Simple Camping

Desiring to get away for the weekend with our son John and his family,

 we planned for a simple and quick camp trip to our favorite campground. 

 Fall campground camping is wonderful, because the campground is virtually empty, 

the landscape turning fall colors is lovely,

 and the weather is fine, albeit a bit crisp in the mornings.

It was a beautiful, relaxing, and fun weekend.

Our tent site overlooked the play area and the lake, giving us a protective and lovely view.

Sitting around the campfire doing nothing for hours is my kind of relaxing!!

Others find sand an amazing relaxer, and can play in it for hours on end.

For those cool mornings, everyone needs a great hat.

Camping is all about taking time to unwind.

taking time to enjoy one another without the distractions of everyday life

And drink in deeply of the beauty of God's creation

How did we Keep it simple with 11 people?

We did all the cooking in the Dutch Oven, making meals and packing less complicated....so we took the water kettle, the french press, and the dutch oven, along with a small box of kitchen accessories.

What did we cook in the Dutch oven?
Just easy favorites, nothing fancy, although there are some very scrumptious looking recipes on Pinterest!
Friday night-chili dogs
Saturday morning- hashbrowns with eggs over the top, bagels toasted over the fire.
Lunch- "Pub Platter" our traditional camping lunch of salami, cheese, crackers, apples, pickles, and
cookies.
Saturday Dinner- pulled roasted meat on hogie buns, cabbage salad
Sunday morning- french toast casserole
Sunday lunch- pub platter again, with fresh picked plums ( a bonus to this particular campground)



Other factors for the keep it simple weekend:
organization for meals-
I keep all the plates, silverware and cups in a plastic washtub so it is handy and not scattered all over.
I have the meal plan written out so I don't forget something.
I precook (before the camp trip) anything I can...sausage for the casserole, made the salad ahead, grate the cheese, etc.

Minimal equipment and clothing-
tents, camp chairs, cooler, camp box, lantern, dutch oven, kettle, sleeping bags, fishing gear, life jackets for littles, towels, and I think that was pretty much all.
For clothing; layers!  We all took quilted shirts for jackets.  fleece pullover, flannel shirt, t-shirt, jeans, one pair shoes, jammies, swim suit, warm socks, and underthings.

And, for extra fun, we took the cutest grandbaby ever!...

  To ensure lots of cuddles, laughs, and endearing moments.

To ensure lasting memories, we took an amazing  photographer to capture the moments-

thank you Rose!

Blessings to you the glorious fall day,

Julianne

Diary of a Quiverfull Mom: Mastering Breakfast

Faintly I hear the pitter patter of little feet getting closer, closer...

...I strain to attain some sort of consciousness out of the deep, wonderful, life giving,

 (did I say wonderful?) slumber of the night.

Then there she is.  My eyes will not open, try as I might.

  Her eyelashes brush my cheek and suddenly she is kissing me, hugging me,

 like an over friendly cat that wants to be petted. 

 It is 6:09...

A.M.

 I finally get one eye partially open. 

This is my life, and I adore it...most of the time.

Olivia is 3, and very lovey-dovey, in the morning, especially. 

 So, while I try to attain vision and coherence, she reads to me "Blueberries for Sal" 

in typical 3 yr old fashion.  I should have video taped it.

  Priceless.

The inside thermometer reads 61, so Olivia and I head downstairs to start a fire.

  After a few cups of coffee, I am finally fully awake.

 The other 6 children start getting up, and I head to the kitchen to make Wednesday breakfast; 

German pancakes. 

Brian and I believe that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, 

so we have a healthy cooked meal everyday. 

 Why do I think it is so important? 

 Because it starts the day off well, with a loving atmosphere and both spiritual 

and physical nourishment.

  When we all sit down together, hold hands, pray, and share a good meal, the days plans, 

and Bible reading, we pour the foundation for the day ahead. 

Most of my mothering life, I have delegated cooking breakfast to children, since I am

 A). not a morning person, 

and B).  over the last 22 years have usually have a nursling that needs me first thing in the morning. 

 Currently, I am the breakfast cook instead of the usual dinner cook 

because I have recently found that by the end of the day

 I am just plain too tired to deal with dinner 

and still be a human till bedtime. 

 Anyway,  I have three teenagers that need to learn to cook. 

 Last season, they took care of breakfast quite well and are now moving on to dinners. 

 They each cook two nights a week, leaving me one night,

 and that I have planned to be the weekend, not a school day,

 because I have more energy on non school days.

 It is really so much easier, I have found, to have a daily breakfast plan. 

 Mine goes like this: 

 Monday- egg casserole,

 Tuesday- hot cereal, 

Wednesday-German Pancake,

 Thrusday- Gluten free pancakes, (Bob's Red Mill)

 Friday- Oatmeal,

 Saturday- fried potatoes and eggs,

 Sunday- granola.

Like I said, I am not a morning person, but this meal is so important,

 it is worth the extra effort.

Building A Woodshed

This month we have spent Brian's days off building a wood shed together.

  It has been a trying, satisfying, rewarding project. 

Firstly, we planned where we would build the shed; facing away from the weather and near the cabin. Secondly, we discussed how we would build it, including a field trip to a local log built shed we admired, giving the children an idea of what we were about to undertake.

  

Day One: Brian and the boys selected smallish dead standing lodgepole on our property, 

cut it down, and hauled it back to the lodge. 

 Meanwhile, I darted into town to purchase pier blocks and screws.

Once home, Brian and I used the dumpy level to figure the length of our 6 support logs.

  Next, Jim used the brace and bit to drill holes for the logs to accept re-bar off the pier blocks.

Our shed is 10 x 20.  We used three logs in front and three in back, with a fall ratio of 5/12 for the shed roof.  Most of the cost for this shed is the 8 inch Torq screws we used to fasten everything together.

 On the second day, mid rafter cutting, the chainsaw broke down. 

 We ended up cutting the rest of the rafters with a hand saw. 

 This gave us much awe and amazement for all the men who have built entire log structures with hand saws!!

This really slowed us down, but was also a great learning curve for all of us.

The horizontal side pieces are notched in for a tight fit.

These smaller brace pieces could be cut with the chop saw, thankfully. 

 At the end of the day I brought home a second chainsaw from a yard sale for $40.  

 Preparedness lesson learned: Always have a backup tool!

The primary saw will be in the shop for more than a week...meanwhile...

we have to finish this shed and get to filling it.

The shed just needs the roof on yet, which will be next week's work.

  We have some used metal that we have been saving for just such a project.
We'll use some scrap 1 inch under the metal.
 Now I can see that all those piles of random building materials really are useful!
(smile)

Summer is at it's end and we'll be needing that shed full of wood very soon.
We plan on putting some major time in toward that end next week...then on to canning season...
 and all the fun of fall will be here before we know it!


Blessings to you this day-

Julianne

Boys Will Be Boys

Life with boys.

  Adventurous.  Dangerous.  Gross.  Funny. 

 and Amazing!

The pictures say it all...

BOYS WILL BE BOYS!

.

Then there is this classic...

And last but not least....

Yup, that pretty much sums it up.