Picnic by the Lake

Yesterday, we took our new van on a road trip for the first time. As usual, we didn't do any prep work the night before so the day of our trip, we were scrambling around like chickens with our heads cut off. Normally it is a chore just to get the kids dressed and out the door, but to also get food, drinks, chairs and other items necessary for a picnic was madness. Hopefully next week or so when we go for our real vacation trip, we will do our prep work and things will go smoother.

We decided on Lake Mary near Flagstaff as our destination. The kids could get out of the house and have some fun while my wife and I can relax. That is pretty much how it went. There were a few hiccups, but what trip involving multiple children doesn't have any?

Trying to set up our picnic at the lake had its problems due to what seemed at times like hurricane force winds that would blow chips or a plate away. We survived to finish our meal. Afterwards, the kids went down to the lake to throw rocks like all kids like to do. They discovered the shore littered with dead and half dead crawdads and huge clams. I never saw a sight like that before. I didn't know those creatures inhabited the lake. It made for an interesting outing though.

Next we went in to town and visited the mall. The kids enjoyed walking around and looking in the stores. I wanted to stop at Radio Shack and the cell phone vendors, but my two boys would have gone crazy fiddling with everything and I would end up fussing at them the whole time. All in all, we had a good time.

Our last stop was Sam's Club for some bulk food items. We stocked up on a number of things while the kids filled up on free samples of food. Which was good, then they wouldn't be hungry for snacks on our drive home.

On the way home we had to make an emergency pit stop in Pine so that my youngest daughter could go to the bathroom. I am glad she made it before having an accident. The rest of the trip was uneventful.

I think we all had a good day and everyone had fun.