheldon and I were growing up. I made a joke Thursday night that I saw him. Guess what? As we were walking toward the hydrant Friday morning to do some dishes, here comes Uncle Steve in his truck pulling up to go fishing. What are the odds? Well actually not that hard to believe, but funny since we had talked about it.

Dad chatted with him a bit, and then we headed to one of the wildlife management areas for a little hiking. There's this spot along the road that Dad called the "no road ahead" or something like that. It almost looks there is a road going over this cliff, but then it's not there. There was a sign, and now some posts are up blocking vehicles. This is a shot from the bottom as Dad had pointed it out.

We stopped at it on our way back down, so I could take a few photos. I chose one to put up here.

After the chilly night in the tent where Mom didn't sleep very well, I came up with an idea where it may be fun to head to Osmond and spend the night at Grandpa and Grandma's. Wasn't ready to go home, but thought a change of scenery and warm beds might be nice. I can handle cold, but I wanted everyone to be healthy at the end of the weekend. After hearing on the radio that there was a chance for some thunderstorms again for the night, we decided the Osmond option sounded like a good option.

Dad had talked about stopping at a thrift store in Bassett on our way back through anyway, and then he also remembered "This N' That" which contains many books (more than the library) in O'Neil. Thrift shopping then on to Osmond, it was decided. Go with the flow, and see where life takes you. :-)

Dad found a shirt at the thrift store in Bassett. I found some books in O'Neil. Dad knew he had to show me this place. I love books, and I could spend all day looking through book stores - especially used and discounted books. I found four books I wanted to check out, including a Winnie the Pooh cookbook.

Made it to Osmond and first thing we worked on dinner. I made this watermelon, spinach, and feta cheese salad (something I had seen a photo from a friend posted online and wanted to try), some grilled foil packets of potatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, and carrots, and a few other things we had ready for camping. The camping had moved to Grandpa and Grandma's house in Osmond, NE.

 Grandma showed me this binder she has been keeping full of printouts of each blog post I made while in American Samoa. About 2.5 inches worth of paper filling that binder about my life in American Samoa. Really cool that Grandma kept this. Now, I have this book I can go back to and reflect on my experiences there. It really was my journal in addition to being a key communication method. Thank you, Grandma!

After that, we girls had a little fun. One thing I've been wanting to do for quite some time now is try on my mom's wedding dress. Not because I have ever dreamed about my wedding, not because I have a wedding anytime soon, and not because I hoped to wear it necessarily. I wanted to try it on for fun. Well, it didn't quite shut all the way in the back since I'm a bit taller and the torso didn't sit right.

Then, Grandma pulled her dress out for me to try on, as well. This was fun for both Mom and Grandma. Grandma's dress had many layers on the skirt, but she didn't make me put a hoop on under, it too like she wore. haha

After playing with wedding dresses, I sat down and enjoyed a scoop of ice cream, an oatmeal raisin cookie, and a few cups of coffee. Grandma made some for me first thing when I arrived. I had an awful sinus headache after the rain, and warm liquids make me feel better.

Slept on the couch, and I set my alarm for 6:30am. I had told everyone I wanted to make breakfast in the morning, but I still wanted to get a little exercise in beforehand. Woke up, and I went for a little run in another one of my family small towns. I had my phone with me for clock purposes, but I stopped a few times to take some photos. Remember I'm into photo journaling my life a bit, and this little collage represents where I was running Saturday morning.

Came back, took my shower, and everyone was still sleeping. They did start to wake up as I made a little noise in the kitchen. Grandma was very excited about waffles. She does not have a waffle iron but loves waffles. We happend to have ours along in the pickup. Good start to the day.

I took some photos for Grandpa and Grandma's upcoming 50th wedding anniversary, and we drove around a bit looking for ideas for some family pictures we would like to take in the near future. Then, we packed up and headed to Norfolk. We did a little supply shopping, went to see "The Lone Ranger" at the theater, and did a little thrift shopping. I found a few more items of clothing, and we all really enjoyed the movie. Very good, and I would recommend seeing it if you get the chance some time.

Did some things around the house Saturday after we returned home from our ventures about 6pm that evening. Sunday is my day off from workouts, but I woke up about 7:30am and started doing a few things. I had agreed to have breakfast ready by 8:30am. Put on my apron, and I had everything basically ready. Mom and Dad were both still asleep, so I kept things warm, and then we all ate around 9am. I baked these honey nut squares I had wanted to try after that. I found the recipe in the Winnie the Pooh cookbook. Yum. Finally, Mom and I made some homemade ice cream. I had asked her if we could the day before. One thing we don't do very often, and it is a special treat. Yes, I did eat it before noon. Have to eat it while it's fresh, or it's just not the same. :-)

Headed back to the Omaha house over lunch hour as a little family and friend gathering was taking place before Kyle leaves on Saturday for Micronesia. Arrived to find some puppy chow, which I munched on pieces throughout the afternoon. Not too much, though. ;-)

A taco bar was the main course, and Nancy had a little fun and made a vegeterian filling substitute for the meat with some cooked veggies. I would have been more than happy with lettuce, cheese, and salsa, but this was yummy, too.

We played some cornhole (bags) out in the backyard, which is always fun.

This is the second cousin photo I have taken for the family, while I've been around. All cousins on Nancy's side of the family.

We also took the "friend" picture. Not "special friends". Not "cousins plus special friends", but  the other friends on the premises. haha Oh, my friends.

That wraps up my long weekend. Plans changed, we went with it, and we made some great memories. I hope you all had a little downtime, perhaps, and have a great week!