Camping!

Tomorrow my husband and I will be taking LittleM camping for the weekend.  This will be her second trip but what makes it even more exciting is that friends of ours with their two little girls (who are also friends of LittleM’s) will be going with us!

Tonight will be the big pack where we get everything together, pack as much as we can in the car, and get everything else ready to grab and go when my husband gets off of work on Friday. 

LittleM is deep in her princess phase where she refuses to wear anything that is not a dress so I have been prepping her for 2 weeks that this weekend she will have to wear pants.  I want her to be warm enough and protected as we hike, camp, and explore the local caves near where we’re camping.

We’re going to be camping near the Crystal Caves in Pennsylvania so I can’t wait to check them out.  I have never been in a cave before and there is only one in Delaware that you can’t visit anymore because it’s on private property.

Is there anything that you think is imperative to bring on a camping trip?  Anything that you can’t live without?  I would love to hear what you think we should bring in the comments!

Have an adventurous weekend!

Happy Birthday Hubby!

August 9 is my husband’s birthday.  He is choosing to ignore how old he is becoming and just focus on the celebration of it!

This July we celebrated our 10 year wedding anniversary! (How did that happen already?!?) Even though it has been 10 years, he still continues to surprise and remind me on how wonderful a person I married.

For his birthday this year, my husband hosted a fundraiser.  No, it wasn’t for him to buy all the presents that he wanted!  My father was just diagnosed with a pretty debilitating and progressive disease.  Not only has my husband been amazing in supporting my emotional needs, he has also been so willing to help at my parents house in whatever they need. For his birthday this year, he chose to surprise us all and host a Birthday Happy Hour Fundraiser to support the group that is in charge of my Dad’s care!

He was amazing using all of his connections to get everything donated so 100% of the profits could be donated to the group.  He was able to get a space and food, silent auction items, and a singer for entertainment. Through all of his efforts and the support of friends and family we were able to raise a little over $2000!  We are so appreciative of all the support that have gotten and continue to get from friends and family.

So Happy Birthday Hubby!  You are an amazing man, amazing dad, and amazing husband!  I love you.

When the Going Gets Tough

In the eloquent words of a great friend of mine, “2012 Blows”.  Why yes it does.  The bureaucracy of trying to get unemployment checks started is starting to drive me bonkers.  AND we came home to a huge leak in the basement and have no idea how long it had been leaking, along with all the other stressful crap we’re trying to deal with.  But let’s take a step back to where we were to have to come home to a leak.

When my husband lost his job, we realized that we hadn’t taken time lately to be a family.  His hours and commute, and the hours of his previous job, made me feel like a single parent most of the time.  So we decided that it was time to pull closer as a family and spend some time together getting reacquainted.  My husband was able to spend a week and a half watching LittleM when I was finishing the school year and 2 days after I was done we got in the car to trek to Kentucky and Indiana.  When you’re about to lose your mind from stress, what could be better than visiting friends and family.

Thank goodness that LittleM is a good car rider because it took about 11 1/2 hours to get to Kentucky to get to my family but once we got there we were well taken care of by my aunt, uncle, and cousin.  While there we were able to visit the Kentucky Horse Park and relax by the pool. It had been a long time since I had visited Kentucky, and even longer since seeing my cousin so we had a fantastic time, and I feel very lucky to have been able to reconnect to that side of my family.

After spending a couple of days in Kentucky we continued our trek westward to Indiana to visit a great friend who moved there with her husband to take a job at the University of Evansville.  We spent a few days hanging out with them, visiting some of the nice spots in Evansville, including letting LittleM feed a giraffe.  That was, “SO Cool,” in the words of LittleM.

So, we were able to reconnect as a family while forgetting some of the craziness if only for a few days.  Hold tight to your friends and family, let them help you through the rough times, as well as the good times.  I don’t know of anyone who can do it alone, especially not me.  While 2012 does indeed blow for my family, and I don’t think I will ever have a lot of great things to say about 2012, I do appreciate all the support and love of friends and family.