6.26.2009

OuR 1sT fAMiLy CAmPinG AdVenTuRE!!!

Since last summer we have been looking to buy a small used camper to be able to take little weekend vacations here & there. It was really hard to find one that was in our price range, not a piece of crap & a size that we would be able to park at our house. Well after alot of looking, we finally found one a few weeks ago. I immediately began planning our first trip! I had a few people tell me about this camp ground in Cooperstown that has a small animal farm, a mini golf course, hay rides, a fishing pond & pony rides, all fun things to entertain the boys. & it is only 40 minutes from home.

We went this weekend. Being so close to home the plan was to go out on friday, I'd have everything packed & ready to go & kids bathed so after Fred was done working we could head out & get settle in for the night. Then saturday morning we'd get up & have breakfast together & then Fred could drive back to town & work for a few hours & come back up when he was done working @ 1:00. So we would then have all saturday afternoon & sunday to enjoy camping! Well it never fails things dont always work the way they are planned!

~friday~ I get out of work, go get ice, go home & pack up the last few things. Go drop the dogs off @ my parents house. Then go pick up the boys, bring them home & stick them in the tub quick & Collin decides to poop in the tub!!! AGAIN! So quick get them out, get the poop out, drain & sterilize the tub, stick them back into the tub & finish washing them. Well getting them dressed Fred gets home from work, hook up the camper, load up the trucks (we took both since he had to come back to work the next day) & we head out. I had to stop for gas & realized I forgot the camping chairs so I sent Fred home to get them while I got gas, ok NOW WE ARE READY!!

We get to the campground, get checked in & start to set up. We notice that the campround is not exactly as nice as people had told me! It took a little longer to get settled than we thought it would. We found out that the lights inside didnt work, good thing I bought a couple little lanterns! We couldnt tell if the fridge was working or see if there was any kind of on/off switch. & so now it's almost 9:00 & we are all starved!! I then ask Fred "where is the grill????" he replies w/ "yeah. . . . . I was waiting to tell you. . . " I immediately knew, HE FORGOT IT!!!! Well good thing the camper has a little stove & I packed frying pans! So by the time we ate we were all tired & grumpy & decided to just go to bed. It was a rough night! It was cold & rainy, kids were up multiple times & there was some sort of bird that was making all kinds of squawking noises every 20 minutes!!!





~ saturday~ After a night of not much sleep the lovely rooster decided @ about 6:30 he needed to tell me it was time to get up!! & for those of you that dont really know me, I am NOT an early bird!! So well the boys were all sleeping, I decided to walk over to the showers before everyone in the campground had the same idea! It was really nice getting to take a super hot shower for as long as I wanted w/ out being rushed or some one coming into the bathroom to go pee, ask me a question, or just come in to come in! When I got back we had breakfast & then Fred headed home to work for a few hours .




So while Fred was working the boys & I went to check out the animals @ the farm. They had quite a few different kinds of animals, cows, chickens, the rooster!, peacocks, pheasants, horses, a reindeer {it looked like it had mainge or something!} goats, sheep & ducks. When we finished there we went back to the camper to have some lunch. I open up the cooler to find that the chicken that I had marinated that was in a plastic container & wrapped in a plastic bag leaked all over everything! OMG!!! what a mess! I ended up trying to empty everything out & wash as much of it as I could down w/ disinfecting wipes. & unfortunately had to throw a bunch of stuff away. And that is about the time when it began to rain. We finished up lunch, and Fred came back from working. Over the next few hours it progressively rained harder & harder. The poor kids were getting stir crazy from only having a small area to play, so we decided to take a ride & try to find something to do. We ended up at a diner to eat dinner, and then found a Walmart to get them a new movie & toys. The best part of the day was all 4 of us sitting down together w/ some popcorn & watching a movie together before bed.
{Just being boys & having some fun! Ethan is trying to give daddy a wet willy!!}
~sunday~ The rain finally stopped!!! After breakfast I began to start packing up while Fred & Ethan went to the pond to go fishing. For weeks Ethan has been so excited about going fishing! He had never been before. I bought him a Lightning McQueen light up fishing poll! With in the first 25 minutes I heard them walking back calling my name. He caught his first fish!! YAY! He was so very excited! They went back to the pond to release it and in about 20 minutes he caught his 2cd fish! And then a few minutes later, the 3rd!!! I think he would have spent the entire day at the pond if he could have! But it was time to head home! And just in time to, as soon as we pulled into our drive way it began to rain again!

It was quite the weekend! Definitely a learning experience, figuring out what we should have & shouldnt have brought w/ us & finding out what worked & what didnt. Even though it was a rough weekend, it isnt detouring us from doing it again! We have already booked a site someplace else for in a few weeks.



Click to play this Smilebox scrapbook: 1st family camping trip
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9 comments:

Alex said...

looks like so much fun!!!!!

Unknown said...

OMG...I was cracking up as I was reading this! I'm glad it was a learning experience though! Adorable pictures!

Kim said...

You are so brave-I would never camp I give you so much credit. It does though sound like despite a few setbacks you had so much fun. I love the pictures of the boys! Are you guys getting excited for next week????

Melissa Swartley said...

Ahhh camping! It's never as easy as it looks! LOL! Well, now that you have experience you will be all set for next time! How cool that Ethan caught loads of fish! I bet he was loving every minute! Great pic's too!!!

Unknown said...

Such a funny post. Should be put into a sitcom. I am glad you are not deterred from camping again. I love to camp...once or twice a year. Wish we lived closer so we could hook up and camp together. It gets a bit easier as you keep camping.

Destini said...

At least you made the most out of it! When we were camping that weekend I thought of you guys in the pop-up when it was pouring here in WV, the 34' RV definitly makes a big difference! We will have to conspire to try to have a camping date somewhere in between WV and NY! We are leaving for camping again on Wednesday!

Greene Family said...

At least you were close to home for your learning experience of your first family camping trip! I hope the next trip is much easier! It looks like you guys had a great time overall though! Yay for Ethan going fishing for the first time and catching so many fish! Cute pictures!

Caden and Mommy said...

Oh my goodness - what an adventure. It seemed as if you had problem after problem ... but you got some cute pictures out of it :0) We've taken Caden camping the last two summers ~ but I think we will skip this summer. Developmentally he just isn't at a good place for camping -eeks!
Only a few more days till the Today show :0)

Unknown said...

Thts too cute thanks for sharing...
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