:: Weekend Recap | Camping & Making Memories ::

We've been looking forward to this last weekend for a long time & it was a great one.
A busy one, but one where so many memories were made!
I should start by explaining that our little campground is back in our timber. Just far enough from the house to feel like a get away & at the same time close enough to run up and do chores or get that ten thousandth thing we forgot.

We began setting up Thursday night because the weekend was also filled with a tball game, 4 photo sessions,

 2 graduation parties, and 1 bee delivery! (I'll talk more about my bees in a post later this week.)

 Again, camping close to home has it's major perks; like hot showers!
Friday night was just us. We had hotdogs & brats, enjoyed the fire for a bit & hit the sack (aka air mattress).

Saturday & Sunday brought the big fun! Some friends came to camp with us & the kids couldn't have been more excited. They rode bikes, played in the creek & found a SNAPPING TURTLE ( I bold that because the excitement that came with their announcement of finding said snapping turtle became the theme/laugh of our whole weekend),

played on the rope swing,

colored,

welcomed home my nieces track team who took 5th in two of their relays at State,

did a few fireworks & sparklers,

and we ate A LOT of food! I don't even want to begin to imagine how many calories we took in.

It was a great weekend! Even if it did rain on us & my washer and dryer haven't stopped running for two days. Yep, it was a great weekend! Thank you Salmon's for being a part of it!

:: Our Story & Celebrating 13 years of Marriage ::

So, the story goes ...

It all started in 1997 when I fell in love with this boy in Ag class.

He was ornery, rebellious and the only one my Dad actually had a "talking to" before we went out on our first date. But, he was and still is the most compassionate & caring man I've ever met. We were inseparable from that moment on.
After High School we had big plans; get married, build a log cabin and fill it with lots of babies. (Okay, so I had plans to fill it with at least 4-6 babies but he said 1. We compromised and stopped at 3! Phew! LOL!)
In May of 2001 we were driving down backroads and came across a house with a barn that was for sale. I remember saying "Oh, it's so cute! I love it!" It was small but it was just what we were looking for.

After what seemed to be the longest process ever; on July 17, 2001 we bought our first home & the 85 acres it sat on. Thanks to a whole lot of help & sweat from family & friends we made it HOME.

On May 18, 2002 we were married & welcomed baby number 1 that September.

 While things didn't happen the exact way or in the exact order we had "dreamed"; I wouldn't have it any other way! We now have 3 amazing kids and I'm proud to say I am married to my best friend.

Yesterday we celebrated 13 years of marriage & over 18 years together. We didn't buy each other gifts, but we did spend the entire day together building fence & working on a little play area for the kids down at our campground.

The little playhouse Aaron built when the boys were little and it's been sitting up by the house where no one really played in it anymore. It's perfect in it's new home at the campground.

I also insisted we needed a sandbox for them to play in since the one up by our house gets used SO much! After some contemplating on how to make one (and keep it free) it dawned on me :: a tractor tire! My grandparents had one that we played in for years. A quick call to a friend and we now have a sandbox! Score! 

And last but not least, a swing. The kids all voted on a simple rope swing with a knot. Perfect & easy!  A call to another friend (whom my hubby likes to give a hard time to for keeping things; but who also within minutes came through on the rope!) For real, friends are the best & our kids as well as theirs are going to have SO much fun on all of this when we camp! I can't wait for this weekend!

Once the boys got home from school we started on the fence building. Yet another project I asked to get started and Aaron is making happen. He's pretty amazing.

We got the fence posts finished and ready to stretch the wire. 

It was a beautiful, productive day & I'm thankful for every moment.

:: Collecting a Feral Bee Swarm ::

A friend put the word out on Facebook this morning that they had a bee swarm that needed to be collected on their back porch. As much as I wish I was experienced enough to do it; I knew I needed to contact someone from the local bee club that knew what to do. I couldn't pass up the opportunity to go watch and take photos of the whole thing!
So, heads up there's a ton of photos. This was such an amazing experience for me!

My bees should be arriving in the next couple of weeks, so be prepared for the blog to be innovated with bee posts!