Our first Camper trip.....

This week we took our 1st voyage in our new to us pop up camper!
We visited Occoneechee State park in Clarksville, VA, on Kerr Lake, the stay would be 3 total nights sleeping in the camper.

Day 1
We arrive way later than planned, had to evict some wasp nest, set up and I still needed to rehang all the washed curtains. We had only snacks on the ride up and no plan B for dinner so, we were grumpy and hungry setting up camp. It was well past baby girl's bed time when we had finally ate dinner, good news no one got dirty enough to need a shower before bed, so we ate brushed teeth and hit the bad the 1st night.

Day 2
Waking up with the sun, having slept much better than I ever had in a tent. It was time to get dressed, have breakfast and check this park out!!! The visitor center had a nice little set up about the Occoneechee Indians, the kids enjoyed that. Then we checked out the playground, our dog Dixie came along and scored because the playground was fenced in and she was able to run and play with the kids since we were the only ones there. We discovered a nice 1.2mile hike through Occoneechee plantation terrace gardens, learning a little along the way. There was lunch and dinner, and the showering in the bath house. Chloe and Molly learned they enjoyed helping around camp and fought over who would wash dishes next. Mom sure didn't mind giving up this task!!
Day 3
Boy was it cold over night, we just used an electric heater to keep warm, but learned we needed to set the propane furnace to kick in when the electric heater was just not enough. We cranked the heat and ate breakfast indoors while we waited for the day to warm up.
I received a call from my parents they wanted to drive down, check out our set up, and bring us lunch, such a nice surprise. So we hung out in the camper and waited. We had pizza for lunch, in our home away from home, then showed them a little of the park, and they headed home.
While lounging around camp, at a loss for what to do, I mention Geocaching, as some parks will let you check out a gps system for the day. Well the park office was closed when I had my moment, but with having iPhones, Stephan downloaded an app that would let you hunt 3 Caches free. So we were off on an adventure in the woods hunting "treasure" with 4 kids and a dog. Good fun we found 2 that evening, then headed back to camp for dinner and smores! Our over night was a bit warmer since we had learned the trick of how to set up the electric heater and furnace.


Day 4
Pack it up.
While Stephan cooked breakfast the kids and I began some packing up. It is nice to be able to give the kids little tasks that once we had to do ourselves, makes them feel part of the process and makes the process move along faster as well. T picked up buckets, and a few other toys. Chloe folded all the camping chairs, placed them in their bags, and brought them to the camper to be put away. Molly aided in keeping an eye on the baby and picked up any stray trash and helped load some things into the truck. I handled getting all the sleeping bags and blankets straight, dirty laundry out, ect.... Once the camper was folded and ready to go, we checked out and went searching for just one more Geocache, ended up hunting and finding 2 more in the park. Good fun, everyone is hooked on the Geocache stuff, and it's good motivation to move along, and hike when there will be something to find.
Ready to go home, had a good time, and learned how to improve next time we take a trip.

Sealed

So after our discovered hole we had a nice rain! Once we sealed the hole we opened up the camper, revealing a small damp area where the puncture was. This lead me to inspect the entire inside roof, finding where some caulk needed redone had leaked much longer complete with puddles! Yikes! So holes have been sealed and caulk has been redone..... Rain is forecasted for this weekend, great test!!! It has rained since we had it up, showing that the canvas is in pretty decent shape just want to patch some areas that the water proof material has cracked with age as the canvas on the inside of it wicks the moisture in. So I am armed with Tilex and sponges!! Plus the help of our hose... Once dry we can patch away! Sooo excited as our first trip gets closer.

The Great clothing Swap.........

All 4 of our lovely girls have had a recent growth spurt.. Friday a they walked in with pants too short and tops too small something snapped, I had to fix the clothing dilemma and right away! Thankfully we have an abundance of hand me downs just have to climb around the attic to get them so I did!! I limit how much clothing they select out of the tubs due to trickle in new stuff and.additional hand downs along the way. Helps with laundry and they tend to wear their fav outfits over and over anyways. There was such an abundance that we were able to set aside enough spring/summer clothes to pack for 2-3night camping trips. Add a pair of nicely worn jeans, 2 sweatshirts, croc like shoes and voila! All we need to add are PJs, undies, & socks and we are pretty much packed for a trip. Just needing to add layers if it will be cold, swimwear if warm and additional shoes as needed. Below are the older 3 girls camp stack. Above are 5 of the 7 tubs that will stay down until all the laundry is finished for any straggling smaller sized items we may have missed. I am pleased with the results and speed of the swap out this go round. We are so blessed with clothing for our girls!!

I see Olivia's brother wants to go camping too, lol

Oh NO!!!!

That is a nice break/hole on the roof of our camper!!! Discovered it yesterday when I was looking over some screws that need either painting or replacing! Panic!! This is new, we combed over this camper prior to purchase as any flaws brought the price down and there were a few that would have made us walk away. There is a spot already patched and this is really close to it... We have had tons of wind and rain so a branch is likely to blame but when did it happen and did is there much water inside.... So with our busy schedule seems, hubby is off to help with an outreach church is doing in the am so I shall become handy lady and will clean and patch found hole!! Seems silicone like used on a fish tank works wonders on such damage. Stephan plans to re patch the other area and then we will seal the roof with a paint on coating that is used on mobile homes and Rvs... Looks like this project will be sooner rather than later... For extra protection. I let's just say I am one nervous woman! Hoping this happened very recent and not much water made its way in.

Red wagon!

Baby girl has come to love the wagon! Chloe and Molly got it as a Christmas gift when they were little. I have had it in the shed.. And the other day thought baby girl would love it! Tristen did at her age too. So I climbed in the shed and pulled it out. It's been out back for about a week + a few days, and each time we come out to let the kids play she insists someone gives her a ride. I have a feeling this red wagon might be a must strap in the truck and take along on camping trips. A handy way to get baby, plus a few things to, the bath house, playground, lake or pool. :)

Sweet treat!

So we have the brown box all labeled and the miss understanding of the sweet treat... I had guessed there were 30 Cadbury cream eggs for my birthday inside.. So hubby in teasing had asked if I had enjoyed me sweet treat.. Last night he brought me home some cream eggs to enjoy... 30 of them would = added pounds! :)

Birthday soon...

I came home from a day at work to discover this....


Box labeled on one side to me... Then it tells me on top I am not to open it for a good 5 days... I find this not to be a good surprise... More of a taunting unkind act, because really this box could be nothing more than an empty box wrapped with writing on it!! Then to receive a message asking if I enjoyed part of my gift that I have yet to be "allowed" to open. I am not amused at all... And sure don't want. Birthday party, for more reasons that one!

Zoo!!! PASSES!!!

Every year the kids and I get zoo passes for the local zoo. We have a great friend who loves to encourage us to go or we encourage her to go. I love that because we homeschool we can avoid the crowds that come on the weekends, and we can take great advantage of the beautiful days and be flexible and go when we want. We tend to not go in the Summer time either but will when it's a rare cooler morning. 3 trips and the pass is well worth it, and we always make great use of them. Taking packed lunch, snacks and drinks along we simply need gas and the drive there. The kids and adults alike always enjoy a zoo trip. Here are a few snap shots I got with my phone today.