BABY GOES HOME~!!! and CampHosting at High Cliff State Park

Wheeeheeee!  Littlest grandtot Whitney Wonder Wade has stabilized and was released from the NICU after five days.  Thank you everyone for your prayers, good wishes and kind thoughts.

Our daughter Heather and husband Jesse have been staying in the top floor "hotel" rooms at the hospital to be close to her while in the NICU.  Aurora in Green Bay has a wonderful set-up for the new parents to stay upstairs nearby while their children are hospitalized.

I got to spend some time with her in the NICU too... which is a wonderful opportunity to get in good doses of "Grandmuddah Love"  and snuggles and songs.

Her blood sugar, blood platelets and jaundice are all under control and will be watched like a hawk.  But the greatest news is that the little tyke gets to GO HOME!!!  Now she can finally meet her big brother Jameson, who was not allowed in the NICU. Here she is all dolled up and ready to roll----

My heart is so full of joy and love for this tiny little being... and knowing she will grow and gain strength, health and vitality now under the good care of her parents.  Be well, my little Whitney!



In the midst of all this new grandbaby crisis, we were also doing our stint as camphosts.  We volunteer at High Cliff State Park, doing our camphosting gig for the month of August.  Our campsite is free, along with electric and water, for the month, with doing 20 hours total work a week between us.  The value of the campsite is now over $860 a month, so that is a pretty good bargain.

I drove our rig out to the park on Aug 1, and we got all settled into our hosting campsite. Steve also works at the park M-F full time as the Facilities Maintenance Supervisor Advanced position, so we did this at the end of his 4pm shift. He didn't even have to drive home to Chilton after work!  What a commute!

Since we have done camphosting for a couple years now, we already know the drill and just sign the new camphost volunteer agreements. If it's the first time, hosts are asked to go through training, doing certification on driving the John Deere Gator, and doing a background check.  Hosts are supplied with vests, weather radio, cell phone, literature and a first aid kit.

Steve also holds the position of Camphost Coordinator and I assist as a volunteer.  We gather applications, select each year's hosts, and conduct an orientation and training each spring.  It's a good way to give back to the parks, because without the hosts, there are such limited man-hours in the park budget to do the things that the hosts help with.  The main task of our hosts is being at the campsite and giving out information.  Being a "Park Ambassador" as we call it!

If we are away from our campsite, Steve erected this nice kiosk with information right by the camphost site.  Centrally located for the patrons to find out what is going on in the park.

We also clean the firepits in 112 campsites, and 8 group campsites, as needed, plus clean up the grills in the picnic areas. We pick up trash wherever we see it. We use the term "If you SEE it, you OWN it" and pick it up. 

Unlike other camphost positions in other places, our job does NOT include bathroom cleaning, collecting fees, selling firewood or confronting unruly guests.  That is all taken care of by park staff and rangers. It's a pretty nice gig! 

Our dogs are welcome hosts too, as they are well-behaved and are quiet on the campsite.  We often walk around the park just to meet-n-greet with folks, and our dogs are easy ice-breakers.  Everyone wants to pet the "Little Lassies"  and it's good for their socialization skills too, especially rescue dog Binney who needs all the interaction she can get. 

While we were hosting this past week, we also had a couple grandtots come to join us!  Our oldest daughter had an out-of-state work conference, so we gave our son-in-law a break for a few days and took the kids to the campground. Chelsea is 5 and Clayton is 3, just the right age to enjoy camping with their grandparents.

Of course, we put them to work too!  They LOVE to carry around the trash picking pincher sticks looking for "GARBICH" as they call it.  

Chelsea announced all on her own, from her own little mind, that we are quote "Helping The Earth" to pick up the trash. awwwwwwww....  so proud. A Little Conservationist in the making.   

Because they are not allowed in the Gator, we found another alternative to helping us clean the campfire pits.  We used our red Radio Flyer wagon and a couple buckets and a shovel.  They eagerly went to work with us, helping along the way.  We could only do a few firepits at a time, with the limited bucket space, but we managed.  

Also, little Chelsea was cussing out the

 "bad people"

 who throw their

 "garbich" 

all over the park!   

Having grandtots along is a great help with the raccoon problem.  Non-aware campers leave their trash out at night, and the coons drag it off into the woods.  Having small people around means us sending them into the underbrush to clamp on and retrieve the trash that dragged away! LOL 

On Thursday, we had several camphosting applicants contact us, of which two couples were wishing to come and "try out" camphosting each for a week stint, in preparation of committing to a full month for the year of 2016.  Being flexible, we decided that we could toss our things into the rig, get road-worthy, and let one couple take over the host site.  The other couple will then take it over on the 20th. They completed the interview process with Steve and the park superintendent, and got some training and information and equipment. 

Since we were pretty busy with various grandtot situations, it was a good thing to let them take over and learn about hosting for a short period.  (Understandably, I have been on edge and not sleeping well and running back and forth to Green Bay several times a day anyhow) ...

If things change, we can just toss our things back in the motorhome and head back out to the park again if need be. 

Although we do stock our motorhome with dog toys and grandtot toys, little Chelsea and Clayton were happy to come to our house and play with the grandtot toys here, and the dogs were happy to be back home and playing with their house doggie toys too!  

They used the little red wagon to help unload the motorhome with trips back and forth to the house and really were good transporters!  Our own private moving crew.  Hey, child labor laws don't apply when they are family members.  LOL

On Friday morning it was time for them to go back home... and our poor doggies are just LOST without "Those Childrenz" to cuddle and play with.  

I went upstairs to get something in the afternoon, and found both of them waiting in the bedroom we have set aside for the grandtot visits.... waiting... waiting...  

I guess, I am waiting too! 

In two weeks it's grandtots Allegra and Mason's turn!!!

Back at Home and Getting Back Into the Swing of Things

Our two week gig as camphosts has come to an end.  The regularly scheduled hosts were able to return to the park on Tuesday to finish out the month of May.  We are scheduled for August and will do a whole month then.

I got the rig "road worthy" to head on home on Monday... while Steve was working his normal hours.  It rained almost all day, so I couldn't go out and shovel any firepits or clean any grills in the park.  I had wanted to leave a clean slate for Mike and Judy, but was not able to get out and about.

It didn't take long to get things ready to roll, and I even packed up the things to be carried into the house into big Aldi's shopping bags for hauling into the house again.  Also the dirty laundry was bagged up and ready to come in to get washed.  When it's done, we put it right back out in the rig again so it's ready for the next outing.

Steve was done at 4pm and he helped me with the last few things. Our awning was rolled up wet and needed to be unrolled later while parked in the yard to dry.  The mat was all muddy too, so we put that in a big trash bag and into the trunk of the car to take it home that way.  Why get mud in the carpeted compartments on the motorhome?

At 4:30, Steve drove over to the dump station to get rid of 2 weeks of "stuff" and give our holding tank a good rinse and drain.  I drove ahead with the car and had two silly doggers sitting with me.  Once we rolled into the yard, they were delirious with excitement about being back "HOME" ....  and got to pee in their little potty yard, and play with all of their toys again.

Steve got into Chilton at about 5pm  and lo and behold, the sun came out!   I sat on the front steps waiting for him so I could go out and block traffic on all four lanes in front of our house. He needs to back the rig into our yard.  We have a gravel parking area in the back section of our yard, and it's much nicer to back in rather than pull in nose first.

While I block the traffic, Steveio gets the rig into place, and I smile and wave nicely to the disgruntled drivers who have to wait a few seconds, less than a minute, to get the rig into the drive.  Geeesh!   Everyone is in such a hurry!  It's only 25 mph in front of our home, but you would think I was blocking a major expressway the way some of them act.  LOL

HOME SWEET HOME

Everything was fine with the house,

and we had gone home during the week to cut the grass.

Our week was full of "catch up" with laundry, getting groceries, paying bills and putting away all my sewing and weaving things I had along for the 2 weeks at the park.  I was finally able to get to my looms and finish up three rugs for my etsy store that I had woven but didn't get hemmed up until tuesday.  http://kareninthewoods.etsy.com/  

We decided to get some yard work done today... around Our Old House.   The last two years, this lovely hedge of variegated shrubs had been going downhill. This is how it looked before ..... in 2013

The bitter cold of 2014 really did a number on it, and last year it was only about 1/4 full.  And this is how it looks now.....   

 We got out the shovel and rake and set to work

 There was a tiny bit of growth on four of the stumps, 

so we dug them out to put them elsewhere in the back yard. 

And THIS is my Mother's Day Present from Steveio!!!!

A trunk full of new plants!!!!

(5 dwarf barberry shrubs, 3 ferns and some spikes and vinca vines for my geranium pots) 

I missed a finished shot of the barberry shrubs all in a row now where the old ones were.  Oh well, I will take one tomorrow after we spread some mulch around the plants.

In the meantime, we put these three fern clumps over on the north side of the porch in a shady area where we had to remove a dead arborvitae from last year.   Now that we removed that big dead bush, we can see more of the detailed lattice work under the porch. I have some clematis starting up the trellis and a hosta down below.

I added the spikes and vines to my white pots out on the front stoop.  The geraniums were part of my mother's day present too.  I love putting them out on the front steps each year. It's becoming a tradition.

The geraniums had originally started out in this pot, 

but I move them to the outside pots instead. 

I put my indoor ivy into the special Mother's Day pot. 

It has Chelsea and Clayton's feet on it so far, and room for 

Jameson, Allegra and Mason's feet next time they come. 

Yup, that's painted kids feet 

pressed against the sides of the pot 

and made into butterflies! 

I want to keep this pot inside where it will be protected and cherished! 

Together, we went around the house, pulling weeds, 

watering plants,  and picking up sticks.   

It felt good to do some yard stuff, when we work together like a team.

I still need some white and red impatiens 

to put along the white scalloped borders across the front flowerbed. 

Yup... 

Our Old House

ps... it was Bath Day today at our house...

The doggers need to get spruced up for the big "Bark in the Park" gathering 

with over 60 shelties at the 

Timberattlers Ball Game in Appleton on Sunday. 

Wet Binney                                     Saturated Finnegan 

 Two doggers wrapped up like burritos, commiserating together....

and here is a little video clip of them after their baths....