WInter Help!!

Hello to all my Bloggers!!

We haven't had any more fun in our camper since our last post. It is sitting on the side of the house looking real lonely. My question is how do we winterize it? We don't have winters like up North but we have some pretty cold ice storms. I was thinking the other day I need to do something to it because it has pipes and water in it. So if anyone out there can help me out and offer any other advice I'd appreciate it!!

We are busy with the holidays. We have been traveling since November visiting family for different celebrations and I'm afraid the traveling won't end until after the New Year. No plans to take the camper out with us because my grandparents would be upset if we didn't stay at their house and stayed in the camper. LOL.

Well thanks in advance and Happy Holidays to all of y'all and safe travels!!!!

Gorge pics

Our campsite
The moth that stayed with us the weekend
The gorge swimming area
The gang looking for crawdads

First Camp of Fall

We just got back from camping this weekend. We had a little bit of everything for weather this weekend. We were suppose to be heading to a new campground this time but the camp was a first come first serve and there were no spaces! We called 2 campgrounds in the area and they were full. So we headed to National Park and they had a site we could fit on and our friends who came along with their tent. It started off as humid and muggy, then we got a good 45 minutes of pouring rain which cooled off the day. Saturday was a beautiful sunny cool day and the night got chilly enough for pants and a sweatshirt. This morning we woke up in the high 50's!! Well I brought my electric blanket along so Saturday night we turned off the AC and opened the windows.

The kids had a blast. We had 7 kiddos between the 2 families there. They did scavenger hunts, plays and played in the gorge and caught crawdads. No idea why Alex was prone to accidents but he was smacked in the face with balls, bats and rackets and then fell off the scooter many times! He is a trooper and he would have done so much better if Mommy wasn't running and scooping him up to see if he was ok.

The food was awesome this weekend too. Our friend jamie made up the menu. She cooked up breakfast and deserts and then the guys would "tend" the grill. We had a taco noodle bake, chicken and veggie foil packets and dutch oven peach cobbler. Jamie also cooked cinnamon french toast that looked really yummy and Pj made some hash browns. I had to pass on breakfast because I woke up not feeling so well.

The kids also did a hike with our friends. Pj and I had to go to a meeting Saturday morning so our friends that were camping with us were brave people and took 6 kids ages 5-13 hiking. The kids found special rocks and took some cute pics on their hike.

Our first time to trip the breaker happened right in the middle of cooking breakfast. We finally figured out what happened when Pj and I came back from the meeting. I was fuming mad and was ready to give the camper back for a 5 minute frame. We also have a nasty smell coming from the toilet. We dumped and redid chemicals and it helped a bit but still has a smell, so any advice on that would be helpful if you have some.

All in all it was a good trip. Next trip will be in October!! Enjoy Fall!!!

Lake Trip Pics

Our Campsite
Our kids and our friends kids
Boating
PJ, Mike, Hannah, Alex and Louie the dog
One of the views from site.

Getting ready

We have planned another trip with some friends. We are still sticking pretty close to home though. I hope it all works out, this campground is a first come first serve. So if there isn't a space for us we won't be camping.

We have been pretty busy this month. The kids have started their activities, dr. appts, school parent nights and a trip to Oklahoma to see my parents. We are trying to fit in a couple camping weekends while the weather is nice. The rest of the year is booked solid with holidays, baby showers, visiting families, and the AF annual banquet in November.

We have had a few more followers to our blog so, welcome to all of you and thanks for following. I am hoping to get some pics of from the last trip but it will only load one at a time and it takes forever!! If anyone has a trick to that I'd appreciate it!

Have a great week!!

Lake Trip

AWESOME!! That sums up the 3 day weekend we had!! This was our first "real" trip out and we loved every minute. We left Thursday afternoon and set up. It was pretty easy, Pj backed right in and the trailer was perfectly level. We hooked up everything and then sat and stared as we took pride in our accomplishment. LOL. We cooked up some spaghetti for dinner, noodles inside and meat outside to check out both stoves. The kids had school Friday so they were off to bed and watched some TV. We picked up 12 channels out there which was good because we watch Big Brother and Thursday was double eviction. LOL, can't let camping make us miss it. While the kiddos were in school we ran back to town and picked up a list of things we thought about while we were doing different things. We bought light hangers for our awning and some mini ice cube trays and tons of stuff we really didn't need but it looked cool. We didn't want to look out of place out there with everyone else's site all lit up.

We picked up the kiddos from school and stopped by home to pick up the boat to pull back. We had friends coming with their kids and were using the tent pad on our site. All in all it was a great weekend. The weather stayed cool in the evening. We still put the AC on low in the TT though. Saturday morning I wore my sweater. I slept much better this time. Maybe because the cops didn't show up, maybe because the AZ escapees had been caught , or maybe I was dead tired. I have decided not to watch the news while we were out because the town 12 miles from where we were at had a prisoner escape the night before. Not sure why prisoners escape when we decide to camp?????

So we boated, ate, played games and just enjoyed being with friends and family. The TT did great. We emptied the gray and black water for the first time. It wasn't so bad at all. I was expecting alot worse. Not sure about anyone else but our gray tank fills up fast!! We emptied 2 times while we were out there. Also we emptied the black tank until it was done draining but our lights still say theres stuff in it. So I just flushed it and filled it with a bucket of water and some chemical and called it good for now. If the lights don't work how do we tell when it's full? Our bathtub just filled with water when the gray was full but not sure I want to find out what happens when the black is too full. Also our awning was full of water, it didn't rain at all. Does the AC drain or something we aren't aware of? Other then those few things we did alright. I love the outside shower for the kids to get cleaned off.

So thats about our weekend all wrapped up. I could go on and on but that would be lots more to read. But besides the TT adventure, Alex got a tick on his ear (seed tick), Hannah got a leach on her foot, and we hit a sand bag and shredded our prop the 2nd time this summer!! The kids had a blast toobing most of Saturday until a sandbar in the middle of nowhere got us, so the boat is out of order right now and maybe the rest of the season. Anyone wanna buy a boat???? LOL.

We have 2 new followers..YAY now we have 3!! Thanks for stopping by!!

Shopping

WOW!! I could shop and shop and still think of things I need. These last 2 weekends we have shopped for the camper. We have bought plastic dishes, pots and pans, silverware, utensils, towels, trash can and the list keeps going. As soon as I think I am done I put things away and say "Oh I need this". I am sure during this coming trip I will say "Why didn't I think of that?" So this week consists of grocery shopping and getting the TT ready for travel on Friday. We aren't going to far from home but far enough to enjoy being away. The RV sites there are beautiful and paved and fenced, I will post pics next week. Have a great week!!

Pics from our first camper night

Picture #1 ~ H and PJ making stove top smores!

Picture #2 ~ The cops outside my window. I snapped quickly so it's not focused!

Picture #3 ~ Watching the cowboys, again camera was out of focus so the pic is horrible.

Picture #4 ~ That's M, H, A, and P in the river.

Happy Campers?

Well we did it. We managed to make it though Camper Class, hooked up, pulled out, drove, backed up, hooked up, slept, unhooked, rehooked, backed in and welcomed the camper home. Yes that was a heck of a run on sentence! While Doug at Razorback Campers shared a ton of information with us it all seemed overwhelming. I kept thinking to myself "Is that what you want? Do you want to remember what runs on gas or electric or battery?" It all became clear yes I want to do this. Our camper looked so pretty cleaned and prepped for us. Then it was off to set up the brakes and a test run. Did I mention I hate riding in trucks that are towing anything? We have a boat and I will drive in my car behind PJ even though we fit 8 in the Expedition. I just don't like the feeling. Anyways this time I rode with PJ so obviously I had to ride back with him towing the camper.

So off we go...... No I didn't pass out but was close to it. I just didn't think we could stop quick enough or the trailer would sway everywhere, but it didn't sway and it stopped well when a little red car swerved in front us and braked to make an immediate left turn. So, needless to say we made the 15 minute drive to the local RV park and I was happy to jump out and scream directions loudly. After we got that baby backed up we started set up. RC told us just bring the clothes and groceries and they will have that camper ready to camp. That meant all the hook ups, hoses, chemicals, toilet paper, and even the lighter to light the stove. Well that would be great if we were level but we weren't and we didn't have anything to level it. Oh well we were off by a tiny bit so we dealt. So we hooked up and off to get the kiddos.

The kids loved the camper. They all scattered to pick out beds and cubbies. They think this camper is the best thing on earth. We ate some dinner and went to swim in the river. The kids had a blast. This camp ground didn't have fire pits so we had to make smores on the outside stove attached to the camper. When the bugs were biting we took shelter inside. The kids played in their "room" divided off by a curtain. PJ and I played some cards and watched the Cowboys game. Bed time came but we didn't hook up the sewer so PJ took the boys one last time to the bathroom house. When he opened the door, to our surprise the cops were in front of our camper with some people and a truck. No idea why they were there. We never heard a thing or even saw the lights. So me, being the worry wart that I am couldn't sleep all night long. I was looking out windows, checking doors, and listening for noise in the night. I hope that feeling passes and it was just a fluke the cops were out that night. (NOTE: Didn't help they thought the AZ escapees were on the lose in Arkansas and here we were camping in the National Park) LOL!! Anyways I fell asleep. The AC was nice it would get cold then kinda humid off and on but I guess we need to figure that out.

We didn't get to cook or shower but we are planning a longer trip soon! We went out today and bought some pots, pans, towels,dishes, bowls etc. If you know of any handy tips or advice or things we NEED in our camper please comment!!

WhooWhoo I have a follower!!! Thanks Mike & Gerri!! Let us know if you are ever in Central Arkansas!

The G-Family goes Mobile!!

No we aren't talking about cell phones either. We are the owners of a Coyote Lite Travel Trailer. Are we crazy? Maybe. Are we out of our minds? Getting close but it's going to be an adventure if anything. This decision has been years in the process. Many people think it may have been an overnight decsion. Nope, we go to The RV shows and occasionally stop at an RV dealer. We just never got serious enough to see that it is affordable. Today the FedEx man dropped off the check made out to our dealership. I'm excited, I'm scared but most of all I guess I'm looking forward to this opportunity to spend time with the kids and see new places.

So here I am starting a blog hoping to meet other rv'ers out there and showing our family and friends our adventure. I am far from being a writer. I hope I won't be too boring. I see so many talented bloggers out there and I feel silly at even trying this. So here's to the goodtimes and family time in the future!! See ya on the road!