We went camping to Guadalupe River State Park last weekend. We weren't sure if the trip was going to happen, after Charlie got sick. However, he has made an incredible recovery since coming out of the hospital the second time. He insisted that he was well enough for the trip, and would take it easy.


I just couldn't help taking this one, with the dirt on Jon's nose.
Here's Charlie, keeping his word.
We went for an evening walk to go see a story under the stars. Before hand, we walked to the river. This was my first time seeing an armadillo up close.
Jon was infatuated with throwing rocks in the water.
I took this picture Saturday morning. It was such a sweet sight, I couldn't resist.This was just part of the view at the river. It was incredible.
The water was so low where we were, you could lay down in the middle, which is exactly what we did!
We got to the river at about 9:30 in the morning, and there were about 4 other families there. When we left, the river was packed with people. That was around 2pm!

Jon was excited the find that I had brought the water guns!
At one point, I had a dragonfly decide I was it's friend. It kept landing on my finger every time I held my hand out. It was really cool!

Jon needed a break from the water. After some Mommy cuddles, and a snack, he was rarin' to go! This time out, Jon wore his hat out there. The sun was much higher by this time.

When we got back, we had lunch. Then Jon fell asleep in the hammock. During his nap, Jon had a dragonfly land on the hat covering his head.

That night, we took a walk around the camp site. Jon had a new camp light that looks like Daddy's.
Sunday morning, I managed to get Jon to take a shower. This is not something he usually likes. However, he loved this new way of getting clean, as I showed him a few tricks to not get as much water in his face.

As soon as we got back to camp, he was in the dirt playing!
Jon had to fetch his ball after it landed in the "wilderness".

Last time we went camping, we decided to make treasure hunts a new camping tradition. This trip was no exception. I hid the Get Well Bear for Jon to find.
Jon has gotten really good at these treasure hunts!
Jon found the bear in Daddy's pocket!
Time for a swing in the hammock before it gets packed away!

We were all extremely happy to have been able to make this trip. Camping has become an important part of our lives. The fact that Charlie was able to go camping without getting out of breath is amazing. (Although his pleurisy did bug him a bit.)

Charlie wants to thank everyone for thinking of him while he was sick. He felt the love of the entire family. He continues to get stronger every day, and will soon be able to return to work.

Jon & I had a very pleasant 4th weekend. We spent most of our 4th of July in the hospital, keeping Daddy company. We left early enough to avoid post fireworks traffic. Jon got to see some small fireworks displays in the distance, and on the streets going home. This was enough for him. I offered to walk the neighborhood to check some out, but he's too smart for that. He said "no, I just want to go inside."
For those that didn't get the news, Charlie ended up spending another week in the hospital. The pneumonia started coming back, and he also had a VERY bad case of pleurisy. Neither of us had ever heard of it, so we didn't realize that Charlie was at risk of developing the most painful secondary infection anyone could imagine. He's feeling much better now, and the pleurisy is slowing fading. Anyway, back to Jon's weekend...

On Saturday, I took Jon rollerskating. He had gone once with the day care, and loved it.
Pardon the low quality of the photos. My camera has it's limits, and this pretty much went past them!Jon very quickly got to the point where he didn't need to hold my hand. He did fall a few times! He thought the falls were so funny that he would periodically do it on purpose. This time, he caught himself before falling.
He's getting the hang of it.
He loved the disco ball!
This picture is super dark, but so cute! Jon decided to "shake his booty" while on the skates!
With me taking so many pictures, Jon figured it was his turn. I let him have the camera for a few minutes. This is what he got!
After skating, I took Jon to see Speed Racer at the discount theatre. This is only about the 5th time seeing it! Our entire family has Speed Racer fever! Charlie & I grew up with it, so to us it's wicked cool! Jon thinks it's the greatest movie ever, even topping Cars & Curious George.
On Sunday, Jon & I went to Costco to stock up. I got a beautiful bouquet of flowers, hoping that Charlie would be home Monday. The moment I got the flowers arranged, and on the table, the phone rang. It was Charlie calling to say that they were sending him home that afternoon! Yeah!!! We quickly got out the door to get him. The flowers have continued to brighten the room and remind us of how great it was to bring him home.