Memorial Day Weekend

Memorial Day weekend was spent camping and fishing at Big Lake with Jon's family. Not my idea of a fun vacation, but I went along with it. Jon loves it there and was so excited to take the kids fishing for their first time. It was beautiful and the drive ended up being a lot shorter than we thought. We got there on Friday an set up camp. Jon's dad and brother were there a day earlier than us so we didn't have too much to set up. And thank goodness we had a camper to sleep in and we were right next to the bathrooms and showers at the campsite. That evening we took the kids fishing with no luck, but they were having fun. The next morning the kids woke up at 5:45am! Rise and Shine!! It was freezing and way too early to get out of bed...but we got up and got moving so we could go fishing at a stream. Off we went with again, no luck in the stream. That afternoon we took the boat out, but the lake was so choppy we weren't out long. Emma caught one fish but it got away from her at the last minute. So we headed up to shore where Rick and Sean were fishing. We were finally successful! I caught a fish almost immediately, soon followed by Derrick yelling, "I got one!" and reeling in with all his might. It was pretty fun to see that! Then Emma caught her first fish and which was the biggest of the day (she was very proud of that). The kids each caught one more and Jon was a proud papa! Seeing the kids catch their fish was fun, but I was still not sold on camping or fishing! When we got back to camp Ron and Sarah were there and I was glad to have another girl! Just after dinner that night we heard there were elk in the camp, so we went to go see them. They were right up close to the campsite, and it was pretty neat to see. That night Jon received his early birthday gift from his brothers and dad. It was a Pontoon Fishing Raft. He really wanted one. He was very excited and couldn't wait to try it out the next morning. I chose to sleep in the next morning and hang out at camp with the kids. We played games and went on a nature walk. They were loving it there, and I couldn't wait to go home! We went out again that evening, but the fishing was a little harder. I was tired and dirty and cranky and ready to go home! That night after dinner everyone was worn out and went straight to bed. The next morning was clean up time! I was in a good mood that day...it was time to go home! Overall it was not the worst experience of my life, but certainly not something I will look forward to every year! But I am glad that Jon and the kids had a good time...maybe next time I'll just let them go! :)