Week of 6/23/15 This is my cabin week.
Back in March I reserved a cabin at Spring Lake for 4 nights. I was excited
about it and have been looking forward to it all spring. Little did I know how
crazy busy our days would be and the weather would not cooperate. I
wanted a quiet, relaxing week to just enjoy the cabin and the outdoors. I love
camping, not the rustic tent camping, but campers and cabin style camping. Spring
Lake is the kids and I’s favorite little spot and it is so close to home. Close
enough we can run home for chores, to shower, or to get something we forgot. I
figured it was close if Mark needed to check on things too. Monday was
preparation day. Since I had not had one day to catch my breath, that was my
day, plus getting groceries and packing. It took me the entire day to get all
the stuff ready. Oh my the stuff you need! Clothes, towels, kitchen stuff,
food, sand toys, beach stuff, grilling supplies, balls and books and bikes to name a few.
I felt like we were moving out. This is usually how camping goes in our house, I pack, load, and and get it all set up and Mark shows up to eat. Tuesday the kids and I loaded
and headed to the Lake. Our cabin is so cute, nicer than I imagined.
There is a
bunk bed room for the boys and a two bed room up in the loft. Each bed is a double.
There is also a couch and chair in the loft with giant windows to look out onto
the lake. There is a bathroom, no shower, and a fully furnished kitchen. It is
all log cabin style. The kids and I got settled in and I started the charcoal
right away. We grilled Hawaiian burgers and had a yummy meal for lunch. Jayden
brought her puppy along for the day and he did well. The boys rode their bikes,
we took a walk, and Luke did a little fishing. I get a kick out of Luke, he can
cast his line so far! He also has a lot of patience as he sits with his fishing
pole. He sits and sits. No bites today.
Mark decided not to come today. Unfortunately our time
at the lake our first day was short due to other plans. Tuesday nights are the ISU barrel
race series and Jayden was not about to miss it. We left the lake at 3 and were on the road with horses by 5. Mark
was in Ames and met us at the arena with pizza. The boys were with me and after
a short time were begging Mark to go home. I could tell he did not want to be
there either. He had the same head cold as Luke and Jayden that he has gotten
almost monthly. They stayed to eat pizza then left before it even started. That was kind of sad. The
jackpot series started at 7:30 and I was up in the first drag. I ran Traveler, he didn’t
take his leads, hesitated at the first barrel and ran wide around the second.
It was not pretty. Our time showed it with a 19 something. A second slower than
last time. I was hoping to shave a second this time instead of slower. This
jackpot is major tough competition. There are four girls that I know personally
that are Pro barrel racers. Of course they are in the top and setting the pace.
The fastest time so far 15.2. I feel out of my league and I am not doing so
hot. The first jackpot there were 55 runners, tonight had 40. I think the
ground conditions are crummy. The ground is dirt, deep, and uneven. Jayden ran
Tex taking him slow into barrel one, then pushing him making nice turns the
rest. She had a 17.6 and had a good run. She has come so far with Tex and he wraps that third barrel like a pro. It is neat to see. You have to be in the 16 to even place in
a 4D. In the youth she ran both horses, had problems with the second barrel with
both horses, but still ended up winning the 2D and 3D, not bad! In the night
it thunderstormed most of the night and rained 2.8 inches.
Wednesday did not go
as planned. The kids and I arrived back at the cabin around 10AM with bikes,
ready to ride, fish and swim. Then came the thunder, lightning, and rain. We
sat on our little porch awaiting the rain. Looking at the radar, it was not
going to quit. We drove home, had lunch and watched the rain. It rained
buckets. One round of rain and thunderstorm after another all day long. When it was all said
and done, we got over 5 inches of rain in a 24 hour period. That is a lot of
rain. So far, two nights with a cabin and no stays. On Thursday the kids and I
left first thing in the morning, made a doctor stop in Ogden to check Jayden
and Luke over. They both complain of head colds and sinus stuff like Mark. I
felt dumb as the doctor told me they will be fine. We got to Spring Lake and
were in awe of how much water was standing. There were roads with water running
over them and ponds in the open grass spaces. The beach was almost gone. We
rode our bikes all over and the boys had the most fun riding through all the
water. We grilled a yummy lunch then went to the beach. It was staying cool for
the day, barely hitting 72 and the sun would only pop out briefly.
The cooler weather and new rain did
not stop the boys at all. They were in the water and playing in the sand. Mark
came for a brief hour. We told him to bring Daisy and amazingly he did. He said
she sat in the front of the truck on the floor with the biggest smile on her
face ever. Jayden and I had to go to serpentine practice, so I had a fun night
planned for the boys with Mark. I had steaks for them to grill and in Ogden
they were showing a kids drive in movie theater at the high school. Mark had
other ideas and left when we did and went to Boone to eat out. Hmmmm? He really isn't into this cabin thing. We all
left the lake at 4:30, I was disappointed we were’nt getting to enjoy our cabin
and decided I would go back after practice. Serpentine practice stresses me out.
I have to learn all 8 positions in case someone can’t perform. I am not happy about it and am not
doing very well trying to cover new positions. It sure is taking the fun out of
it. Tonight we learned the entire pattern. I also had to take a different spot
and I felt lost. It was 10:30 by the time we got chores done and showers. I
didn’t care, I was going to my little cabin. Mark had no desire and Jayden
decided she would like to sleep in her bed. So, the boys and I went and stayed. The boys slept in their bunks and I in my little bed in the loft. The air conditioner ran all night so it was quiet and cozy. You never sleep well away from home, but it was ok.
There is a
bunk bed room for the boys and a two bed room up in the loft. Each bed is a double.
There is also a couch and chair in the loft with giant windows to look out onto
the lake. There is a bathroom, no shower, and a fully furnished kitchen. It is
all log cabin style. The kids and I got settled in and I started the charcoal
right away. We grilled Hawaiian burgers and had a yummy meal for lunch. Jayden
brought her puppy along for the day and he did well. The boys rode their bikes,
we took a walk, and Luke did a little fishing. I get a kick out of Luke, he can
cast his line so far! He also has a lot of patience as he sits with his fishing
pole. He sits and sits. No bites today.
Mark decided not to come today. Unfortunately our time
at the lake our first day was short due to other plans. Tuesday nights are the ISU barrel
race series and Jayden was not about to miss it. We left the lake at 3 and were on the road with horses by 5. Mark
was in Ames and met us at the arena with pizza. The boys were with me and after
a short time were begging Mark to go home. I could tell he did not want to be
there either. He had the same head cold as Luke and Jayden that he has gotten
almost monthly. They stayed to eat pizza then left before it even started. That was kind of sad. The
jackpot series started at 7:30 and I was up in the first drag. I ran Traveler, he didn’t
take his leads, hesitated at the first barrel and ran wide around the second.
It was not pretty. Our time showed it with a 19 something. A second slower than
last time. I was hoping to shave a second this time instead of slower. This
jackpot is major tough competition. There are four girls that I know personally
that are Pro barrel racers. Of course they are in the top and setting the pace.
The fastest time so far 15.2. I feel out of my league and I am not doing so
hot. The first jackpot there were 55 runners, tonight had 40. I think the
ground conditions are crummy. The ground is dirt, deep, and uneven. Jayden ran
Tex taking him slow into barrel one, then pushing him making nice turns the
rest. She had a 17.6 and had a good run. She has come so far with Tex and he wraps that third barrel like a pro. It is neat to see. You have to be in the 16 to even place in
a 4D. In the youth she ran both horses, had problems with the second barrel with
both horses, but still ended up winning the 2D and 3D, not bad! In the night
it thunderstormed most of the night and rained 2.8 inches. 
Wednesday did not go
as planned. The kids and I arrived back at the cabin around 10AM with bikes,
ready to ride, fish and swim. Then came the thunder, lightning, and rain. We
sat on our little porch awaiting the rain. Looking at the radar, it was not
going to quit. We drove home, had lunch and watched the rain. It rained
buckets. One round of rain and thunderstorm after another all day long. When it was all said
and done, we got over 5 inches of rain in a 24 hour period. That is a lot of
rain. So far, two nights with a cabin and no stays. On Thursday the kids and I
left first thing in the morning, made a doctor stop in Ogden to check Jayden
and Luke over. They both complain of head colds and sinus stuff like Mark. I
felt dumb as the doctor told me they will be fine. We got to Spring Lake and
were in awe of how much water was standing. There were roads with water running
over them and ponds in the open grass spaces. The beach was almost gone. We
rode our bikes all over and the boys had the most fun riding through all the
water. We grilled a yummy lunch then went to the beach. It was staying cool for
the day, barely hitting 72 and the sun would only pop out briefly.
The cooler weather and new rain did
not stop the boys at all. They were in the water and playing in the sand. Mark
came for a brief hour. We told him to bring Daisy and amazingly he did. He said
she sat in the front of the truck on the floor with the biggest smile on her
face ever. Jayden and I had to go to serpentine practice, so I had a fun night
planned for the boys with Mark. I had steaks for them to grill and in Ogden
they were showing a kids drive in movie theater at the high school. Mark had
other ideas and left when we did and went to Boone to eat out. Hmmmm? He really isn't into this cabin thing. We all
left the lake at 4:30, I was disappointed we were’nt getting to enjoy our cabin
and decided I would go back after practice. Serpentine practice stresses me out.
I have to learn all 8 positions in case someone can’t perform. I am not happy about it and am not
doing very well trying to cover new positions. It sure is taking the fun out of
it. Tonight we learned the entire pattern. I also had to take a different spot
and I felt lost. It was 10:30 by the time we got chores done and showers. I
didn’t care, I was going to my little cabin. Mark had no desire and Jayden
decided she would like to sleep in her bed. So, the boys and I went and stayed. The boys slept in their bunks and I in my little bed in the loft. The air conditioner ran all night so it was quiet and cozy. You never sleep well away from home, but it was ok.
Comments