Day 2 with Miss Peggy

Day 2 of our inaugural camping trip with Miss Peggy found us relaxing in the morning.  

The kids can't wait to head outside and ride their bikes or tricycles first thing.

 We had decided to spend part of the morning fishing.  

The kids had to check out the bait.

 Then it was time to head down to the water.  

These rocks are dangerous and must be navigated slowly.  

As such I opted to leave my Nikon up at the top and just took my phone down to the water to capture the moment.

Unfortunately we didn't catch anything, unless seaweed and rocks count.  

We did see turtles and jellyfish.  So all was not lost.

We headed back to the trailer for lunch.  Caleb and Madeline are enthralled with the hitching and unhitching of trailers and fifth wheels.  So they got a real kick out of watching a 5th wheel hitch up and leave the site during their lunch.

 Caleb then headed off to his tennis tournament.  Since these particular courts don't have a playground, the girls and I opted to stay back at the campsite.  They took naps while I enjoyed some quiet time.  Caleb played very well and again split his matches 2-2.  We are just so proud of him.  By the time they returned, it was time for dinner.  Dinner for 11 kids and 6 grown ups...that's a lot of food.

 A little bit later, our new friend Emily's sister came to visit, along with her husband and two kids.  Some of the people went fishing again while the rest of stayed back to make s'mores and eat some ice cream I made and brought along.

Day 2 was a great day.  I wished we could've stayed up late, chatting with our new friends more.  But we had an early wake up call the following morning for the Race for the Cure walk with Team Gina.  Gosh, do I love sitting outside in the dark under the night sky.  There's just something so peaceful about it.

Her maiden voyage

She made her maiden voyage this weekend.  That would be Miss Peggy I'm talkin' 'bout.  That's the name Patrick and I agreed upon for our sweet new travel trailer.  We thought we'd get input from the kids, but they came up with pretty modern names.  Nope. Not gonna cut it.  So Miss Peggy it is.

 We are so thankful that our driveway is long enough that we can back her and the truck up to the house.  And not only that, but we can pull right out and around our cul-de-sac without having to back up at all.  Sah-weet.

So we took her up the road to a local park located on the beach.  After getting settled between our two friends' campsites, the kids did a little chillin' inside.

 You see that iPad there?  It's only allowed for special night time movies.  Yep.  It's our trailer, so we make the rules. Hee hee.

 Thankfully we have two sets of bunkbeds so there's no arguing over who gets to sleep in the top bunk. lol

The first night went well.  Havi woke up crying.  And since we didn't want her to wake Caleb and Madeline, who were sleeping right near her, we put her with us.  That was cozy.

Next morning, the kids did a craft with our friend Lisa.  Havi was too little to participate in the craft but couldn't be left alone inside the trailer during the activity.  She was not too pleased.

 Then it was time to head over to the beach...as in walk about 50 feet from our trailers and into the soft sand.  Um, hello.  Can't get much betta than that.  Havi insisted on helping me carry something.  I gave her pringles and a blanket.

 Oh, those pringles were something special.  They often fell out, and she popped them right back in.  Sand is a flavor, you know.

 All the kids had fun playing in the sand and boogie boarding.  And the mommies and daddies had a great time relaxing.  It was such a great afternoon.

Then we had to head out to a tennis tournament that night.  I was annoyed that they didn't give them enough courts to play on.  So they could only play doubles.  Nonetheless, Caleb played well and won both doubles matches.

 Madeline and Havi were pretty good sports during the matches.  They had no playground to run around on.  So instead they ran around the bathroom and office.

 Madeline can't resist picking flowers.  And no matter where she ran, Havi was sure to follow.

That wraps up our first night and day camping in Miss Peggy.  I have a bunch more photos to share from the rest of our weekend....more tennis, more beach, s'mores, and a special walk.

A happy little family

Our travel trailer arrived!!!

Last week, we headed over to our storage facility and waited for delivery.

Our good friends who "roped" us into this camping thing met us there.

The kids couldn't wait to check out the inside and went straight to the bunkhouse in the back.

Yep.  Four bunks means room for company.

We checked everything out and made sure it all looked good. It took a little while.  So the kids ran in and out and all around.

The sky was so pretty that night as the sun set.

God has truly blessed us with some awesome friends.  This whole camping thing wouldn't be possible without them.  We will be making our inaugural camping trip soon.  The kids can't wait.  We are looking forward to spending lots of time outdoors with our happy, little family.  In the meantime, we have a busy weekend with two, yes two, tennis tournaments and a breast cancer walk with Team Gina.  I'm exhausted just thinkin' about it!

Cousin time

Last Saturday we had plans to visit my sister and family after running some errands in their neck of the woods.  Turns out our plans changed very early in the morning.  We wouldn't be going.  Oh, but wait.  The disappointment in all of the cousins was enough to change our minds.  Despite not needing to make the long drive, we opted to do it anyway, later in the day...just to hang out and do nothing else.  It was so worth it.

At one point, actually close to half time of the Gator football game, we headed over to the playground.  On our way, some kids in the neighborhood were selling lemonade.  So Patrick supported their entrepreneurship and purchased a few cups.

 The kids were really sweet.  They appreciated our generosity and came back out to give the kids bracelets they had made.  Very sweet.

So the awesome parents that we are, we neglected to outfit Havi in some shoes before we got in the car.  In order to keep up with the bigger kids on the playground, her cousin Josh let her borrow his sneakers.  So sweet of him.

 The last time they all played together on the playground, I somehow managed to snap a photo of the four cousins.  I was hoping to add Havi to the photo this time around, but Patrick was concerned about mosquitos near the water; Havi and mosquitos are NOT a good combination.  So here's another shot of the four of them, this time with no flashing from Madeline.

 Golly, I love how I captured his cute tongue sticking out as he hustled back up to join the others.

After the playground, we headed back to the house and caught the rest of the Gator game. Despite a season-ending injury to our starting quarterback, the Gators managed to pull off a victory against Tennessee.  That made for a happy house.  Patrick and Madeline picked up some bar-b-que for dinner.  She loves running errands with her Baba.  It might be because he spoils her a little bit.

Anyway, we had such a nice, relaxing, lounging around and doing nothing kind of afternoon/evening.  We're so glad we decided to get together anyway, despite the long drive.  The kids just love spending time together.  I'm happy that Caleb has tennis tournament opportunities where they live.  It means we'll get to see more of each other.  Plus there are some state parks nearby too. So they'll be able to come out and visit/camp with us.

Speaking of tennis, Caleb played in a local tournament last Friday. It's funny because I had no idea it was going to be a tournament! I thought he was going to a group practice at a new facility he's been taking lessons at.  We were both surprised when so many people showed up that night!  lol  Thankfully, Caleb didn't miss a beat.  First, he played a mixed doubles match and won.  Then played two singles matches and won them both easily too.  I'm so proud of him!  He played so well, and each week he continues to improve.  I still find it hard to believe he's only been playing 3 months.  He'll have an opportunity to play in some local tournaments where we live on Friday nights.  So he's happy about that.  He'll also continue to travel for some of the bigger ones on Saturdays.  We're excited about coordinating those with camping trips. :)  Sadly, I don't have any photos, not even iPhone photos, from his last tournament because I was there by myself with all three kids (Patrick had a business meeting.)  But now that I know, I will be sure to take my big girl camera with me.

Linking up with my friend, Kim, today!