Camping Mt. St. Helens

Or should I say “Glamping?” Our first trip of the year was also our maiden voyage in the bus. We had a few hiccups on the way down but all in all it did great. The ride down was fun. Kids were able to play in the back or hang out in front with us.

Oliver was able to nap in his bunk.

Apparently these are the only pictures I took on the drive down. I did get some book reading in though. This is not usually an option for me on road trips as motion sickness takes over. Greg did a great job driving down and avoided smooshing the people who jump in front and slam on their brakes. I mean really? We are big. Hard to miss.

So, I know I’ve skipped a lot of bus remodel posts. But how about some pictures of the finished product. They are the most fun anyway. The finishing touches (you know like doors, paint, curtains, a few extra shelved) were finished the day before we left. And no, this time, it was not procrastination. But, working well under pressure we pulled it off.

Here we have the front just as you come up the steps. My co captian’s chair on the left.

Kitchen with full-sized fridge and extra-large sink. Both were very handy and well used this weekend. Two cabinet doors will be added to the pantry (above and below the microwave).

The hallway just past the kitchen. The bathroom on the left and clothes closets on the right.

Our soon to be tiled shower. This is on the left side of the bathroom. The only thing not functional in the bus this trip. Not bad.

The other side of the bathroom.

The bunks. We had Oliver and Abigail on the bottom bunks with Zoe and Ezekiel on the middle bunks this trip. Until we get a bar or ledge on the top one we’ll hold off on that. Both Zeke and Zoe fell out of their bunks the first night due to slippery sleeping bags.

The back bench/bedroom. We wanted extra bench seating and play area in the back. We have boxes under the seats that fill in the middle section and cushions to go on top that turns this into a bed. It worked out pretty well. A little tweaking is needed to keep a crack from developing between one cushion. I was not effected but poor Greg kept falling in the hole. It will be an easy fix.

And a final view from the back bench forward. There are still a number of things that need to get done but this project has come a long way in a short time. We call this our mobile Monticello. I hope you enjoyed the tour. I’ll post the rest of our trip soon.

Jan 05

And On To Anaheim

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We left Legoland and headed to Anaheim. Right across the freeway from Disneyland. What this meant for us was being able to see the fireworks show each night. This was a shorter 2 night stay for us. The first night was just getting the trailer settled, dinner and bed for an early morning. We were relatively close to Grace Community Church where John MacArthur is pastor and we were excited for the opportunity to visit.

After church we were in need of refueling and headed downtown Hollywood looking for this…

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I was first introduced to Chick-fil-a in Louisiana. Mmmmm. With our stomachs growling and the kids eating their arms off we started to drive into the lot. They. Were. Closed. NOOOOOO!!!!! Of course they were. It was Sunday. It had been so long and we had forgotten. Next time Chick-fil-a. If you haven’t head Tim Hawkins Chick-fil-a song you must check it out.

The next main attraction for this area was Medieval Times Dinner & tournament . This turned out to be way more fun than I was expecting. This was not just a tournament between knights but an entire theatrical production.

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Upon entering you are assigned a knight to cheer for. I’m sure you guessed it right. We were given the Red Knight.

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Abigail, Sweet little Abigail would not sit down. She was too busy standing on my lap screaming for our knight.

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During dinner there are performances by a number of different people, horses and falcons.

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And because I know some of you are wondering. This was the main course of our dinner. Served Medieval style.

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Then there is a huge gap in pictures and you now see us at the end. It was really hard to take pictures during the actual jousting. Oliver and Abigail were on our laps and there was so much cheering and action we had to put the camera down. No one got bored at this event.

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Zoe and Ezekiel were excited to meet the Red Knight and the “bad guy.” Oliver decided to opt out of this one. He was, understandably, a bit sceptical.

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Zoe was excited to see the Red Knights shield had a lion on it. Just like Aslan.

Jan 02

Carlsbad, Ca AKA LegoLand…

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We left our campground in San Diego and headed to Carlsbad for a day at…

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Ezekiel was not convinced these giant Lego people were OK

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This was the ‘line’ for the rides. Parents held places while kids created. The kids loved it!

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Benefits of having a tall sister.

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Both Zoe and Ezekiel went through the Legoland Driving School. Zoe was very careful except for driving on the wrong side of the road but she realized quickly and corrected. Ezekiel decided it was safer to follow the yellow line like a train. He was very focused.

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We headed back to the trailer for lunch and to change into our swim gear. Then it was off to the water. On a side note…they have a whole water park section we thought was included in our tickets. Turns out we were wrong. It would be extra. Decked out in our swim wear and melting in the sun we decided to visit more of the park before deciding if we wanted to enter the lines of the water park. I am so glad we did! Just around the corner was a whole water section and only a couple of the rides had lines. Most of it was more of a Great Wolf Lodge type structure. A majority of our day was spent here.

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It took a lot of courage for Oliver to make it over to this slide. Like the Great Wolf Lodge they have a bucket that dumps water. He freaks out over that. When the bell dings before the dump he is on guard. Greg got him over to this slide a little ways from the bucket and down he went!

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Seconds after this photo the bucket dumped and this part of the slide was within range. Poor Oliver. He never went back.

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This was more his speed.

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Dumping water on his brother.

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Don’t you just love little kids in sprinklers?

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We ended our day with Miniland. This was one of Abigail’s favorite areas.

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Dec 13

San Diego – The Zoo

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(This post was from Our Homeschool Trip in September 2012.)

Who can go to San Diego and not visit the San Diego Zoo? Not us! This was the next place for us to hit. We didn’t know it when the tickets were purchased but they included the Skyfari and Guided Bus Tour which, as we discovered, are a must if you actually want to see most of it.

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Our fist stop was Discovery Outpost. Guess what we found? It’s a Fossa!!!!!

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Next we rode the Skyfari to the arctic and got more awesome pictures of these cute kids we found.

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Then back to the woods for a Camp Critters Show!

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This was a highlight for Zoe. Many different animals were brought out including a cheetah which is her favorite animal. Interestingly enough this white dog is a companion animal for the cheetah. It seems the cheetah is much more relaxed when he’s around. Good thing. Given the look of this relaxed cheetah I would hate to see him without his buddy.

And check out these awesome macaw pictures Greg got!

This orangutan will forever be a best memory from this trip. While Oliver was standing near the glass the orangutan ran straight to him (Oliver staggered back a bit not sure he would stop) and put on the best show around. Laying down, climbing the bamboo, tricks with a banana leaf. He let out all the stops. All for little Oliver.

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Greg put together a video of other pictures from this day. He asked that I choose some favorites and write a little about the day. I think he may have said three pictures? Uh, well. It was really hard for me to narrow it down to what you see. I hope you enjoy the show.

Dec 09

San Deigo-Sea World

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(This post was from Our Homeschool Trip in September.)

Hello OP Otter! This was a big step for Zeke. He wouldnt stand for a photo but he did want to give OP a hug. Such a sweet little man!

Lets ride the Manta!!

I am soooo not a roller coaster person. Early on in Zoe’s life Greg started grooming her to experience the thrill of the ride. She is now tall enough to ride pretty much anything and Greg couldn’t be happier to finally have someone to go with. I lost track of the number times they rode Manta. Going in September has its advantages…no lines. They didnt even have to get off the ride between runs. One thing I liked about the ride was it went over a large section of the park. The littles and I sat by the flamingoes watching them go round and round and round. Just the way I like to experience Manta.

One of my favorite animals is the Orca. They show was great. We sat at the very edge of the wet zone not nowing how wet it would get. After sitting there in the blazing sun before the show we consittered getting a little closer. By the end we were still completely dry and extreemly hot. Next time we’ll get a bit closer.

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These are some beautiful and amazing creatures.

These sea lions cracked us up. This one sat at the edge begging for fish which you could by and feed them with. We enjoyed watching these silly things. Next time you see Zoe you should ask her what a begging sea lion sounds like.

watching sea lions beg The arctic ice wall

Oct 01

San Diego – The Beach

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Our San Diego visit will have to be spread out over a couple of posts. We had a lot we wanted to see and do in this area. One thing for sure was the beach. The real beach. A beach with actual waves. Surfing. Sand. A beach with real ocean breeze. Salty smell. I love the beach. And I love beach pictures. So needless to say we have a few.

Very friendly ‘resident’ campground ducks loved the kids when crackers were involved.

The campground we stayed at was right on the water so as soon as the trailer was set up we headed out for a little walk. One common theme in most of our beach adventures was our clothing. I don’t think we ever had our swim suits on. I don’t know why exactly we would just kind of end up at the beach. And there was no way we were going to keep the kids out of the water so we just went with it. And had a blast.

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This beach was on the bay so there were no waves. The water shallow for a good while and so warm.

Another beach adventure took us to Mission Beach.

This sand is so incredibly fine! As we visited more beaches up the coast it was fun to see how the sand changed. The further north we went the more coarse it became.

I know what you’re thinking. The cutest 17 month old you ever saw!

Oliver was cracking us up as he would grab a chunk of seaweed and throw it back into the waves yelling, “My baby, My Baby, My baby!” as the waves pushed it back onto the shore. Over, and over again.

The wonder of waves

Not crazy about waves. At this point she was yelling “No, No, No!” when I tried to put her down.

Sep 25

We're back!

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This time I (sort of) have an excuse for letting the blog laps. OK, not really but I have got some great pictures to share so I’m sure you’ll forgive me.

We just returned from our “home-school” family trip. We like to take a trip in September when all those poor public school children head back to their rooms. Campgrounds are empty and lines are short. This years trip was a bit bigger than normal. Lasted 3 weeks. Visited 3 states. Saw 3 countries.

So, without further adu, California here we come!

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Our first stop was northern Sacramento area. Yep. You read that right. First stop. 21 hours. But we were there and ready to party. After some sleep. We met up with my brother Mark and enjoyed some good old fashion visiting. Can you believe how lame we were? No pictures. A total bummer. While in the area we ended up heading to Lake Tahoe. There we took some pictures.

The boys loved this old fire truck.

After a few days hanging with family and playing in the sun we headed to our most southern destination. San Diego! But that will have to wait till next time.

Jun 16

Back at Winthrop

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This memorial day weekend saw us back in Winthrop this year. We had an awesome time. It was relaxing and mellow. A perfect way to start out the camping season.

The cutest crew ever!

Deer leg found in our campsite. We found the other three legs in a site a few spaces over.

This little boy buried himself in the sand and Abigail really couldn't understand the point.

Beautiful!

May 30

Great Wolf Lodge

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Summer began this year with a surprise trip to Great Wolf Lodge. We had a wonderful time and I’m sure we will visit again. It doesn’t seem to be that big of a water park but there is something for everyone.

I love this photo for obvious reasons but, trust me, he did not get hit in the face. Otherwise he would not look like this…

By the second day Oliver was having a blast in the water and trying all the different little kid things they had to offer.

Zeke catching up on a little light reading.

For those of you that aren’t familiar with this site this is the 1,000 gallon bucket that dumps every so often. There is a bell that dings a few times before it goes. There are two types of people…those that run TO it (Zoe and Greg), and those that run FROM it (the boys and I). Abigail is somewhere in between as she just goes with whichever type has her. Greg heard the bell and ran over with Abigail in his arms. After the dump she gave a shutter and said “wooo” and that was it. He came back with a soaking wet girl that look just like this, just a little more wet. The next time he took her she heard the bell looked up at the bucket then lowered her head with a sigh and took what was coming.

I have so many favorite pictures it was hard to choose. So I’m going to show you a bunch. Why not?

See! She had a good time.

Ooooo. The hot tub. This is where the boys first got comfortable in the water. That was fine with me. It was my favorite place.

In the evening the Great Wold Lodge has a story time. Zoe just HAD to go so in their jammies the kids went down to the story. They open with this song about not being afraid if you get lost in the woods. Just trust mother nature. hmmm…OK. Sure “mother nature” will just eat you. Anyway. Greg and I laughed and rolled our eyes (well I did at least) when the song started and had a chat with the kids afterward. But they got to have their picture taken with Oliver the raccoon. Zeke was a bit giddy. He couldn’t stop laughing. Our Oliver, on the other had looked like this

He almost went up to him but at soon as the raccoon opened his arms to welcome him Oliver jumped back. I don’t think he is into trusting mother nature do you? Or at least a giant raccoon.

The final pose. Isn’t she cute!

Sep 05

The Last…

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Well, this is a post of two lasts. The Silver Beach Church campout. Sadly, it was our last camping trip this year. Greg has been working a lot of overtime and our last couple trips have been canceled. So I’m glad it was a nice long trip with great people. It was also the last last camp out as SBCC. The Lord provided a new building and location for our church and our name has been changed. Fortunately, the camp out will continue next year as SCBC (Spring Creek Bible Church). We had a wonderful time getting to know people better and just having some good ol’ fun. Here are some pictures from the week.