Camera Problems

I have a Kodak 10 mega pixel digital camera. It has quit working on me. I am so bummed. Now I can't really blog because I don't have any way of taking pictures. I could blog without pictures but it is just not the same. It was working fine on out camping trip but now Nothing! I thought it was dead at first but that is not the case. I have left it charging overnight and it still won't work. I know it is getting power because the light comes on and blinks when it is plugged in. But it won't even come on when it is plugged in. When I try to turn it on the lens comes out and then immediately goes back in and shuts down. I can't find my information about it(of course) but if anyone has any ideas I am open to suggestions.

#11 Gunner Pool Recreation Area

If this is #11, I can't wait to see what #1 is going to be like. Gunner pool recreation area is located in Fifty-six Arkansas. It was about an hour drive from here in Batesville. It is about 3 miles down a winding gravel road but is accessible with any vehicle. There are a total of 28 campsites available. We stayed the weekend in #22. Tony got there early and grabbed what I believe to be the best spot there. We had a very large campsite that included the tent pad, BBQ grill, picnic table, and fire ring. Our site like many others was almost right on the bank of the Sylamore creek. This was ideal because we could sit in the comfort of our own site and still watch the kids play on the beach and in the water. We were also right across from the bathrooms(which for you non-campers are not regular flush toilets. It is just a potty over a hole in the ground) which is always good with me and the kids.

The girls and I spent most of our time in the water. You can walk all the way across the creek to the bluff on the other side. I think that was the girls most favorite thing to do.

The girls also rode their bikes all around the sites. We also got to bring the 4-wheeler this time. There are gravel roads that run forever up and down the mountains there. On one of our trips riding I stopped to take pictures of an old house and barn.

Tony found the same house and barn and had Maddy take his picture. I think he looks kinda creepy in them which is funny because just right down the road someone had this sign in their front yard!

We took advantage of all the site had to offer. There was 4-wheeler riding, swimming, hiking, bike trails, fishing, hunting(we didn't do this one, but there is walk in Turkey hunting zones there) and just relaxing. Oh and of course we had delicious meals made by Tony on his Dutch ovens. My favorite is Panhandler's Spaghetti and hot rolls!

Overall, I don't know what more a person could want. This site was perfect! It didn't have showers or electricity but that's what we had out Eureka tent and own shower for. I think I could totally start a whole new blog devoted just to camping. I'll have to think about that now that Randi explained to me how to do this new blog....much much easier! I could go on forever about all the stuff we did and how we rate our equipment but I will spare you. I will leave you with some random pictures from our trip.

I Don't Get It!

OK! I am trying to blog about my camping experience. I want to be able to write some stuff then have pictures then write some more stuff. I can not figure out how to do that. I have way too many pictures this time. I want to be able to describe what the pictures are. I tried setting them to the center instead of to the left like I normally have my blog but it just puts all my pictures at the beginning. I just don't get it! Will someone please email me and tell me (in simple steps) how to do what I am wanting to do? Email, Call, Text, something! Any help would be appreciated!

Best Campgrounds in Arkansas

OK guys, I have a new super dorky goal in life. I have decided that we are going to camp our way through the best campsites in Arkansas. http://www.trails.com has composed a list of the top 11 campgrounds in the state. In true Julie and Julia fashion, I will camp at every site starting with #11 and blog about our experience. I am excited about this new challenge! I decided that we were going to do this a while back when the weather was bad and I was ready for Spring. We have added a ton of new stuff to our camping supplies since our last trip like a new cabin style Eureka tent that has its own power source with outlets, sleeps 10, and best of all we got for half price because it was sent to the wrong store. We also got a shower, heater, ceiling fan, and lantern. Most importantly we traded one of our cars for a truck so that we could haul all our stuff. Every other time we have been camping we have squeezed everything into the car(you could barely see the kids by the time we had that thing loaded down). So we have been waiting for a weekend without rain to start the challenge, and it looks like this weekend is going to be it. Tomorrow we are headed to #11 Gunner Pool Recreation Area Campground in Fifty-six.We are loaded up and ready to go!

One Month

In one month: I will graduate from Lyon college; Tony's unemployment benefits will officially be over; and we both Have to find jobs! I just can't believe it! I have soooo much to do with school in the next month that I can't even begin to imagine how I am going to fit job hunting into my schedule. I have four papers due and one alone is minimum of 12 pages. I have one presentation and countless other regular assignments. That does not include my internship. I know that it will all get done somehow but the thought of it is overwhelming. I just need to remember to take it one day at a time. I have to remind myself to put one foot in front of the other and do the next right thing. The days will add up and before I know it the month will be over.....and a whole other set of problems will be on my mind Lol!

Transplanting

Shortly after I got out of school we loaded up and went to Shannon's house to snag some more of his flowers. We got Tiger Lily, Iris, a Yucca and a bunch of other stuff I know Rita told me the name of but can't remember now. Anyhow, we grabbed a ton of flowers. Tony even managed to come home yet again with another truck load by grabbing some fence Rita had. I'm telling you it is getting bad! We have come home with a truck load three days in a row. All extremely useful stuff though. I decided to use the flowers we got today to totally re-do the area in the corner front of our house. Tony had it way too "whimsical" (that's his word for all the flare he puts on things) for my liking. I took a picture of all the "whimsical" items I pulled out of that one little corner area in the front. It was way too much stuff for one area. I transplanted all the flowers to the corner. I think it looks a lot better and I'm not finished yet. I did put back some of Tony's flare but some(most) of them didn't make the journey back. They now live in a box in the basement because god forbid we part with anything! So, I think I don't have too much more to go before I'm happy with the yard......'till Tony brings home another load of "whimsy" that is!

Spring Yard Work

Tony and I have worked our butts off outside the last two days. Yesterday we went over to Shannon's house and helped out in his yard. I mowed while Tony and the girls picked up sticks out of the yard. Then we dug up a bunch of flowers from his house and transplanted them. We planted a row down the length of our back deck. Today we planned on going back to get more flowers but ended up getting busy with other things. Tony tilled a row for his mom to plant in at her house. While we were there, she gave us four really nice chairs for outside. That saved us a bundle because we were planning on buying some. Then we went to my mom's house. She gave the girls her trampoline. It was a chore taking that thing apart and then putting it back together at home, but totally worth it. Those things don't come cheap either! She also gave us a small picnic table. We put it out by our garden. It worked out perfect with two of the chairs Rita gave us. Now we can have dinner out there under the shade of the tree or just sit and watch the garden grow like old folks. We put the other chairs Rita gave us on our front porch. We have shade out there all day, but we haven't had anything to sit in out there until now. In the end we ended up with a ton of free goodies for the yard. We have been joking with Tony that now that he has a truck to haul things he has become quite the little hoarder! He brings home a truck load of stuff every time he leaves the house here lately. That's fine with me though, I just love all the changes we have been able to make for Free! We have been busy little bees and I am worn out. I will be sleeping good tonight!

Chocolate Delight

Today I made a pie. Yes you read right, I said that I made a pie! I actually made two pies. One is for the house and the other is to take to my grandma's house for Easter lunch tomorrow. As you can see in the picture, I kinda messed up the chocolate drizzle on the home pie. It turned out more like chocolate splatter. That's OK though because I expected one to turn out bad. That's why I made two in the first place. I got the recipe at http://www.ichef.com/recipe.cfm/recipe/Easy Chocolate Delight Pie, and it was super simple to make. They may not be the prettiest pies around but the name says it all....chocolate delight!

Egg-tastic!

Today we dyed and decorated eggs for Easter. The girls from next door came over to help out. This year we used a glitter paint kit. The eggs turned out really cute.

Get Your Grow On!

A couple of months ago Tony decided we were going to have a garden this year. He tilled a small spot in the backyard. Today we( I mean I) re-tilled the spot to get ready to plant. Well, as you can see our small spot turned into a pretty large garden. We went to the co-op and bought our veggies. When the kids came home from school we all(except for Jadelyn who thought her services would be better utilized as the photographer) got to planting. Maddy was really into it! We planted tomatoes, red and yellow onions, cabbage, cucumber, squash, jalapenos, banana peppers, and green bell peppers. We even left some room on the end for some fruits. It is not quite time for those yet. This is our first attempt at gardening and I so hope it ends up being worth all the trouble.