TX Camping -the New Braunfels edition

Or maybe I should call it 'the camping trip that almost wasn't.'

 Last Friday, we packed up the trusty Suburban and headed south five hours to New Braunfels. First stop Mountain Breeze Campground....."um, no -we don't have a reservation; the guy on the phone told us "first come, first served." And you don't take dogs???? There is a dog on your LOGO!" Oh crap. Things got tense as we discovered that dogs aren't allowed as a general rule. (GAH.....we have no problem boarding him or getting a dog sitter had we known.) So we decided that we would check every single area as we drove back toward town with a hotel stay as a last resort.

Rocky Beach had a spot! (time noted: 6pm) They made it clear that about 1000 people would be loading into the river steps from our spot but we were low on options so we simply said yes. Employees strolled by and saw the dog and the first thing we unloaded and tied up was Fritz. We didn't hide him. We unloaded everything in the HOT buggy camping spot and started assembling tents. THEN, the lady comes over and says "oh, you have a dog? we don't allow dogs. You have to leave; we will give you a refund." Did you feel the earth stop spinning????????? Collin had to turn around and decompress before he went postal; I stood there frozen with the tent poles; the kids were SILENT; somewhere an explosion happened because somehow we handled it calmly and simply started tossing things back in the Suburban as Collin started tying gear back onto the luggage rack. What a blessing in disguise.

Two miles down we stopped at a Mom&Pop campground that had a dog sitting out on the grass. So we were hopeful. Collin went in to ask about sites available and quickly came out to converse with a guy on the porch. I could read the man's lips...."let me see him." He wanted to meet Fritz. Before he even got to pet him, the guy saw Fritz's sweet face and how anxious Fritz was to give him some luvin' and he said "come on in." We set up camp 50yds. from the general store, Koozies bar with bands each night, beach volleyball, and horseshoes. We were able to rent our toobs (spelled correctly) from them and they shuttled us up to the drop off. The friendly couple had just bought it a year ago; re-did the camp sites and upgraded the grounds. They were the nicest people and the staff was super friendly too. So, by 8:30pm, we were set to chill. At a site that was a lot cooler and LESS buggy than Rocky Beach. With fireflies = awesome.

We did away with cell phones and time. Who knew what time it was? We enjoyed hot dogs, smores, eggs, sausage, toast, burgers, and more smores. ('the evolution of the toasting marshmallows' post coming soon). We went through a jar of peanut butter in less than 24hrs. And it was all good. Warm, but good. As rustic as I get - insert porta-potties and no showers. Immaculate porta-potties with sanitizer so it wasn't terrible. And at least we had the river for tubing; it's sorta like a shower, right? Brushing your teeth using a cup of water, no problem.

Tubing was fine. The water was cold yet refreshing and I managed to carry my camera double-bagged in a Ziploc and grocery bag so I was able to get some nice pictures. The scenery was beautiful. I got stuck on rocks a bunch and the crowd was younger than we had hoped (smoking, bad language, ridiculous music) but we took it in stride and had fun.

Amanda's quote of the weekend was "I need band-aids, aloe, and OFF." And that about sums it up. Camping in Texas does involve wearing OFF but I won't complain because anytime I wake myself up snoring in a hammock it is a good day!

Ol' River Hideaway will see us again :)

(.....will post pics soon......having issues with uploading from the camera/ desktop is in the shop)

ONLY for my son!

We got the news........Ian has been drafted to the Dallas Cowboys for his football team. REALLY?!? While most parents would be thrilled with this, especially since we live in Cowboy country and could have overlapping fan wear/gear/bling, but I am not one of those people. I AM NOT a Cowboys fan. Never have been. It could have been ANY other team (besides the Atlanta Falcons) in the entire National Football League and I would have been ok with it.

So for this season, I will be sporting a Cowboys visor or hat......the cheapest I can find on clearance......and solid navy, white or gray shirts this season. I even have a gray sweatshirt with a navy football on the front that will work :)

For my SON's sake, I say GO COWBOYS

 

I had a plan......then I found out that he will stay with this team until he goes to middle school. HUH??? Oh geez, and I thought typing this post was giving me hives. It's gonna be a long road.

Sure, why not?

For several years, we joined a large group of friends and headed to Santa Barbara to El Capitan Canyon for Father's Day camping. I called it 'Beverly Hills' camping because you could choose between a cabin (with a kitchenette and private bathroom) or a safari tent. Both came with maid service. Not kidding. If you left and went to the beach or out hiking, they would come while you were out and make your bed, sweep the floor, and tidy up. They also had spa services; they would even come to your tent/cabin for the message. It was a great introduction to camping as a family because the area is beautiful and being with a large group the kids were easily entertained. We haven't done that since 2009.

We have done real tent camping up in Bass Lake, CA and we did an RV trek to the Kern River a couple of years ago. So, Collin expressed some interest in camping/tubing this weekend. It sounded good but we never made any plans one way or another. Until last night at 8:30pm; as in, 12 hours ago. The kids are baffled. Really? Camping? Tubing? On a river? TOMORROW?

Tomorrow is now today and the mad dash is on. I've got the lists rolling and am heading out to the grocery store in a few to get the essentials (ya know, graham crackers, marshmallows, chocolate!) and to gas up the trusty Suburban. We hope to hit the road before noon with Fritz in tow because he is always up for an adventure that involves chasing the kids and water.

We plan to go tubing on the Guadalupe River

and have some chill time.

 

Armed with sunscreen, OFF, and Citronella candles we'll see what camping in South Texas is all about. Sometimes you just have to say 'sure, why not?'.

 

Taking it in stride

SUMMER IS HERE!

Well, sorta.

Two of my kids have summer session tutorial and one has a strength & conditioning camp (bet you can guess who that is!) so there is no sleeping-in happening for me. And the schedule is dumb -- drop-off 8am, drop-off 8:30am, drop-off 10am, pick-up 10:30am, pick-up 11am, pick-up 11:30am. See, dumb! BUT I'm trying to take it all in stride because it is not for very long and we have most of the day to do something. Except, it is HOT; really HOT already. Supposed to be 97 today with a heat index of 100. Beyond the pool I am out of ideas because funds are tight.

This past weekend we met some really nice neighbors. There was food, drinks, and lots of sports smack talk so hopefully we will get invited back. It is nice to feel like I know somebody just a few doors down and Ian has multiple playmates at his fingertips. Just yesterday he had two buddies join him for some fishing. Oh - speaking of buddies......Sean is quite the social butterfly. I keep reminding myself that him being here with his friends is a good thing but Saturday night they tp'd Maggie's room while she slept and last night they pt'd Ian's room. It is hilarious harmless fun and he is making good choices overall but young teenage boys are like a litter of puppies.....they are rough and tumble; they eat a lot; and they are loud. I am grateful they are house-trained at least. Deep breath - take it in stride because all too soon he'll be striding off to bigger and scarier things like driving, girlfriends, and college.

I am still working on striding through exercise too. Last week I hit 15 miles!!!! I decided to keep a journal of my daily exercise because I need to SEE what I'm doing because the scale isn't showing me anything. My stride may never look like this

and you likely won't see me running at sunrise (or on a beach either) but I am moving forward and that has to account for something.

So as you stride through life today try to stop and think about things you can be grateful for. For me, I would say:
1) the fact that my a/c works
2) children who have transitioned through our move VERY well
3) good running shoes.

Meals a plenty

Haven't done this since March.....feels so good to not have to think about this for another month. I highly recommend pre-planning; it will save on your grocery bill, it will help you look at what you are eating, and it will save on the daily anxiety of 'what's for dinner'. Feel free to share some ideas and snag some from my list too.

June 2013 -
2 - crawfish etoufee, salad
3 - tuna melts, honeydew
4 - chicken enchiladas, homemade Mexican rice
5 - tortilla crusted tilapia (from Costco), stmd. carrots, salad
6 - homemade chicken pot pie, strawberries & melon
7 - take n' bake pizza, salad (of course, it's the last day of school!)
8 - garlicky shrimp, stmd. broccoli, ranch red potatoes
9 - bbq chicken, black-eye peas, stmd. artichokes
10 - red beans & rice, salad
11 - crockpot roast over creamy polenta (carrots, green beans with roast)
12 - meatloaf, baked mac n' cheese, green beans
13 - hot dogs, homemade greek pasta salad
14 - chicken stir fry, homemade fried rice
15 - Chip-'Hall'-tole (carne asada burritos with fresh guacamole, cilantro rice)
16 - parmesan-lemon mahi mahi, sautéed green beans, garlic mash. potatoes
17 - shake n' bake pork chops, risotto, peas
18 - lasagna, Caesar salad
19 - sloppy joes, stmd. carrots, watermelon
20 - chicken tacos with corn/bean salsa, fresh berries
21 - chef salad, fruit salad
22 - chili, cornbread
23 - grilled tri-tip, baked sweet potato, green beans
24 - ham steaks, creamy mac n' cheese, eggplant
25 - sausage sandwiches, stir-fry squash, cantaloupe
26 - roasted whole chicken, stmd. cauliflower, couscous
27 - mustard molasses pork chops, stmd. asparagus, brown wild rice blend
28 - grilled salmon, stmd. broccoli, quinoa
29 - chicken parmesan, salad, garlic bread

Now I just need to get the ingredients to get us through the 15th. Although, thinking about shopping and how much food my kids will be eating once school is out on Friday scares me to death. The burpees challenge that I committed to for June scares me too. But, onward to healthier living and hopefully a better appearance in a bathing suit.