3/30

Yesterday we went and walked the Navarre pier and were able to see mantra rays, sea turtles and a big red fish. We then went to Pensacola on a scenic drive and ended up at a huge fish market called Joe Patti’s.  The fish counter was about 30 ft. long and then you could get it cleaned and cut any way you wanted to . Dustin wanted a steamed lobster, Brain got a red snapper and Chloe wanted to try the grouper. Haley and I are not fish lovers and will eat it occasionally at home so we decided not to get any fish and eat the left over pulled pork from the other night. She did however get some of their banana pudding which she said was delicious and then we just tried a bite of Chloe and Brian’s fish. I also decided we should buy some of their hushpuppies which were really good.  Dustin maybe shared a bite of his with Brian who loves shell fish but is allergic to it.  Haley of course did some TicTocs by the beach. Today the kids want to kayak or paddle board. I am glad we are having great weather. Tonight might get rainy but hopefully not until we are ready to go to sleep and it won’t get too bad.  

Here is to almost the end of this writing challenge!!  

3/29  So I don’t think I was ready for it yesterday, but my 17 year old son just drove the truck and trailer. I sat in the back seat and tried to keep my mouth shut with the help of my 13 year old who kept giving me Swedish fish to put in my mouth. Dustin actually for the most part did a great job. I think the fact that he seemed way more comfortable then I am driving it was a bit scary. I have driven the trailer only a couple of times and only because Brian was getting super tired. Now I make sure we just don’t drive super far in one day unless we have to. Today we actually only had about an hour drive, but still Dustin did great. He has since at least last year backed the truck up to the trailer to hook it up. Chloe at the last campsite got to pull the truck away from the trailer and back it up next to it. All this scares me, but the kids do a great job and Brian does a great job letting them. I let them drive at home and it is fine. On trips, I always think well there goes our vacation if they screw up or worse while Dustin was pulling our 28 ft. trailer today. The hike this morning in the Blackwater river state park was nice. We didn’t see any black bear or alligators. I did wake up to a deer outside our camper this morning and the kids saw lots of turtles and lizards or geckos. The day ended with the kids first swimming at the beach and the Dustin decided he was grilling the stakes and making the baked potatoes. Brian and I walked the short distance from our trailer back to the beach to see the sunset.

3/28 

Wow we went from 20 degrees last night to 80 some degrees today. You know you picked the correct campground when your 15 !/2 year old daughter has her head out the window and smiling for the last half hour of the really long 9 hour drive yesterday. I was glad I posted before we left for the day. Chloe has always loved sticking her head out the window of the truck and feeling the wind on her face and hair. She also loves forests and we were driving into the Blackwater River State Park.  She was getting to do two of her favorite things and competeing with the dog for the window. She won. I wish I had taken a picture but I was too busy just enjoying watching her big smile in the side mirror. The nice thing is we have a super short drive tomorrow so the kids can enjoy the beach and the nature trails here before we move on.

3/27  

So we made it to Kentucky!!  The weather is not as warm as we were hoping. It got down to 20 last night. So maybe we should have driven farther, but we are actually just enjoying hanging out and not doing much. We got the trailer all set up and unwinterized. Our neighbor said to me I hope you all aren’t going North. It was snowing there when he left. I said nope we just came from the snow as well.  Scout got super excited because he knows while camping someone will take him on a walk often. Unfortunately,  after we were almost here I remembered that no one grabbed my new little hand vacuum I had bought for the trailer. Why wasn’t it with all the trailer stuff because my sweet children think it is good to use anywhere in the house whenever they have a small mess. So I guess we will get to use it on our next trip for what it is bought for.  Hopefully, the sand doesn’t drive me too crazy once we get to Florida.  On the way here I had to take a picture of my youngest in the back seat. We got a bigger truck last summer, but our kids keep growing and so with the big dog moving around I guess she thought this was more comfy. She sat like this for a pretty long time. I didn’t get a picture but I also love when all my kids end up cuddling up in the back as they fall asleep. I did add a picture of Haley and how she sat. The things a 13 year old will think of. 

3/26  The Adventure Begins!!

We are off on our new adventure.  All the stress of having to refill the camper for the season and make sure we have everything will hopefully lead to an uneventful trip.  I am sure we will have plenty of laughs and a few goofy moments. We are going to get to Kentucky tonight and it could be interesting. The campground has great reviews but the lady that runs it tried to tell me she was sure they would have a site and not to worry. Turns out she was just not in the office and so in talking to her more I decided to call back the next day. We now have a reserved site there which is good because we need to unwinterize the camper.  I hope since we had rain the entire time we were packing that the rain will stay away. Here is to nice, no snow like last night, weather and super smooth travels.  We need this break away from the crazy, busy normal life.

3/25  Finally Friday! 

The kids are so ready for Spring Break and let’s face it so are the teachers. Today should be a pretty fun day. It is our last day of guided reading with the groups we have now so we plan to do some fun activities. Then after snack time we will have Eagles Nest. Eagles Nest is a time when the entire school gets mixed up into different classrooms. Two teachers or staff members are in each room and then we do a fun activity to promote teamwork and community. The students really seem to enjoy it. We try to do it once a month and it is fun because kids that I might not get to know are in my Eagles Nest so I can get to know more kids. The kids like getting to meet other kids and get to know other teachers. I love hearing afterward what a great job my little kindergarteners have done. 

Once I get home I will need to finish packing everything so we can leave tomorrow. I will also need to pick up my niece from work.  Dinner will be something simple tonight and I think for once we will have everyone home. That in itself will be nice, but it will be super nice to have all hands on deck or in this case camper.

3/24

Laundry: Why do we have so much all the time?  It seems like a never ending thing in our house. I realize we added another person in our house recently, but it just seems to pile up all the time. I try to do it on weekends and I used to be able to get it done. For some reason lately weekends have been crazy and I don’t get all the laundry done. We either have a dance competition or birthday party or something that takes up the weekend. Normally, I don’t mind I can do a few loads during the week, but this week things I want done seem to keep piling up. Trying to pack. Guess everyone wants clean clothes!!  Luckily the weather got cold so we can pack the shorts and swimsuits without having to worry we might need them.  I get so frustrated when my sweet children try to tell me they are too busy to put their clothes away correctly. Do they really think they are busier than I am. The one who is cooking them dinner, driving three of them around, teaching and cleaning the house. Laundry while it is finally Thursday and I think I have it all done and put away for now. 

Does anyone else camp? If so, what are your favorite meals that you make while camping? I am sitting here trying to figure out what we should take for food this time. I know that we will want to eat out at least a couple of nights because Brian and Dustin love their seafood. 

Breakfast will be easy. Brian and I while traveling usually just drink a slim fast shake because it is quick and doesn’t make any mess. We can drink it while packing stuff up or he can wait until we get on the road. The kids will eat either coffee cake, donuts or cereal. When we are set in Florida for a few days we will eat eggs, sausage or bacon.  We have done pancakes before too which the kids like out of the add water and shake to make kit. 

Lunch is super easy on our travel days. I pack a cooler with a sandwich, fruit, chips and a drink for everyone. It is much easier when we stop to get gas around lunch time to just grab the cooler while getting gas. Not so simple to pull into some fast food restaurants in a 28 ft. travel trailer. Brian has proven he can get the trailer into almost any place however. One time we all really wanted ice cream on the way home and he was able to pull into an ice cream shop and back up into a spot with my amazing directions of course. The entire restaurant was impressed!  

Dinner is the tricky one. Several times while camping Dustin will use his dutch oven and make us a meal or a dessert or both. He really likes it especially since I buy the foil liner to go into it and the clean up is minimal. I love not having to cook.  Brian can also grill, but even while camping he still only wants burgers, brats or hotdogs during lunch.  We might bring the slow cooker. That works well for days when we are out playing tourists or enjoying the beach or woods.  I usually have something like pulled pork for nights that we have been traveling and get to the campground late. That way I can start heating it up while everyone sets up the camper. 

The kids love the adventure mac that was in a Boy Scout Dutch Oven Cookbook Dustin has. It makes a ton though even when we cut it in half.  Their dessert favorite besides S’mores would be probably all the things Dustin makes. Pineapple upside down cake, Diabetes in a bowl, cherry cobbler and apple pie filling with cinnamon rolls on top.

Ice Cream you scream we all scream for ice cream! My kids are like most and they love ice cream. Chloe is my picky one and likes vanilla and cookies and cream. That is about it.  Haley, she loves any! I believe. She fell in love with a banana split at a pretty young age. Haley has trouble losing her baby teeth. Brian took her the first time she had to have a baby tooth pulled. He thought she did such a great job acting like a big girl that he should take her for ice cream. Not just a normal one, but a banana split!  He being the great daddy that he was helped her eat it. The next time when I had to take her she of course thought that mommy should buy her a banana split. I had to break her heart because there was no way I could eat a whole one of those. She of course was a mess with her ice cream anyway since her mouth was all numb. 

Then there is Dustin. We laugh and say he can eat ice cream as fast or faster than his Grandma did. My mom would always get hers last and be done before the rest of us. That is exactly what Dustin does. He loves chocolate the more chocolate the better.  Add brownies in there and hot fudge and he will be in heaven. He now works at Oberweis in Bolingbrook. He applied there because a few of his friends were working there. He loves it. Not just because of the ice cream, but he has also added more of his friends to the work crew plus met a few. He often comes home with ice cream or shakes that were ordered and then not picked up. It amazes me how many people order things and don’t pick them up. The other day my girls were in heaven because there was a mix up and the store got a ton of chocolate milk. More than they would use the entire month and it was going to expire. Dustin brought some home and the girls drank chocolate milk like crazy. I even drank some and I hate milk. It tastes like a Hershey Chocolate bar was melted into it.  This summer I am sure we will continue to have ice cream in our frig. The girls will both probably want to work there when he is done just to continue having an overwhelming amount of choices for ice cream in our house. 

3/21     

Today is a day that makes everyone think of Spring!!  What a lucky day to have recess duty! It was gorgeous outside and the kids were super excited not to wear their winter coats. The hill outside was still muddy which is a total sign of spring. Some kids still thought it would be a good idea to roll down it, so I had to tell them no it really was not! 

I get home and our trailer is sitting in our driveway. I know that that means camping season is starting. Brain was able to take it to Rick’s and get the recall done and we just need to pack it up and get ready. The silverware is in my dishwasher ready to go. 

I walk to my front door and there are my tulips starting to pop out of the ground. Soon some more of my flowers will start to pop up and look pretty.  I have also put our Easter Egg light up in our window so there is another sign of warmer weather. 

As you enter my house some of the windows are open letting in the clean fresh air of Spring. I love when it is not too hot and not too cold and the windows can let in the fresh air. 

A not so good sign of spring is that my kids’ allergies are a mess right now.  Even my big kid who had to go out and buy more tissues since we somehow blew through the last big Costco package!!  

Then there is Scout who loves to run in and out of the screen door. He knows how to open it from the outside to come in, but has yet to be trained to close the door once he is in. 

Looking forward to the warmer weather and sad it will not last this week they say.