Our first camping trip!

In the winter we caught spring fever and bought a pop-up camper.

Well really that's only half the story. 

Brett had been asking/"bringing up" the topic of buying a camper for months.  And months.  I wasn't on board for fear of being stuck in a camper with little girls not sleeping.  And then one particularly warm day he happened to find a great deal on a local camper.  I said we could look at it and the rest, they say, is history.  I just fell in love with that little home on wheels.   

Last week was our maiden voyage and this is what my packing pile looked like. 

Clearly,  I had the essentials covered.

Of course, we nestled our paints and water brushes up in the middle of all that pretty too.  We camped at Dam Site Park on the White River and it was glorious.  The kind of adventure that puts an ache in your heart when you think about it because you want to go back so badly.  Y'all, it was so much fun! Thank goodness I got over saying "no" and got on board with the camper!

We took two trucks, one that pulled the camper and one that pulled the bass boat.  I drove the truck with the boat and was quite proud because it was my first time pulling a trailer! 

We stopped for some groceries along the way and bought simple, easy food for the grill.  Hot dogs, hamburgers, veggies, and fruit were easy to prepare.  We had chips for a treat too! 

Once we arrived at the camp site Brett got the camper set up.  The trip was really a lot of work for him, with parking the trucks, getting the boat prepared, and setting up the camper. He said he didn't mind though and I think the work was worth it to him.  

Our camper isn't decorated and didn't need to be.  I added some colorful blankets and rugs, hung and strung some colorful banners, and plopped my can of wildflowers down inside.  

Done.

While Brett set everything up (and turned the AC on in the pop-up) the girls and I explored the surrounding area and painted.  Ok, so the girls painted for just a minute and then played and played.  All kinds of made-up games.  They are really loving spending time together this summer and that alone is a miracle.  My girls used to fight/argue/not get along and now that summer is here they seem to have figured out they need to be best friends instead! 

And so they are. 

Between the sticks, pinecones, and plants, the girls were happy as could be! They walked around the campsite on the tall divider over and over, using it as a balance beam.

Dinner that night was fantastic! We sat around the campfire, eating together.  Just lovely.  The stuff "the good life" is definitely made of. 

We put the girls to bed later than normal and let them watch Peter Pan to try and fall asleep.  They didn't really go all the way to sleep until Brett and I got in the camper for the night too.  Then we all slept all night long! Woohooo! Betsy Grace is still in a crib at home (no comments on how old she is please, it works for us!) so I wondered how she would do with all the space of the camper.  We've tried her in a big girl bed at home and she just cried and cried.  BUT, she loved the camper! I was so proud of her for sleeping so well!

I failed majorally when packing blankets and pillows for Brett and I though so we were quite cold and slightly uncomfortable during the night.  Ooops.  Next time, note to self-bring more blankets and pillows! 

Once we all woke up I wandered over to the surprisingly nice and clean bathrooms to take a shower.  

We started the day off right with breakfast and strong, strong coffee and lots of swinging on the swing set for the girls. 

I, of course, had packed our own flowers. 

The rest of the trip was spent on the river!

Things did get a bit challenging here because the girls are so used to getting IN the river and that just wasn't a possibility this time.  The water was simply too high, as you can tell from this picture!

So all four of us were hot and cramped in the boat, with the girls still a bit tired. 

We *may* have had a few grumpy moments. 

Or a lot, I'm just saying. 

But, we made the best of it and ended up having a lot of fun! 

All in all, the trip was a major success because we simply had so much fun!

We can't wait to go again. 

What about you? Do you camp? 

Have any tips?