Easter/Dreher Island 2012

We headed out for our first trip of 2012! It was also our first trip in our new camper. Excitement was an understatement!!

(and yes, I did eventually end up falling....and totally busting up my leg.)

The weather was chiiiiillllly in the mornings!!!

and perfectly warm in the afternoons!!!

The Easter Bunny even came to visit while we were there. One really cool thing is not only did he leave the Easter Baskets but then the campground put on an Easter egg hunt that all the kids enjoyed!

We also went ahead and gave K one of his birthday presents. This was too perfect of a location not too.

Overall this was a PERFECT trip other than the fact that it was far too short! It was a great start to our camping season. We can't wait to go again!!

The Family Newbie

Sooooo....We traded our camper in. Some say we are never satisfied but I like to say we're go-getters. Maybe they're right...I don't know. But I figure as long as we continue to find bigger or better deals then what's the harm? Yes, maybe we only had our old camper for 11 months....Maybe in the 8 years A and I have been together we've owned a total of 9 cars and/or trucks.....WOW, putting that in writing is crazy. NINE vehicles in 8 years! Regardless though, we always almost always get a great deal and well, at the moment I think we are satisfied. Aaron's truck is paid off and I have two more years on mine....Come back in two years and ask us if we're ready for change and we'll probably say, "yes!"

We all love the camper but for different reasons. K LOVES the bunk beds! I don't blame him....As a kid, I would too. E loves that there is room to run around. I personally love the bar and the stools that come with it. Extra sitting room is always nice and I can't wait to sew some bar stool cushions. And A...Well I'm not sure what his favorite part of it is. Maybe all the storage....I don't know. I didn't ask. ;) Overall we are super thrilled. Our first camping trip isn't scheduled until April. Hopefully we can find time to sneak one or two in before then.

Camping Trip #6....Back to Hamilton Branch

So I am finally getting around to posting some of our pictures from our last camping trip this weekend. We went back to an old favorite so we could guarantee a good time. The weather was good. The sun was hot and it was the perfect final goodbye to summer as Labor Day came and went.

The two older boys made great fishing memories. They even caught something in their little bait trap.

K taught me how to skip rocks! Yes, my 5 year old had to teach me. After almost 30 years I've finally learned. Once I caught on to it we then had Rock Skipping Competitions. It was super fun. Daddy actually made it all the way to the other side of the bank at one point. I think his highest skip was 10, and K and I tied for 6. We skipped so many rocks on this trip that we all came back with sore shoulders.

We played in the dirt, sand, water, and sun!

and at night we hung out under our camper lights by the fire roasting weenies.

This was a wonderful, much needed end to the summer camping fun we've had! Now we're ready to take a bit of a camping break to welcome in the fall weather which is sure to bring fun adventures of apple orchards, pumpkin picking, and trick or treating!

Camping Trip #5....Twin Lakes Campground

We decided to go on one last little vacation camping trip before K starts kindergarten this coming Monday. It was a very quick trip, getting there at 7pm Friday night and leaving at 7am Sunday morning. In the short 36 hours we had, we certainly made the best of it. It's a smaller campground owned by the Army Corps of Engineers. Our site was gorgeous! You open the door of your camper and you see panoramic views of Lake Hartwell. Yellow jackets were a bit of a problem and I actually got stung by one Saturday morning. I'm not sure if I had a bit of an allergic reaction or what. It left my whole arm and chest hurting most of Saturday and as of today it's still big and puffy throughout most of my arm. That didn't stop us from spending most of Saturday swimming, playing on the playground, and enjoying the campfire though. Overall it was a great trip. It's not our favorite campground but considering it's only an hour away and makes for a perfect quick trip, I have no doubt we'll be back!

Camp Trip #4~Hamilton Branch 4th of July

One of our goals when we bought our camper a few months ago was to try out and explore as many different campgrounds as we could. It becomes so easy when you find a site you love to become stuck in a rut with that site and to never venture elsewhere. Our trip this weekend was to a campground that we had never heard of. I would mention it to different people who camp and they too had never heard of it. I will admit, by the time we were packing up to leave I was a little concerned.
This is what we pulled up to....

This was our gorgeous view! We got out of the truck and started looking around and fell in love at that moment. It was a diamond in the rough. A perfect place to camp that has still been kept somewhat secret....and we now have a new favorite camping spot!
We had lots of little adventures:
skinny dipping at midnight,
going off into "snake land" to rescue a ball and float.

playing in mud,

collecting firewood, hanging our head out the windows, exploring new islands,

asking our neighbors for boat rides (this is not the boat we rode on but isn't this thing cool!?)

bathing in the lake,

We had great company,

good food and drink,

and overall a really great time! We can't wait to come back here. Labor Day Weekend, here we come!

Camping Trip #3....Myrtle Beach, SC

We just got back from a wonderful camping trip in Myrtle Beach. If you're at all familiar with Myrtle Beach then you know of the HUGE campground there, Ocean Lakes. It has everything under the sun to do for people of all ages. We went there for 4 nights and 5 days and stayed on the go the entire time! The days would pretty much consist of wake up, beach, lunch, pool, nap for the kiddos, beach-fishing, dinner, golf cart cruising, sleep...and then we'd wake up and do it all over again. We were all exhausted and running on fumes by the time we got home but wouldn't have it any other way. This was E's first trip to the ocean and I think at first he had mixed feelings about it but soon warmed up to the whole idea. K was WIDE open!! Not even a jelly fish sting stopped him. Once he started feeling better he grabbed hold of his boogie board and was right back out there~That's my boy!!
We indulged in tattoos....The spray on kind. :) We survived our first major storm in the camper...and did just fine. We cruised on golf carts....like all the kids, tweens, teens, and adults. We fished....and had most success with the bait traps, catching shrimp, crabs, eel, and little mudpuppies. We had a great family cook out the last night....wonderful seeing all our family. The only thing I regret was taking a break from the camera and just enjoying the company so I didn't get any photos of that. I did get plenty of photos of everything else. Here are just a few....okay, or maybe several.

Here is our little flamingo....trying to stick his head in the sand.

Playing in the sand. I love how our little toe head sticks out so much between the little brown berries.

Good Morning World!

Beach Baby being a Beach Bum...

Now this is a hotdog like no other!!

K's lucky day....He just so happened to stumble upon a pile of shark teeth sitting in the sand... ;)

We had a wonderful time. We are already planning our next trip there. As sad as we were to see the beach go, it's also nice to be home.