YAY for Camping!

A new world has opened up to us. The great world and life of CAMPING! Not the pitch a tent type of camping - but camping with a little luxury - a roof, bed, heat, air, toilet, type of camping. (Ok, some of you probably don't call that camping!) Keegan and I have talked about campers for.... I don't know how long. From pop-up campers, then back to buying all of the true tent/cot camp supplies, then onto bigger campers, then we talked each other out of it completely. Then 2 months later we'd bring it back up....and go through the same cycle of conversations. And finally it just happened. What more do 2 toddler boys want to do - dig in sand and dirt, look for bugs, be outdoors, and spend quality time with their parents. And so a camper seemed like the perfect choice.

So here went NOTHING! Originally Keegan and I thought just the two of us would venture to pick it up, without the boys and Daisy. So we could focus on how to work the thing, etc. But because of the scheduling we ended up bringing the boys and Daisy with us!

I will say again, we have been pretty lucky to have great little car riders - and they did amazing this time again. We made it up to Michigan (over 4 hours) and made a fun stop - the boys 1st visit - to Chuck E Cheese. No thanks to the pizza they said, but all Chase wanted to do was "die, die" which means Drive, thank goodness.

Maybe a little more stressful (ok, a lot) but ended working out just fine, despite almost 5 hour wait for them to have it ready and get it hooked up to the trailer (REALLY?!!?) Some of that time I spent with the boys in the hotel room (thank you iPad!), but when it was time to check out, we just warned the dealership they were going to have two tired and cranky little boys making noise until they got us the H3ll OUT of there!

 TIME to ROLL..... Indiana Dunes State Park, here we come!

Once we got to the campsite and backed in (which might have been a small ordeal) and settled, the weekend was FAR from what I could have ever imagined - seeing the smiles on the boys faces at the beach, in the sand - the feeling was truly indescribable. PURE HAPPINESS for all of us. The boys went to sleep more easily in their bunk beds than I had anticipated and the fresh air and camp fire was just so nice. We were so blessed with amazing weather for the weekend, despite needing to turn the heat on in the middle of the night (after searching the web to trouble shoot why it wasn't turning on - minor details like making sure the propane tank is turned on, right?!) And I know, I know, internet while camping.......

They really did like the camper, but the highlight was the sand and beach by far! I didn't take my nice big camera to the beach the first couple of times because I just wanted to enjoy the moment and not worry about it getting sandy, wet, etc. BUT I  did capture this on my iPhone - one of my favorite captures. I didn't ask him to pose or anything, just Lance running along the beach, taking it ALL in, with the biggest grin on his face.

"Oooohhhhh, what is this?" Sand in the toes for the first time!

 The walk back to our campsite! Barefoot and SOOOO happy!

First campfire - they actually stayed awake long enough the first night. 

Breakfast in the camper, while watching Toy Story of course!

Our long hike in the woods, over the Dunes to the beach on Day 2. Daisy was in heaven. Which I apparently should not say to a 3 year old. He immediately corrected me "No, Mommy, Cooper is just in heaven, with Grandpa, not Daisy!" Yes, Lance you are correct.

Lance couldn't wait to build his first sand castle.

Chase couldn't keep his toes and bottom out of the sand - he kept trying to slide down the small "hill" if that what you call it.

Sliding down the sand "hills" as Lance called them was one of the highlights as well!

And Lance was so excited to show Grandma and Grandpa the camper at home, and helped Dad wash the bugs off.

Can't wait for the next camp trip. Below are other FUN captures from the trip - We may have got a bit carried away with pictures(Imagine that) I just wanted to capture and remember everything from this amazing trip!

Lance didn't care HOW cold the water was - getting wet (i mean SOAKED) was the best! And even though we have originally said they weren't getting in the water, we just couldn't bring ourselves to stop him.

 He didn't want his wet shirt off and the wet jeans were pulling his pants down. He was trying hard to talk us into him running in his underpants - LOL!

 Chase was apparently getting sleepy. He just laid down in the middle of the beach saying "nigh, nigh"

 Then perked right up for this cute picture! (Taken by Dad, not me!) Nice one Keegan. And still not on the nice camera, just the iPhone. Some great pics I must say.