We're Still Alive!!!

Where have we been???
I know, I know....it's been forever since I posted. I'm sorry!!! Summer has been VERY busy. So, hopefully you will forgive me after getting this "update" post. :0)
Soon after the 4th of July celebrations were past, we took a much needed camping trip with just the fam. We spent the first few days at Roaring River State Park in Missouri. This is our ABSOLUTELY FAVORITE campground.

It's shaded, quiet (except the horn blowing in the early morning to signal the release of the fish), and BEAUTIFUL! One drawback....the swimming isn't great for the kiddos...they often come out of the water near hypothermia. It also isn't really very deep....which, of course, the older kids don't like. They also have a fish hatchery there. Yes...hatchery. To me, this seems to take the sport out of fishing. You go there, buy your license to fish and buy a 1 or 2 day permit with a 100% guarantee of catching a fish (usually 2 per person). They keep these fish in different tanks, where people come and feed them ALL DAY LONG.

Like Us. :0)

Then, at night...as we watched, someone comes and takes the fish out of the bottom tank and puts them in a transport of sorts.

Some fishermen come check out tomorrow's catch.

From this, the fish are released into a holding area in the river. At 6am, the horn sounds, the fishermen are ready (did I mention it's fly fishing?) and the gates are opened for the poor little fishies to swim towards their doom. They have been starved all night, so they swim so ignorantly straight to all those delicious looking flies, etc.
Now...where is the sport in that? Whatever happened to digging up worms and squishing them on your hook, casting out your line, then just sitting and waiting...watching that little orange bobber and enjoying the sounds of nature and the warm summer breeze? Now THAT'S fishing!!! ;o)This is where you get the fish food.
Yummy fish food. It takes a lot of scrubbing to get that smell off your hands. The girls were curious as to why I wasn't feeding the fish this time. I "had pictures to take." LOL!

Since it rained all day the first day we got there it was too cool to swim. We ventured out (with the little dog, too!) and found a nice little playground near the hatchery. The girls are racing towards the swings as they come into view. :0) Guess who won?
As we did some more walking and sight-seeing I noticed that every single one of my children had to make sure and traipse through this giant puddle formed by the day's rain, even my near-13-year-old. What is so irresistable about those puddles? LOL

Walking back. Aren't they adorable?