Birthday & Crawdadding

This weekend was a new experience for us. Not only did we head out camping with two new kittens, but we also headed out for new waters....Crawdadding!!

It was Jason's (our Godson) 5th Birthday. He wanted to go camping for his birthday party. Everywhere that Jen tried to register us...was full. We ended up at Blackberry State Forest Campground, and little did we know...it was the best thing that could have been. Temps here in the valley were reaching the 100's....and 18 miles off the coast, there was a nice breeze the whole weekend. We even put sweatshirts on in the evening & in the mornings. It was a nice break from the heat. The days were in the mid 70's, low 80's, and it was great for the task at hand. Birthday parties and Crawdadding!

We headed out of Sweet Home around 3:30, later than we wanted...but the kids had an opportunity to head to the lake with the Youth Group from church, and they really wanted to go...so we delayed our departure.

We arrived at camp around 5:30 and found the camp to be a great campground! We were hesitant since we've driven by there, and it's close to the road. What we didn't realized, is other than Friday night and Sunday afternoon...there is very little traffic on the road. It didn't bother us one bit. We settled in, had dinner, and a nice campfire. Around 10:30, we all headed to bed...feeling good as we pulled the covers up. I'm sure it was 60 out there!! It felt cold after weeks of heat. The coast was close enough that we got the cooling affects. It felt wonderful!!

We woke to sunny blue skies, and spent a great morning with friends by the fire. Around 11am, the crawdadding crew loaded up, and took off for the river. Bill & I stayed at camp and kept Brooklyn, since she didn't like the river. We had lunch...played and had a great nap!! Our intent was to head to the river after nap...but we had such a good nap, the crew was back before we got up!!

We headed out to greet everyone...and we thought Jen & Brady were getting dressed...but instead, we found Jen, Brady, Mike, Kathy, Eric & Kristin all behind Mike & Kathy's trailer, cleaning crawdad.

Brandon was brave enough to "pet" a Crawdad!

Now, we've only had experience with crab...and you clean those after they are cooked...crawdads you clean before cooking....which means...pulling them apart while they are alive...UCK. What amazed me more, was that Kristin was right in there, learning how to do it, and sat there the whole time....until the entire 5 gallon bucket was cleaned. We weren't there at the river...but we heard she was a champion crawdad catcher.

After cleaning crawdads, we had a birthday party for Jason. The kids had a great time playing with his stuff afterward. Got some cute pictures of all the kids playing together with the big crayola pad. Happy 5th Birthday Jason!!

We had a great predinner first course of crawdad with melted butter, to which we added garlic...yummmmy!!!! We then experimented and added some Joe's crabshack hot sauce. WOW>..it was great. What butter dip was left after everyone had their fill of crawdads, was used to dip some fresh rolls into. There was no calorie counting on Saturday!! Some of our "leftovers"!!

We enjoyed supper together, and then a great fire, fun visiting, and a good sleep!!

On Sunday, we got up, Jen & I made donuts (yep, still not counting calories!) and we enjoyed a nice morning fire. Before we knew it...we were tearing down, and out of there before noon...and home at 1:30.

The kittens did great...they fell right into our routine....traveled great (didn't want in their kennel) and slept in the truck on a lap and/or a shoulder!! We will certainly take them again with us!!

It was nice to be home early, as we got the trailer unloaded, the laundry started and did some troubleshooting on the refrigerator that quit working this weekend. We were hoping it was only the propane function, but it didn't work on electric when we got home either. Bummer...as it was fine when we left. Hopefully, Bill can pinpoint the problem, and we won't have to take it in for service.

It was a great weekend. We had dinner with Robert & Missy...and it was nice to have had such a relaxing weekend, and a nice evening before starting a busy week.

Still no word on the application I put in at the library, but the posting just closed on Friday. Will let you know if I hear anything.

Have a great week...enjoy the pictures!