Tishomingo State Park

Katy organized a camping trip for this past weekend at Tishomingo State Park.  We went last year* for my birthday, really enjoyed it and planned on going back, but Bobby had to work so we opted out of camping this time.  The kids and I decided that we would go for the day Saturday.  Esther and I did make plans for Brit to stay overnight with them.

*I just checked for my post about my birthday camping trip, but there isn't one.  Darn me and my non blogging last year! 

We got there about 25 minutes before anyone else, so we drove over to the fishing area and waited in the sunshine.

Soon, the Crawfords pulled in and we drove over to join them.

NOT grilling The Boy!

And Sarah and her family arrived.  Then Kurt and Katy with their kiddos, followed by Katy's parents.

The boys preparing for a Nerf battle!

Some of us went for a walk around part of the lake, snapping photos all along the way.

Kurt and Katy's dad, Bill, set up a monkey bridge.  Everyone had SO much fun with this thing!

Esther and Nia!

We discovered that Nia is in fact an otter!

Later in the afternoon, we all headed over to the swinging bridge and off on the trails.

Bill took a liking to Dakota :)  He said to me at one point "If he ever needs some extra Grandpa time, call me."  It was very sweet.

Dakota and I went with Matt and Jake to get in a couple Geocaches.  Dakota really enjoys going with Matt to find them.  Actually, I think he just likes the pillaging through things and finding goodies to take.  He came home with silly putty, a pin, smiley face eraser and...something else.

Kurt built a fire and Katy cooked orange brownies over the coals.  Esther wrote about it HERE if you'd like to check it out.  They were yummy :)

We were treated to a beautiful sunset...

Dakota and I ended up staying the night.  Everyone was so kind and generous.  We were put up in Katy's RV and then they fed our faces in the morning.  Fed my heart too...I am reminded what amazing friends we have.

Oh, and they made banana pancakes for breakfast.  We had all seen a recipe before and no one had tried them yet.  They were delicious!!  All you do is mix together one banana with one egg.  Yummy, healthy pancakes!  Kurt added some dark chocolate chips to a few.  Very good!  When I make some, I'm going to add a bit of cinnamon.  :)

The morning very cool and very windy!  The kids played on the monkey bridge for a bit and sprayed each other's hair red.  We grabbed a couple group photos and then The Wacky Lackeys headed home.

 We had an awesome time!  :) 

Railroad Bed Trail

Yesterday, Bobby the kids and I headed over to Huntsville.  My glasses finally came in and Brit's shipment of contacts.  We also cancelled our Knology and went back to Charter so we had to drop off Knology's box at their main office.  We no longer have cable, just internet and Netflix.  Knology's speed is ridiculously slow and we couldn't do anything online if Netflix was streaming.

While we were in H'ville, we decided to hit the trail since it was SO gorgeous out and bad weather is heading our way tomorrow.  We went to the Railroad Bed Trail that is part of the Monte Sano Nature Preserve.  Brit and I have been there once before with a friend, but the boys hadn't yet.

It was beautiful out...perfect day for a walk in the woods.

Brit kept going up ahead of us a good ways.  One time she came back...a little whiter than she had left.  She spooked a snake.  We continued walking and I spotted the Black Racer hiding in the rocks.  He was standing up REALLY high, but the first picture I took was out of focus.  He ducked in a little after he realized he had been seen.  At least I got this shot before he slipped away.

Dakota brought along his new Sonic Screwdriver!  Never know when you might need one.

Sweet babies

Dakota walked across this fallen log all by himself and was very proud of his accomplishment!  I probably would have fallen but dang that kid has balance.

On the way home, we got stuck in major traffic which added a little over and hour to our 25 minute drive.  Evidently there had been an accident although it had been cleared before we got up to it.  Hope everyone is okay.  We then grabbed some dinner and headed home, checked for ticks, showered and started watching another episode of The Walking Dead.  We're late to the Walking Dead party, but since we haven't had cable, we started watching it via Netflix streaming. We're addicted.  Really!  :)  It's awesome!