Lake Isabella fishing Derby 2012....

Our annual trip to the Lake Isabella Fishing Derby has come and gone. Hubby and I had another wonderful time ( he is such a great "Camper" ....fire-starter,whistler,gatherer,Kumbaya-er! and always brings life to the camping party and everyone we meet on our adventures ! He seriously always manages to  put the "fun" in Camp-fing hee-hee) and we actually caught a few fish this year, but my favorite part about the whole experience each year is that almost every one is rooting for everyone else to catch the $ fish.  When someone beside you is getting a fish or every time  you reel one in people will be hollering "Is it tagged?"

The weather on Saturday was nice and not so nice all rolled into one.  During the day it was warm and sunny and a bit windy (as always).  In the evening heavy rains came and we stayed at the family mobile home ( a little home away from home on a foundation not wheels  lol! in Wofford Heights (about 15 minutes away) and it was snowing at the higher elevation.  I told my niece Heather that I wished I had a dollar that weekend for every time  I used the word "shelter".  I kept thinking about people who are on the streets and have to survive in that kind of weather.  I was saying things like "Thank God we have shelter and a fire going on and aren't out there in a tent!"  And "What about the people who aren't camping and are just out there because they have to be?"......when we were at the mobile home that night. One of the guys who was fishing next to us (a super nice dude named 'Darrell' who actually spells his name with 2 R's just like my bro...I seldom meet many Darrell's with 2 R's ..and weirdly always feel some sort of connection LOL) anyways...he slept in his truck with his son that night because it was too cold in their tent and he was all stove up the next day (from close encounters with the gear shift! @-) ) but he said there was no way he could have stayed in the tent :)
Anyways..we didn't catch any big $ fish that weekend but when Heather and her boyfriend Matt went back last weekend..they caught some tagged fish that would have totaled some pretty big bank. (But if you catch one of the $10,000 fish now it is still worth $1,000 so it is still quite exciting when you are reeling them in) Here are Heather and Matt enjoying the fish catching frenzy....

So back to the wind and sun on the first day..... I used a 50 block sunscreen and actually put some on my lips in the morning but didn't keep re-applying it.  The next day my lips were sore and I just kept putting on my Juicy Fruit Lip gloss (which after we got home I left it in one of my sweatshirts and actually washed and dried it and was amazed  that I didn't ruin an entire load of clothes! I try to make a habit of checking all pockets but was really glad that this brain fade didn't ruin everything in the dryer :) ) Anyways...when we got back from the trip I woke up Tuesday morning to go to work and if I had a picture I would seriously share it here of the before and afters....my bottom lip was swollen  at least 4 times bigger than normal and cracked and dry and seriously a mess...I told myself that this is what I would look like with collagen injections tho so I got a free preview of me with plumpy lips lol....but I have never had a cold sore or anything like this so I got on-line searching for "cures" and saw that vitamin E could help and for 3 days I was breaking my E vitamins and smearing them all over my dang sore lips...I also have some stuff called "slippery elm" that I bought on Etsy from a wonderful gal named Tammy...and prior to this I have only used this stuff on my elbows...but it was really the only thing (of many things) I tried for the first few days that made my lips feel any better...and my joker dad was telling me things like "Oh...you need to use chicken poop...that way you won't be licking your lips" ......So finally on day 4....my friend Bobby comes to my rescue...he stopped in the store on his day off..and he tells me about this stuff called Abreva....that it comes in a little tiny tube that costs  almost $20 but that it works for him every time he has cold sores.  And I'm telling you..that this about the best $20 investment I have made in a long time :).....My lips were healed in less than 2 days....and maybe this doesn't work for everyone but here is what the stuff looks like...I myself would have never considered buying it if Bobby hadn't of told me about it....

I also want to share a bit about my "grand daughter " (my daughter in laws' precious and precocious little girl from a previous marriage)...and her first camping experience that I thought was soooooo funny.  My son and daughter-in-law had gone up one night ahead of us and they wanted to camp on the lake in a tent and Lexi my grand daughter (whom I have previously talked a bit about here ) had her first camping experience....roasting marshmellows, climbing on rocks, using her little kid fishing pole etc. etc.  So the next day when we get there she has to use the rest room....and we take her to one of the porta-pottys. Then when she and mom come out of the "blue room" she has this look on her face like "WTH???????"  And she tells me "Oh my gawd Grandma....that was the most disgusting place I have ever been in!  Can you believe that some one would make a toilet that doesn't even flush??????????"  And I am giggling and trying to hide my laughter because she is soooooo serious and I tell her "Lexi honey...grandma is getting old and I don't understand those big words very well.....what does 'disgusting'  mean ?"  And she says "Grandma...it means there are some really really SUPER seriously gross things going on in there!"  So it took a 5 year old to make me wonder why in the world would anyone ever make a toilet that doesn't flush?  :^o

Lake Isabella Fishing Derby 2012.....thanks for the memories!  See ya in 2013!