Trip #3

Perry Lake, Longview Campground, Site #10

Why mess with a good thing? It was back to Longview, same spot as last time.

It was dark by the time we were completely set up and ready to relax. It was beautiful, quiet, and peaceful.

Shan, the Manly Man, was up the next morning sawing and chopping our firewood.

We start teaching survival skills at a young age.

BamBam gets in on the action.

Grandma Grant, Zander, and Alexis came to visit us Saturday morning.

Cousins hamming it up for the camera.

Grandma and Zander on the walk down to the lake.

Before they got totally soaked in the lake.

Even though it was only 70 degrees, the kids thought it was perfect swimming weather.

Gar skeleton - cool!

Teeth!

After Grandma left, it was naptime. This was my view when I woke up.
It looked like something out of a magazine. Camping naps are the best!

Playing frisbee

Good Morning Autumn!

There was lots of Ladders games. We're thinking of
starting a tournament. 

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

We made sure to fill up the fresh water tank all the way. We easily went the entire weekend and only used 1/3 of the tank.

We had almost the entire campground to ourselves. There was a 5th wheel, but nobody was home. They came and picked it up on Saturday. There was a Boy Scout troop, but they stayed at the group tent campground. They brought a trumpet. And someone tried to do the morning call at 8:00 on Sunday. It was hilarious!

We're starting to get the hang of setting up the camper. It's getting easier every time.

We walked down to the lake with the kids. We didn't bring swimsuits because 70 degrees. Taking off shoes resulted in putting their feet in the water. Then it snowballed from there. Ay-yi-yi!

BamBam's favorite part of the trip was our evening campfire on Saturday night. It was one of those good campfires were (mostly) everyone is quiet and contemplating the meaning of life.

Aine's favorite part was getting in the lake. Yep, she's our water girl.

Kavi's favorite part was a midnight hike with Dad. They grabbed the flashlight and headed out for a walk around the campground.

As usual, Finn's favorite part is opening and closing the camper door. In and out, in and out. ARGH!

There is nothing better than camping naps. I even drooled. :) When I woke up, I went outside to find Shan snoring away in his camping recliner. There's something about sleeping when camping - it's the best sleep I've had in years.

We can't believe we forgot the disc golf bags. It was perfect for playing disc golf. We settled for games of frisbee, Ladders, and long stretches of reading time. (Both Shan and I are reading Joyland. Great book!)

Sadly, next weekend is the last weekend Longview will be open for the season. We're sneaking in a longer camping trip back at Slough Creek before they close two weeks later. Then it'll be time to winterize the camper. The good part about buying at the end of the season are the deals on campers. The bad part - you only get a few weeks to enjoy the camper until you have to put it up for the winter.

Trip #2

Perry Lake, Slough Creek Campground, Locust Loop, Site #17

Great campground - right on the lake! (I promise the camper is level - the picture is crooked!)

The kids did a lot of swimming - even Finn!

His favorite pastime was throwing rocks into the water.

Aidan helps Finn get used to the water and find rocks for throwing.

We had a fire on Saturday night. Perfect for roasting marshmallows and staying warm.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

The campground has water and electricity. We love having water! We could use the outside shower to rinse down muddy feet. We still had to be careful with our gray water tank, but we went the entire weekend and only got it up to 2/3 full. Oh, and we discovered that our faucets are switched on the outside shower. Cold is hot. Hot is cold.

The campground was not as secluded or as treed as Longview. We definitely miss those aspects. However, having water and the lake RIGHT there made up for it. We could pull the boat right up to the shore and probably leave it there for the weekend.

The toilet wand is a genius invention. Super easy to clean out the black tank. I'm pleasantly surprised with how easy it is to take care of the camper. And apparently we use a LOT of toilet paper.

We thought we were done buying for the camper. Then we realized that we need lots of little things during this trip - hooks to hang the keys, another bottle of hand sanitizer, another blanket or two, a mixing bowl, etc. We think we're done now. We'll see after the next trip. :)

The grill that attaches to the camper is awesome. As is the little table next to it. The propane hook-up is super easy. We have determined that we need an extra table, though. The electric skillet (which is also awesome) just takes up too much room on our little table. We used that electric skillet for every meal! I also used the indoor stove, and it works wonderfully. I could cook indoors while Shan used the skillet to cook outside.

We had a playground right beside us. The kids spent many hours climbing trees and playing in the dirt. They made friends with all the campground kids. Finn spent a lot of time getting rides in a Barbie Power Wheel truck from the little girl next door to us. (BTW, her name was Hayden and they also had a Grant - Hayden sounds a lot like Aidan.) Finn was a hit with the girls. He could always be found at the playground with three or four little girls surrounding him. Aidan and Aine spent a lot of time climbing trees and playing tag with a girl from across the campground. Kavi would just play with whomever was around. He had the best of both worlds - tagged along with the older kids but could also take rides in the little Power Wheel truck.

First aid kit. Used it 6 times in 2 days! Finn fell down the stairs and scraped his leg pretty good. Minor cuts and punctures to the rest of the kids.

Ahhhh, nap time. Nap time on Saturday was delicious. Finn was getting a little cranky (surprise, surprise). I took him back to the camper while Shan stayed with the other kids down at the lake. Closed up the windows. Turned on the A/C. Tuned into the Texas A&M game. Stretched out on the couch with a blanket. Finn went right to sleep. Oh boy. There is nothing like sleeping in a cool, dark camper in the middle of the day.

And speaking of relaxing. I really thought we'd do a lot of hiking. We did none at all. Saturday morning after breakfast, Shan and I were just so content to lounge around the campsite watching the kids play. It probably didn't help that I forgot the coffee pot. Oops. We didn't really start going for the day until Shan returned a little later with caffeinated soda pops for us.

Again, Kavi was upset that we had to leave. Saturday night he started crying big crocodile tears when he realized that we'd be leaving the next morning. He wants to go camping 24/7. In his mind, there is no reason to even own a home. We could just live in the camper all the time. Sometimes I agree with him.

We decided to pack up early on Sunday because rain was due at 12:00. It didn't even wait until noon to start raining. We had off and on rain while packing up. Thankfully, no rain while we dumped the tanks. We winged the tear down, but we really need to get a good checklist made as a back-up. Also, Shan is in charge of the final walk-through. I can't see things right in front of my face sometimes. :) Good news on the storage - a new 12x16 foot door has been ordered. We should have indoor storage sometime next month!

Thank you Shan for buying our family this camper! The kids and I love it!

The Maiden Voyage

Perry Lake, Longview Campground, Site #10

The camper set up.

Enjoying some campfired hot dogs.

Blurry Aine and Freaky Eyed Kavi playing Bean Bag Toss.

Daddy and Aidan playing Washers.

Gorgeous sunset through the trees.

The lake - so peaceful tonight.

Obligatory campire - even though it was 100 degrees outside.

Getting ready for bed in the cool air-conditioning. So much better than a tent!

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

The kids all agreed that the campfire was the best part of the short overnight trip.

The little old lady that attended the campsite just adored the kids. She loaded them up with coloring books, crayons, frisbees, and stickers. She was a sweetheart.

Shan and I were sitting up in bed and the bed started to fold up on itself. The kids thought this was hilarious.

The air conditioner just about froze us all out for the night. We know that we'll have to turn the air conditioning down to the lowest setting before bed.

In a camper, every single piece of appliance has the brightest glowing lights. We'll have to find some way to block these lights at night. Aine complained that the refrigerator light kept her up. For Aidan, it was the light from the TV (why does a tv need a glowing light when it's not even on?). For Shan, it was the microwave. For me - it was the little blue water pump light (you can see it at the top right of the picture just above). 

Dumping the grey and black water tanks is surprisingly easier and less messy than one would imagine.

You use way more water than you can imagine. We took our own drinking water, but managed to just about empty our fresh water tank. We're hoping that we made a mistake filling it up and ran into an air pocket that caused it to seem like it was full. We'll be sure to double check next time. 

Electricity is wonderful. Air conditioning is wonderful. A toilet right there is wonderful. All of this in the middle of a wooded shoreline at the lake is super wonderful!

Everything went really, really well. The only hitch was that the storage building is too tight for our camper. It sounds like the owners are going to put in a 12 or 16 foot door for us. 

We had visitors to our campsite! Papa Ron and Grandma Jan appeared around 9:00 AM on Sunday riding their motorcycle. We showed off the camper and sat around chatting. Papa Ron got roped into some games with the kids.

The kids were so sad to pack up the camper for the week. Kavi was downright distraught. We assured them that we'd come back next weekend and be able to stay the entire weekend. 

Camping Rules

Camping Rules:
Explore
Play
Relax
Read a book
Go for a hike
Gather around the fire
Watch the sunset
Have fun
Wish on stars
Eat s'mores
Make memories

Thanks Mom for the awesome sign!