Yeah! Everyone got home okay!

Successful camping is when:

  • Nobody gets hurt
  • Nobody goes to jail
  • Nobody wrecks their vehicle*
  • There’s still beer in the keg

So, Casey/Jake/Ginnie/that other guy went out early Saturday morning to grab the space and the rest of us didn’t get out there til after 4. Of course, nobody told me we were going that late or I would have done things differently. Last I heard, everyone was meeting at Max’s around 10. Shit, I was there, but for various work/jail/overslept reasons, we didn’t leave til 3 in the afternoon.

We went to Sycamore Creek (33°41′36.07″N 111°32′24.49″W) and had a great open space to set up. Shane’s truck with all the stuff had a bit of a mechanical problem on the side of the road but with a bit of finagling, he got out there eventually. There were 19 of us around a giant bonfire, one keg, three grills, and 6 tents.  And Ginnie’s dog.

I got to shoot a 9mm, didn’t have to cook or be responsible for anything and tried desperately and mostly succeeded in NOT being everyone’s Mother. They all called me Mom, but I didn’t ACT like one.

The few pictures I took with my phone are HERE on Facebook. My real camera died and my DROID, though awesome, doesn’t really take good pictures.

I couldn’t keep my feet warm in the sleeping bag so I didn’t sleep well. I’d taken an extra blanket but Ginnie didn’t bring anything to sleep in so I let her have it. My brand spanking new blow up mattress didn’t fucking hold AIR so that goes back today. Cold out there by the water. Other than not being able to sleep I had a really good time with my kids and their friends. Glad I didn’t take my car as the dirt road out there has been washed and rutted pretty badly by recent rains. Also glad the proposed second night stay was vetoed midway through Sunday morning.

*apparently after I went to bed at 1am a couple of the guys got in a fight and zoomed out in their vehicles. One kid hit a tree, but didn’t really do much damage to his SUV (or himself) but they all came back laughing at his stupidity which ended the fighting part.

Last Will and Testament

Sitting here waiting on Max to call me that he’s ready. We’re all, and I mean ALL and sundry, going camping today/tonight/tomorrow. My family and a bunch of their friends. I’m going as the voice of reason. Me. Yeah.

The plan is to fill the empty KEG waiting in my car, pack up lots of GUNS and head out to the desert.

This isn’t gonna end well.

At least all the children are farmed out to babysitters.

Casey’s birthday was last Wednesday and Max’s is tomorrow so it’s a celebratory drunken festival of fun. Max hasn’t been home for his last few birthdays so he’s ready to party. I might just record certain phrases so I don’t have to wear myself out repeating them.

  • Don’t point that gun this way!
  • Please put that shotgun further from the bonfire.
  • I’ll pass on the beer and eggs breakfast, thanks.
  • Yes Officer, we’re insured.

So, if the unforeseen (wait, I see it coming so it’s really foreseen) happens, here is my Last Will and Testament:

  • I ain’t got nuthin’ and nobody gets it. Give my crap back to Goodwill.

Wow, that was easier than I thought it would be.

PS If there’s anything on the news, could you record it for posterity?

CopOut

I decided to splurge and take in a movie today. I wanted something light and funny so opted for CopOut over the heavier Alice (and thank gawd I didn’t chose that one – every family in Tempe did) or Avatar.

Let me say, I love Bruce Willis. I’d watch him do anything, even change the oil in his car. I especially like him in things with a sense of humor. He smiles and I smile; he laughs and I laugh. He’s usually the star of my midnight fantasies, those not starring Nic Cage. Not that he’s bad at playing bad, mind you. Just, you know, mmmMMMmmm.

And I really like Kevin Smith. Maybe not so much his movies – yet I sort of watched some Jay and Silent Bob movie last night – but I never miss a SMODcast and I’d love to just hang out with the man. He’s damned explicitly funny. But this didn’t really feel like a Kevin Smith movie. Maybe because I just get sucked into anything Bruce Willis does, I dunno.

Anyway, I laughed my ass off at this movie. Tracy Morgan almost was too much for me. I’m a little old for slapstick overboard stupid comedy, but he pulled it back just enough when the story needed to be more serious. Just when I would get bored with his antics, the scene would change. Nice editing, Kevin. But overall the movie was funny as hell. Go for a good time.

The only problem I had with this movie was the casting of Poh Boy. Usually when there’s a bad guy, especially when he’s supposed to be the leader attempting to take over x-amount of someone else’s territory, he looks the part. This guy didn’t look the part. He wasn’t the least bit scary to me, a middle-aged chunky midwestern Mom. He put out a flunky vibe in a part that should have called for a more intimidating character. Much darker instead of what we got. I half expected his peons to roll their eyes behind his back. But the baseball torture cage was inventive!

Should I start using some sort of judging thing? Stars… nah, too bland. Hmmm, how about a four FuckYeah! rating?