Memorial Day Weekend

For as long as I can remember, I have spent every Memorial Day weekend camping at Whiskeytown Lake. Some years it rained and some years it was so hot we rarely took off our swim suits! When I lived in Utah, I made the long drive back to be there. I have cousins at BYU that still drive all the way out for the weekend. It is a tradition that was started when my mom was about 14 years old. My mom is one of 5 children and they all still come with their children. We've grown into quite a bunch with every one's kids and their kids and so on. Some of my favorite memories in life are from there. It is one of those constants in my life. Well, a few years ago the campground came under new management and they keep changing the date we can make reservations. This was the first year that we missed the deadline and the campsites were all taken for Memorial Day weekend! It was kind of hard to imagine not being there and spending that time with my extended family.

We decided to spend the weekend camping at Dinkey Creek. It had been so hot the week before and we were looking forward to a little relief by being up in the mountains. I heard on the news that the heat wave was ending and we would "be seeing cooler temperatures by the weekend". I didn't think much of it. We picked up the RV from the storage unit early in the week so I wouldn't feel rushed to get it all packed up. (We bought an RV last year and if you ask anyone in my family, that isn't "real" camping. :-) I agree, but nobody complains when I pull a lasagna out of the oven!) I was loading some food into the RV when my mom came by and said she had checked the weather. She said there was a 40% chance of rain on Saturday with a high temp of 74 degrees and a low of 58. Hmm. Well, how bad could it be? It was 90 degrees outside and I was in shorts and a t-shirt. 74 sounded great and rain couldn't be that bad and if it rained, I was sure it would only be for a little bit.

We got in late Friday night and by Saturday morning at 6am we could hear the cousins outside trying to start the fire. Our kids woke up and couldn't wait to go out and play! Jason got up and took them all on a hike near the creek so I could try to get some more sleep. Ashlyn's first tooth broke through on Friday and she woke up a few times during the night.

By 8am, it was raining and COLD! Really cold. The kids came back played with the fire- yes, more "safe" behavior that I had to take pictures of. (If you are not a regular here, check out Brynne's birthday and the boys playing with the barbecue.) This time, I did give in to the worried mom in me but not until after I got a few pictures! :-) I wasn't as worried about them starting a fire or burning each other as I was about them thinking this was a great idea and doing it when we camp in July when everything is dry. Boys, boys, boys...

I went for a run around 11am when the rain slowed to a drizzle. I love to run in the mountains! It just makes me feel alive and it makes me happy. When I was a teenager, I used to run on the trails at Whiskeytown with my dad. Love it! The place we camped was down a dirt road, tucked away next to the creek. (One of my favorite sounds is the water rushing over the rocks. I could sit and listen to that for hours.)

Jason, Jeff and Wes took their motorcycles out to explore the area while I took a shower and the kids tried to stay warm in the RV watching a movie. The rain came and went throughout the day and it was no where near 74 degrees outside! My brother Billy and his wife Jen came up to visit us for the day. She is due in a few weeks and I don't think camping sounded too appealing. Luckily, the campground isn't too far from home, so they could come hang out without feeling like they had to pack up and spend the night.

Stephen and Skyler arrived in the afternoon. We didn't have any cell phone reception at our campground. I was feeling really guilty that they drove all the way here to spend the weekend camping with us and it was SO cold and rainy. I was glad they came though. As we were unloading his car, I tried not to get emotional. There was just an empty feeling when Ronna didn't get out of the car with them. Sometimes it still doesn't feel real that she isn't here. I miss her. She would have been so excited to hear about Ashlyn's new tooth.

We helped set up their tent and unload Sklyer's bike. He can ride a two wheeler now! He is growing up so fast! Stephen is amazing with him.

We cooked ham and yummy potatoes in the dutch ovens, read the paper, goofed off in the hammock and around camp, and played games in the RV.

Ashlyn kept busy while we were playing a game by trying to get her new tooth into an orange! It was so cute! Jason took a million pictures. (To see more, click the link to the Rickards Family Photos and click on the Memorail Day Weekend folder. )

By Sunday morning, we were ready to go home. It was just too wet and cold to enjoy being outside. On our way home it started to SNOW!!!! Yes, I said snow. It looked like really slushy rain at first but then a bit of snow. Stephen and Skyler came back and spent the night at our house. They went out to the Ranch to ride the quads with Jason and the kids on Monday and then headed home.