Camp Snoopy

Did you know we went camping? Did you know we own a pop up camper? Did you know it's from 1969 and has been in a Quonset barn, unopened since 1972? Did you know it's actually pretty warm (we didn't even use a heater) and beats sleeping on the ground? Did you know it didn't even leak when it started raining Thursday night and that the rain didn't stop until Friday after lunch? Did you know it's easier to put up and take down than a tent? Did you know this is the only picture I took of it, while I'm pretty sure my sister Dawn took at least ten?

Well, now you do!

Did you know that we went to an estate sale and a multifamily garage sale? Oh, and don't forget we also went to the thrift store. Did you know we go there every year?

Did you know I found these Camp Snoopy glasses from McDonald's for fifty cents?

Did you know I found an Eddie Bauer jean jacket for three bucks, and it fits perfect?

Did you know that I actually had a really cool crafty idea that we did as a group, and I took pictures with Paula's camera? Did you know she better blog about it?

Well, now you do.

Camping

We went camping last week with my family. There were 22 of us in all.

Good news!

We didn't have to sleep on the ground this year!

Guess what?

I hardly took any pictures! I took one picture of a human.

See this innocent little freckle face with Kelsey? The morning I took this picture, I woke up at about 6:30. It was still dark. I had to potty. I debated laying in bed and ignoring the urge, as I had to hike to the bathrooms and then I'd be wide awake. However, when Kelsey woke up, and started moving around, I figured she needed to potty too, so I gave up.
I got up, went outside to grab the leash which was left on the table outside. I then grabbed a little flashlight, stood outside the camper and hooked Kelsey's leash, brought her out, closed the camper door, then zipped it shut. Kelsey and I both turned to head out for our morning ablutions.

Suddenly, Kelsey began to growl and bark in her fiercest manner! I darn near had a heart attack. What could it be? A bear? A cougar? A rabid coyote come to rip my throat out? I placed my hand on her collar and told her to be quiet so as not to wake everyone else...She ignored me....It's moments like this when I understand everyone saying she's my third child...

I looked up and saw a PERSON standing about 10 feet away with their back to us. Every hair stood up on my body, and my heart began to pound. The person remained standing stock still, not saying a word...

It was a small person. Wearing a floppy hat. I cocked my head to the side and looked closer.

"Elvis? Is that you?"

The little dude turned around and sure enough! It was my 9 year old nephew, out wandering around in the dark. He saw us coming out, didn't want to startle me, so he just decided to stand still and be quiet so as to give me a heart attack instead.

Obviously, he and Kelsey made up as you can see in the above picture. Apparently he'd been up since before , ready to fish. His brother was already out fishing, but when Elvis started down the trail where he suspected his brother was, he heard a "skunk in the brush," so he beat it back to the camp sites.

I have no idea why he'd think there was a skunk.

The night we arrived, Studmuffin had stopped to grab Sonic. He was late getting to the camp. He showed up around 9pm, and immediately got out and started to put the cover on the boat and fix all of the stuff I'd done wrong when erecting our camper. Apparently, I should have done more than just watch him fold it out before we went. In my mind, he was going to be a few minutes, not 4 hours behind me. That's the only defense I have, weak as it is. Anyhoo, in his haste to make everything right, he sat his half eaten dinner on the ground near our boat.

As he was carrying stuff into the camper he heard a rustling sound. This skunk was the biggest he'd ever seen. And not one whit afraid of him. Apparently, he has grown up around this lake, and he knows diligence and boldness lead to tater tots and popcorn chicken. Being the wonderful man he is, Studmuffin just knew it was a blogging moment. So he recorded it for all posterity.

Ain't he grand?

A Post Revisited

Go Ahead...

I have nothing else to say...

Just click on the link...

Enjoy!

Sadly, my sister Paula is not planning on attending this year.

*Sniff*

Just So You Don't Miss Me...

I know this here blog is the sunshine in your day. Since I will be unable to post for a few days, I've decided to repost some things that happened this year last time...

So you can be praying no such shenanigans occur again.

Like ruptured ear drums....

Or bronchitis...

Or sinus infections...

And that was just me!

Anyhoo, here's an oldey but goodey as they say! Check it out!

Clickety click click!

Sarah's Wedding

Sarah got married this weekend...She walked down the aisle to the same music as we did. Remember the scene in Man From Snowy River when Jessica's playing the piano? Click here to listen to Jessica's Theme. That was what the bride walked in to....
AND, they left to the same music...Remember the music played when he's on the black chasing the brumbies? That's what they left to...I can't find the clip of that scene on youtube.
AND they even copied us on their honeymoon...I'm pretty sure they're destined for years of marital bliss...

Gentle Reader, please don't ask what is happening in this photo. Thank you.

The kids of all ages enjoyed the photo booth. Below you see Paula's boys and my girls. They are one classy bunch, let me tell ya.

My sisters & I decided to pose with Grandma Irene. I'm told I favor her. If that's true, I'm gonna look fabulous when I'm 90!

Of course, I had at least 3 people come up and say "You must be Dawn's sister. You really favor her." Then, when I would talk, they'd say, "Wow! You even sound like her!" All of this was total news to me. Because, really, nobody has ever told me that I look like her. Strangely, we've both been told we look like Wonder Woman, and Linda Carter...(hint: you may want to check out those links. I'm just sayin')

Oh, and as you can see, Paula is just the blonde version of us...Truly. Nobody can deny kinship in this here clan.

Below, you see my precious Bookworm trying to take a serious photo session...

The last photo is a blur because her beloved cousin Elvis was picking on her, so she had to stop and throw her shoe at him. Again, there is never any drama or high-jinks in our house.

OH! And, of course, here's the bride and groom. I don't know, but something tells me he's gonna fit in just fine.

I Have This Thing for Cinnamon Rolls

We're going camping with my family this weekend. In preparation, I'm thinking of what I will eat. Studmuffin? He's thinking of what he needs to have to catch the most fish. I really don't care to fish at all.

Oh, I love to be out on the water, however, I just want to lay back and read a book. Sadly, my husband is completely unsupportive of this. I'm constantly having to help bait a kids hook. Or steer the boat...Or some other tedious task that completely interferes with my desire to just sit and read or stare into space.

But, this is not a post about fishing...

It's a post about cinnamon rolls. Hence the title!

We had this lovely little lady in the town I was raised near (read here 26 miles away from) who was renowned for her cinnamon rolls. I actually have her recipe, since she came to our home economics class and taught us how to make them!

However, her recipe involves patience. You make your own dough...

Then you have to let it rise....

And like most doughs, you knead it and roll it out...

I'm already impatient for that cinnamon roll, and I'm just typing about it! So, if you live in my hometown that I actually never lived in I recommend you just take your little self over and pay Ginger a visit, and I'm quite sure she will have a cinnamon roll to offer you. Then you will only eat one, instead of the whole pan that will be at your house should you get a hankering for rolls, and so decide to make them.

Was just the longest, most confusing sentence ever, or what?

Did I mention I love cinnamon rolls? I think I've done at least 2 other posts involving variations of cinnamon rolls. But they are just so darn good!

I want to take cinnamon rolls camping. However, as we are the poor relation who will be staying in our 1969 Apache pop up tent camper, I will not have an oven. I am supposed to work this week, so that leaves little time for baking days upon end in preparation as I am wont to do.

As I was thinking about my desire for cinnamon rolls, and homemade ones at that, I considered monkey bread. However, I know that I know that I know it won't last a whole day from the minute it's made, since we will all just keep snitching a little ball of deliciousness as we walk by...

I considered my super easy crescent roll cinnamon rolls, but I was really wanting that yeasty bread taste...

So, here's what I came up with:


Ingredients:
1 can of refrigerated french bread
butter
1/2 c sugar (or more, these measurements are not very concrete)
1 T cinnamon (note here: Studmuffin said they needed more cinnamon, but the last batch of rolls I made he claimed had too much...You just can't please some people!)

Icing:
1 pkg neufchatel cheese
powdered sugar (not sure how much...I just dumped, blended, and dumped until I had the right consistency)
1 tsp pure vanilla (No extract in this house)
a pinch of salt (no idea why. I just did it, then asked myself why...I sometimes act and then think. I know, this shocks you)

Unroll the french bread. Slather generously with softened butter. Do yourself a favor and throw that margarine in the garbage. Embrace the butter! Mix the cinnamon and sugar together, then sprinkle over butter. Roll french loaf up. Slice into desired thickness and place in greased (with butter of course) pan. Sprinkle with additional cinnamon if you haven't just used the last bit you have...If you are out of cinnamon, stop and ask yourself how you could possibly be out of something you use every single day, and you just went to the store.

Once you are through asking yourself things there are just no good answers to, throw those babies in the oven. Bake at 350 for about 25 minutes, or until done.

While rolls are baking, combine the neufchatel (You can use cream cheese, but why when it's more calories and fat?) with powdered sugar. Splash in about a teaspoon of vanilla and the pinch of salt that you are completely unsure why you just threw in...I guess it just feels like the thing to do in the moment. Mix well...Continue to add sugar until your frosting is desired consistency. If you get it too thick, never fear! Just splash in a bit of milk until it's thinned out!

Now, when you pull those rolls out of the oven, spread that creamy delicious frosting all over it.

Go ahead, use the whole thing when maybe half the batch will do. This is all about cinnamon rolls, and self control has no place here...


Now pour yourself a big mug of hot coffee, grab yourself a good book, and dig in!

What's Shakin'?

I never overreact. Never ever ever...

Like Wednesday morning at 9:06 am, give or take a second.

I had just hung up the phone with my mom. Actually, I had just had the call dropped while telling my mother goodbye.

Ooo...Perhaps it was a portent of things to come...

I was standing in my living room when suddenly, something hit my house! I instinctively ducked, and the walls began to shake and the pictures rattled. A sound rumbled through the garage. Sort of like thunder, only even me in all my super calm, critical thinkingness knew it wasn't thunder...

What the?

I looked outside to see the cat and dog asleep in the yard. Okay. So, obviously nothing crashed into the house itself.



Maybe my washing machine unbalanced? Nope. It wasn't on the spin cycle, and besides, I have never known an unbalanced washer to shake the entire house.

Maybe aliens were invading. I am almost POSITIVE the trailer house shook like that in Mars Attacks....

However, since the dog and cat were still fast asleep in the back yard, it didn't seem entirely logical that aliens were descending.

After a brief contemplation, I decided to go outside and look for a mushroom cloud from a nuclear attack. No sign. Just a sunny, cloudless sky. Thank heavens. I fear I have let my emergency survival kit lapse with the last two moves...Yes, Gentle Reader, I confess that planner that I am, I have failed to lay aside 3 days worth of food and water for emergency situations.

Who has room to store all of that?

Then, I remembered that we aren't too far from the airport...Oh no! Maybe a plane crashed! Luckily I just renewed my advanced cardiovascular life support certification, so I'm ready to save lives!!!

I wandered around to the back of the house, and there wasn't an airplane crashed in the field.

At that point, I was pretty stumped on on what could have happened. Because, obviously I had ruled out all of the immediate logical causes...

Yes, an earthquake briefly entered into my peripheral thought line....But I quickly discarded that ridiculous notion.

I live in Oklahoma!!

We don't have earthquakes here! Only a totally rash, illogical thinker would consider an earthquake!

Except we do. A 5.1 on the Richter scale is the most recent rating...

Who'd have thunk?