Red Sky at Morning, Or, Millie Turns Sweet Sixteen

Knoebel's is only a hoppity-skip away from Pete and Sarah's house, so we planned to follow up camping at Knoebel's with state park camping near their place. We got there after dark, and setting up tents with exhausted children was all sweetness and roses  [no, really! (not really)]. The campsite was right next to the lake in a beautiful park, and the next morning held such promise.

Until this. The fiery sunrise would have alerted me even if the weather forecast on John's phone hadn't.

Sailors take warning.

All the children were still asleep at daylight (except for Skylark, but she likes to wake up early when camping). Peaceful, huh?

By the time I finished making egg and sausage sandwiches for breakfast, the rain had begun.

Here's our oldest child on the morning of her sixteenth birthday, all hunched over in the rain. BUT! I gave her that second sausage as a birthday gift, so that's something.

The happiest camper of the bunch, soaking wet and with smooth hair (SKYLARK, not John, but he was happier than he appears here, and is not bothered by rain).

A couple of hours later the rain stopped, and we packed up camp a day early, due to the forecast for that night and the following day including words like "high winds, frequent lightning, and thunderstorms." Nary a puppy, unicorn, or rainbow to be seen.

Thankfully, most of the day was sunny and hot, and thanks to a shark waterslide and hoses and cousins and cake, the day was not a letdown.

Don't worry about August here.

He paid her back. :)

They assured Annika that this was allowed. (I hope it is!)

Gary spied the camera and immediately rushed me.

He's a cute, little, wild man.

Simeon tried his luck against the girl cousins, too.

Pete and Sarah are preparing for a move to finer pastures, so this may be the last picture of that beautiful backyard I'll take. For good measure.

August and the Beatles go way back.

So do he and Skylark.

Even though they were in the thick of house-selling chores and had a showing the next day, Pete and Sarah fed our crew (and Mom and Joel and Debbie and Rundy), including pulling out a candle for Millie to wish on. If that's our final visit to that old house, it was a good one! Thanks for sharing your birthday, Haven, and thanks, Pete and Sarah, for one last hurrah. Bon voyage!