Camping...with a Twist

Once again, we skipped camping with my family at our traditional location for Memorial Day weekend. It seems our new tradition is to visit them for just the day...and what a day it was. Claire enjoyed exploring Gamma and Papa's new camper and searching for the cat and Luke showed off his newly-learned talent for rolling. We enjoyed lunch outside and visiting with everyone, but soon the sunny sky turned dark and the park rangers stopped by to inform us that if we heard tornado sirens that everyone should seek shelter in the campground bathrooms. We listened to the weather report and figured that if we packed up quickly we could get on the road, outrun the storm, and be home before it hit. Apparently, we didn't move quickly enough though and before I had gathered everything the sirens started blaring. By the time we walked to the bathrooms, the place was pretty crowded, but that didn't stop me from making sure we got a good spot in the center of the building. There was just enough room for Adam, the kids, and I to squeeze in to one of the showers. After about 45 minutes, we were told it was safe to leave the building. Luke was most certainly ready to exit the hot, muggy shower and he let everyone know it during the time that we were crammed in there. When we returned to the campsite, it appeared that there was no real danger in the first place and that taking shelter was a bit of an overreaction. However, we learned that God had protected us that day. We left soon after things had settled down and had a very difficult time finding a path home. Just a couple miles from where we were, Battle Creek was hit hard by the storm. Many trees were uprooted and blocked our normal routes home, roofs were torn off and lay in pieces on the opposite side of the road, signs and cars were completely destroyed, semi-trucks lay overturned. Everywhere we looked there was destruction. Thankfully, we made it home safe and sound - just incredibly late for bedtime and said prayers for everyone that didn't have the pleasure of sleeping in their own beds that night. Claire and Lucas will have to wait for Labor Day weekend to see what camping is really like. Let's hope they aren't disappointed to see that it isn't typically quite so "eventful".

Claire enjoying her lunch and wearing a make-shift bib

Claire wanted Papa to "hold you" the whole time