WARNING: This post just might hold the record for the longest post ever published on my blog. :) I knew you guys had been following the transformation of the motorhome... so I wanted to give you a pretty good recap of how the weekend went down!
Well, I definitely have to admit that working on the motorhome these last few months gave me plenty of time to daydream just how perfect our first trip in the motorhome was going to be... The weather was going to be sunny and perfect, there would be lots of smores, plenty of hot cocoa, and time spent visiting around the campfire... butterflies would flutter around, the clouds would part and a single ray of sunshine would illuminate the motorhome... well maybe that is a slight exaggeration, but it really wasnt that far off! :)
picture taken the first morning in the motorhome
I think it is safe to say that the weekend didnt turn out quite that way. It took us MUCH longer then expected to finish the floor... Clear up until the last night before we were scheduled to depart. Which meant I wasnt able to pack or clean the motorhome until the day were leaving... super stressful! I had imagined packing the motorhome to be a fun enjoyable thing I would do over time... needless to say it was a "rush and hope I didnt forget anything" type of thing. :) The curtains also werent finished, so I improvised and used sheets I had. :)
also taken the first morning in the motorhome... love her morning bed head. :)
My parents had taken Trinity and my niece with them earlier that morning, and since they wouldnt have cell phone service we had made plans to be at the camp by 9:30 PM. We were pretty sure the motorhome would get us there, but if we happened to not show up by that time then they were to come looking for us! :)
our camp
It took quite a bit of time to stock the motorhome for its first camping trip, and Jaydon took time to add air to the tires, and check the fluid levels, etc. etc... We were going to fill the propane tank on the way out of town... well long story short we stopped at 2 places only to discover we had just missed the filling period and they were no longer filling for the night. By this point we were running out of time, remember we needed to be at camp by 9:30, and we werent exactly crusing down the freeway at a super fast speed (kept it at 60 mph most the way) so we endured a dirty windshield, (see above picture) and decided we could survive without propane... because we simply werent going to get it. My parents had brought they're HUGE 5th wheel (the one they lived in for a year while building they're house) and were also bringing 90% of the groceries for everyone... so our fridge was stocked with mostly drinks... something that wouldnt have to be cold...
taken on the way there... loved how curious and excited she was. I made the table into a bed, felt the safest way of traveling with kids.
So, we kept on a trucking and about a half hour from the camp we came across a small rv park and convenience store. We stopped on a whim and asked if they would fill our tank... they did!! :) We were soo excited and grateful. While it was filling an older man came up to Jaydon and asked us what year the motorhome was, we told him it was a 76, and he said "its gorgeous! You just dont see that age in that good of condition." jaydon invited him to see the inside, and he was really nice. Said I had done a really good job with it. That made us feel good. :) The tank ended up being HUGE. The cashier asked Jaydon what he had filled and she was surprised to learn it was just a motorhome. :)
this is where we parked for the weekend
I think the tank ended up taking 25 gallons of propane, needless to say we should be good for quite a few more trips before we need to refill! :) So, we headed along on our merry little way with propane in tow and showed up right at 9:30! :) I'm going to try and shorten this up a bit for everyone... since it is turning into somewhat of a long winded post!! :)
The bed pulled all the way out to make one HUGE bed below...
Basically, lets just say that the weekend ended up being a little less fairy tale-ish picture perfect and a little more like real life. :D Jaydon came down with a stomach bug saturday morning and spent most of the day laying in the motorhome... I started feeling sick that evening, and woke up feeling a bit rough Sunday morning, and by that afternoon Jaydon was feeling better, and it was my turn to lay around. :) We still really enjoyed ourselves, and I managed to get quite a few pictures in between bursts of feeling great, and not so great... and the kids... well they had a blast.
my niece Jada
taken with my lensbaby composer
Monday morning Journey told papa she didnt want to leave. She wanted to stay there in her new home forever.
Journey with my dad (papa) and the walking stick he made... love that the date showed up!
I asked her if she would miss watching mickey mouse club house. Well, that made her consider coming home for a split second...but in the end she decided she wanted to stay forever.
loved the pouty face...
She was crushed... but when I told her she would get to ride in the motorhome on the way home she was excited and a little more ready to go. :) I started a scrapbook to document our trips in the motorhome...
nothing too fancy, but I'm using pictures from my instax camera and black pens, glue dots, a stapler, a glue stick, and a hole punch. :) I'm going to take pictures of the girls right here in the doorway of the Sportscoach every time we take it somewhere...
Jaydon was waiting ever so patiently for me take the above pictures...
Right before we left I grabbed the girls and snapped some pictures of them by themselves... do you think I've taught them to be comfortable in front of the camera? ;)
... and just like that we were on the road headed home! :)
We stopped in Naches at The Laredo drive through for a burger:
my parents fifth wheel and Sharkey our motorhome in Naches WA
Just as I had hoped they would, the girls fell asleep with full bellies, and the rest of mine and jaydon's trip home was fairly quiet... :)
Although our trip was far from perfect, we really enjoyed ourselves, and DEFINITELY created some good memories... the next trip will go 60% smoother... after all we won't be installing flooring, or anything like that. :) Plus the motorhome is fairly stocked... which means we should be ready to go again very soon. :) There is still a few weeks left of Summer vacation right? ;)
ps: I also found time to work on a new drawing! The first of many featuring a camera!! :)
It is about time huh!? :)
Soo... what did you do last weekend?
