Weekend Recap(June 12-15, 2008)

Just stopping in for a quick weekend recap. We had a 4 day weekend full of camping, balls and malls.

We started our weekend early on Thursday June 12, 2008. DH was working the night shift last week, so when he got home from work in the morning we loaded up the van and off we went. After driving 4 hours south, we were at the state park that we were camping at... Not as nice as we had pictured from looking on there website but for as little as we were going to be there it did the trick.. After all this was a trip for softball not really camping.

One thing we didn't plan on was being bombarded with Cicadas, I think they said they were the 17 year Cicadas not the yearly ones. They were everywhere and oh so Noisy, but we set up camp and then showered up and were off.

Thursday night Princess's softball team was having a 2 hour practices from 6 to 8pm.. Then a Birthday party for the Coaches DD who is on the team and was turning 13 on Thursday. After eating cake we headed off to dinner about 9pm, LOL yeah nothing like desert before dinner. After dinner we went back to the campground, got a camp firer going sat around that a bit and then went to bed.

Friday Morning we woke up and thought we would go check out the state parks beach they listed it as a wonderful place, but when we got there they didn't clean it up yet from the winter so it was covered in drift wood and it was dirty so we stayed and looked at it a bit and walked around it a bit but wasn't going to stay and swim or even layout and tan, it was just too dirty. (but then what do you expect for $23 a night LOL) We went back to the campsite and Princess and I sat outside and did some reading but it was getting hotter and hotter and without the beach and lake to keep us cool it was just getting to hot to just sit around the camp, so off we went to the Mall.

While at the mall Princess got herself a few things for Summer camp(which she will be going to soon) she got 2 shirts and a pair of shorts. Then we hit the food court for lunch.. She ate something Japanese and I did the great steak and potato company.. She thought that was just so funny, she was eating chicken and rice and veggies and there I was with my ever so healthy lunch.

After lunch DH pointed out the time and we needed to head over to Ball field #1(I say #1 because this tournament was played on 3 fields, one on the Ohio side of the river and two on the Kentucky side) Field #1 was on the Ohio side and Princess had to be there at 3pm for a 4pm game, We got to the field around 2:30pm, and by 3pm the Sky's were black and it started to storm.. This is not a good thing when you have about 50 girls softball teams there waiting for a tournament, BUT it is even a worse thing when one is camping and had left all the windows opened up in the tent with out any protective rain covering because it was bright and sunny and about 100 degrees outside when one left the campground(which was 35 minutes away from field #1) UGH UGH UGH...

So DH and I left Princess with the Coach and his wife and the other girls from the team and headed back to camp.. we raced in front of the storm the whole way.. Well not really we were in the storm the whole way but at the start of it.. We got to the tent and out of the van just as it started to down pour there.. So while things got a bit wet we did manage not to have everything inside the tent soaked.. DH and I were a different story.. we were both pulling big blue rain tarps on top of the tent and spiking them down in the heaviest part of the Storm.. So we had to change cloths and get all cleaned up and then we headed back to the ball field.

At the field I saw the funniest thing I had ever seen in all my days of watching softball,(both girls fastpitch and men's slowpitch) and baseball and t-ball. You see while we were trying to save camp.. not one, not two but 3 big heavy down pour storms blew though the ball field and all the fields were soaked and underwater.. Now the comes the funny part.. they had all sorts of men out in big rain boats sweeping, racking and leaf blowing the water off the fields.. they spread all the water around so everything was mud.. then any puddles that were left they were blowing them sort of dry with these leaf blowers.. After blow drying the fields for 3 hours. The tournament was under way.. ONLY our 4pm game was being played at 7:30 and our 2nd game didn't get started till 9pm and both games were played in the rain, not heavy rain just a drizzle but a non stop hit and miss sort of drizzle.. We won both games. It was 10:30 when we left the field and headed back to camp.. ONLY we hadn't at dinner and it was late and all our campfire wood had got soaked.. So we stopped at a Bigboys for a 11pm dinner. After dinner it was back to the tent and right to sleep.

Saturday we just slept till our eyes opened.. We didn't need to be at the ball field till 11:30am for a 12:30pm game. This game was being played at field #2 over on the Kentucky side.. It was SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO hot and humid and not a good game for out girls.. We ended up losing by 1 point. This was a double elimination tournament so we were still in it but do to being moved into the loser bracket it meant our next game wasn't going to be played till 9:15pm.

We needed to be back at the field till 8:15pm and it was only 2:30pm it was in the high 90's again So we didn't go back to the campground.. Instead we thought we would drive a little more into Kentucky and get lunch We ate at taco bell and then thought we would check out a KY state park that we saw the sign for along the highway.. IT was REALLY NICE... So much nicer then were we were staying.. So if we ever need to camp in that area again, we will be staying there. After that we hit the Florance KY mall and did a little more shopping.. Princess got a shirt and I got a purse. By this time it was dinner So we got Chinese and then had some DQ. ice cream.. and headed back to the fields for the next game.. The next game was being played at ball park #3 a different park in KY. We won this game but that wasn't the exciting part.. The excitement came when a lady sitting in the stands got hit in the head with a foul ball from a game going on at the field right next to where we were playing.. The lady was watching our game her dd played for the team we were playing ageist.. the ball came from behind hit her in the head and knocked her out cold.. she came though in a few minutes but the EMS were called and she was taken out in a Ambulance and on her way to the hospital.. I never heard anymore of how she was doing or anything.. but that deal in game put us back to the campground at midnight, and being in the losers bracket we had the 9am game on Sunday morning.. meaning having to be at the field at 8am. This wouldn't be that bad except for we had to tear down the tent pack up the van and leave the campground before heading to the game..

Sunday started bright and early at 5:30am so we could tear down camp load up and then clean up get dress and head off to the game..

To make this recap a little shorter.. we won the 9am game, then 15 minutes later played game 2 for the game and won that, 15 minutes after that played game 3 and won that 20 minutes after game 3 we played game 4 and won, 15 minutes later we were playing game 5 and won yet another game.. 15 minutes after that we found our self playing for 1st place in the championship game.

AND WE WON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

(This is Princess getting her championship plack, I didn't have my phone with me to take a picture but I was video taping it so afterwards to get this picture I paused it on the view finder of the video camera and then snapped a picture of it with my cell phone, I think I have now lost my mind LOL)

We took the Championship!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Going 8-1 for the tournament. playing 5 of those 9 games today back to back.

Princess was a bit tired as was I and we both slept the whole 4 hours home.. Well not home we had to make a stop at my parents house were the younger 3 had spent the weekend so we could pick them up.. Here is a picture of my younger 3 and my mom's neighbor girl sitting around my dad's new fathers day gift.. His new fire pit.. They had a fun weekend of swimming at my parents.. And today after church they had a fathers day dinner with my parents and my grandparents(there great grandparents).. I had planned on taking them with us this weekend but with Mr Man's sunburn my mom didn't want him out in the heat and sun of the ball fields so she asked if she could keep them.. they all liked that idea.. I was a little sad on the way down thinking how much they would like camping and swimming at the beach.. Then I saw the campsite and the beach.. and thought it was a good thing I didn't bring them.. BUT then after the storms on Friday night I was very Thankful I didn't have all 4 kids with us..

Well It's about 2am and I need to get to bed and repack everything in the morning.. The plan is to head off on a week long camping trip all six of us tomorrow.(today) BUT we might put that on hold they are calling for rain.. If we don't go I'll be back.. if we do go.. I have a whole weeks worth of old camping story post for you all to enjoy while I"m gone.. Have a wonderful week.. Hope you all had a great weekend.