Life's been good to me so far

Just got back from a 4 day/3 night camping trip at Peace River Campground in Arcadia. It was our second time there and we got a really inferior spot (smaller, more RVs close around us, could hear the highway at night) that had a redeeming factor or two (could see the bathrooms from the tent, so that was really convenient with all the kids - and the camp store was super close, too). It was somewhat neutral as camping experiences go.

Pros:
-the canoe trip was amazing...I had the boys, Grant had the girls, and we stayed within sight of each other. Did the 8 mile/5 hour one this time - they take you in a rickety old spray painted school bus up the river, drop you in and you canoe back. Halfway, you can pull the canoes up on shore and there are clearings and picnic tables and bathrooms and things. We spotted tons of turtles, big great birds, alligators and fish jumping. Isaac did well, which was a pleasant surprise (he hates water). I would do this or something similar every week if I could.
-Took a hike through the woods that was pretty good - found a pond, kids spotted a LIVE armadillo (they are usually dead if you spot one), this and that.
-Grant made AMAZING burgers one night on the grill. I mean...whoa.
-He also does a great job being the one to load up the van, put up a tent (in the dark!), do most of the outdoor cooking, build fires, etc - it's not something I can even imagine attempting with five kids by myself.
-I like sitting around campfires at night.
-Aaron made some friends who had ATVs and golf carts and things and they took him around and he had a great time.
-A and A independently collaborated (their idea, their execution) on a camping journal they kept passing back and forth.
-Elise LOVED every minute of it SO MUCH and just...she was over the moon about it. So so happy to be there every second, it was really great and infectious.

Cons:
-It was too damn cold at night (I can't sleep in 40 degree weather, not even in two layers on an electric blanket with little hot hands packs).
-Grant and I bickered too much at the beginning and had too much Deep Serious Horrible Talking at the end. This has mostly been turned around in the last 24 hours home, partially because of an amazing 2 hour co-bubble bath we took last night.
-Because I FELT FILTHY by the end of this trip. I hate the grittiness and smokiness of camping after a couple of days, even though I keep loving everything else. It's hard having everything seven people need, clothes-and-bedding wise, in a tent and a van - everything ends up crumpled and mixed up and you have to go digging anytime you want anything and it gets to where you're shaking leaves out of your underwear before you put them on.
-Elise had her first, and I had my millionth, encounter with fire ants.

I don't think any of the children wanted to come home, but it's been nice to be back. We're talking about going to another place next time now that we understand that it's not this place in particular so much as the specific spot we got there, last time, that is so wonderful. I'd like a tent camping place without so many freakin' RVs, that still has electrical outlets available.

Hopefully there will be pictures soon.

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Grant got a job. He actually had to choose between a couple - the one he decided on will be IT for an in-patient facility that houses/diagnoses criminally insane teenagers...and/or those trying to plead insanity to get out of harsher charges. It's a DCF funded international corporation and seems to have a lot of advancement opportunities as a state job. I'm really hoping it's not some awful place where we're not gonna be comfortable with some of what they're doing... they are maximum security, like if he loses a screw driver the whole place will go on lockdown til they find it. It's LOCAL which is AMAZING...no more commute! And daytime hours. The money is not quite where it needs to be but allows way more time for side work than he is used to having. The job he is not taking was also local and paid more but didn't offer the same security (really high staff turnover) and would have taken him out of IT and put him more in marketing, which is really not his thing.

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I can definitely confirm, after forgetting to take it during day 1 this month and being like WHOA again, that the Aleve for decreased bleeding during my period definitely makes a big difference. This is not like the near-death sort of period I had while Dama was in town, but it is definitely way more than my last couple have been since I started the profilactic naproxen.

I'm seriously thinking I'm gonna get a personalized (drawn by my friend Memo) sugar skull tattoo on the top of my right foot.

But for now, I'm getting out of the house with G while the kids eat pizza and watch a movie with my brother.