Armstrong Family: Palisades State Park, Memorial Day Weekend

Thursday to Monday, May 22nd-26th--We were blessed, and I mean BLESSED, this year with great weather! Of course, that is my own opinion, as others might disagree entirely. The weather

was cool and we had plenty of rain as well but I LOVED it. The only thing I regretted was not packing enough pants, jackets and long-sleeve shirts. When it got too cold, we'd grab blankets and cuddle.
This year we didn't make it in time to rent the hybrid camper we got last year and that was a huge bummer. Instead, we rented another tent trailer. This one was larger in size and had a little more storage space than the one we rented a few years ago. It served it's purpose but once

you've had a trailer with a full bathroom it's hard to go back to one that has nothing---oh, and that walk to the campgrounds bathroom at 4:00 am, with a full bladder, in the pouring rain, is horrific! Hopefully, next year we'll get on the ball a little sooner and rent that hybrid again......OR have one of our own (please, Nate, PLEASE!).

Anyhoo, the kids enjoyed the open grass, playing all sorts of games and enjoying many activities. We decided to share dinner nights with my sister, Alishia, and her family. The first night I finally got to crack open that propane-powered crock pot I was so excited to get for Christmas and well, things didn't go as well as planned. We ended up having burnt crock-pot chicken that wasn't even close to being edible. The heat got way too hot. Unless you were watching and stirring it the whole time, it would burn---which totally defeats the purpose of a crock pot! Needless to say, there's a few things we have to figure

out before it gets used again. I'm still excited about having one and being able to use it the way it's intended.
On Saturday, we drove into town for the Snow College Scandinavian Days (I think that's what it's called). We watched the parade and Elise caught tons of candy and made sure there was enough for Brady, who stayed back at camp with dad. Then we were off to walk around all the

various booths and find things to buy that we didn't need but wanted. Elise and I eyed the very-popular glitter balls and she just had to have one! Luckily, for her, she had money to buy one---they are $8.00!!!! She picked one with beautiful purple glitter. I got one for Brady too, he had some money as well and I knew he would want one. For him, I chose orange glitter (he loves that color!) and inside it also had a smaller ball that lights up when you bounce the ball. Elise was in heaven with her new ball, and Brady was too! I found some friends we were camping with, Heidi Salazar and her daughter, Danica. They were selling vinyl signs and such and also Miche Bags--which I want so bad and was able to strike a deal (woohoo!). I bought

a very cute tile sign with stand and will have to wait for my Miche Bag till September (my birthday) since it was pricey enough I couldn't just buy it but Nate said I could have it for my birthday. I'm fine with that, it's just SO

long to wait!
After leaving the booths we went over to our new favorite discovery--Tin Plate Pasta. We ate there for lunch and then brought some back for dinner for the guys that stayed back (because they didn't want to shop). It was delicious!
Mostly, the rest of the time was just visiting and enjoying the company of family and friends. Nate took the kids on a hike, which they really enjoyed. On Sunday, we were happy to have a few hours of great sunshine so we got out the kiddie pool and the kids enjoyed playing with their glitter balls. Then my

brother-in-law, Shad, let Nate, the kids and I take his motor boat out on the lake and we had a great time looking at fish and traveling all over the lake. The only crappy thing about this trip was that I hurt my shoulder and it was inflamed with Bursitis the whole time--even Alishia's Lortab couldn't help all that much (she also had Morphine but I was too afraid to take that stuff!). I spent a lot of time icing it and taking the maximum dose of Aleve and Advil I could take. At night I would take some sleeping pills too and that seemed to help.
It was a great camping trip, as always. It just never seems to matter what the weather is like. We always have a good time coming up to Palisades State Park with family and friends. I look forward to next year!!!

After we dropped off the tent-trailer to the rental place I decided I needed to go visit my grams at the care facility. A few of us had a feeling she might not make it through Memorial Day weekend but she did and I was so thankful to sit with her for a little while and just talk to her. She was sound asleep, even snoring, but I wanted to be with her, perhaps for the last time. She was grasping her favorite stuffed animal "puppy spot". For a few months now, she's even believed "puppy spot" was a real dog and treated it like one--sad but precious all at the same time. I brought my camera and took some pics of her sleeping peacefully. Little did I know, this picture really would be the last picture of her alive.....