Category: Life

The dinner bounce pad is gone!!!! And we have not had to say sit, stop jumping, please just eat your food etc. in over a week!

I had never loved the aesthetics of the ole dinette booth but when the functionally of it became less than ideal we really started contemplating a little renovation, we pulled the trigger and I’m happy to announce it is finally done!

I painted the slide out…aka the living room and dining room walls “spinach white.” It took two coats but went on easy and seems to be holding up just fine. Didn’t prep the walls with anything, just started painting away! The white brick on the bottom portion of the walls is a peel and stick. Pretty easy to stick on and if you want to get super into functionality it should help with our insulation or lack thereof in the camper walls. 

The couch has a new slipcover on it that we got for Christmas. The couch was made from fake leather and was cracking and peeling like crazy…and we don’t even have animals! We had thrown a blanket over the back and an old shower curtain over the cushions to make it a little less of an eye sore. But the slip cover has done wonders!!! Now the blankets do not slip off and it looks wayyyyyy better!

We took out the booth (and sold it on Facebook for $20….it would have cost us $20 to take it to the dump so we feel like that was a $40 swing to the positive for us)! We found this little table and chair set on Amazon. It took a minute to piece it together but I love how it turned out. 

Went to Hobby Lobby for the first time in 7 months and got these little white baskets…they are actually napkin holders from the party section….but I find them highly functional this way too! Small, light weight. And able to hold these little trees from Target’s $3 section!

As we sit at the table we now get to look out the window and I love that view way more than looking at the fridge and island. One of my favorite parts is that the little suction hummingbird feeder is right there on the window and we get to sit and watch them as we eat. A sweet little gift God has given us reminding us he takes care of the birds and He most certainly takes care of us! We get to see a multitude of hummingbirds and then two days ago this other little guy showed up! It was a verdin a cute little bird only found in hot desert regions.

Our renovation cost:

Paint- $33

Brick- $50

Table- $165

Decor- $15    

Total- $263 (minus $20/$40) depending on how you look at it!

Totally worth our time and money to make this little camper feel less like it just came off the production line and more like us!

#1–Since we have left North Carolina….

We have had to use the laundry facilities at the campgrounds we’ve stayed at. They have ranged from $1-$2 per load. We usually do laundry once or twice a week. It’s not too bad but we are thankful we got to use free laundry the whole time we worked in the Outer Banks. 

#2–What we miss most: (besides all of you humans!)

Him- a bed that his feet don’t hang off. A queen bed is one thing but a “camper queen” is another thing. Although the padding is fine, the length leaves much to be desired.

Her- never ending supply of hot water for showers. (We have replaced the shower head so don’t worry it’s not as terrible as it looks in that picture!)

We sleep and we get clean just fine but that’s what we would say we miss most. 

#3–The worst part about the camper….

The dining room set up. It’s a u-shaped dinette. The long bench area seems to scream jumping pad, wrestling arena, balancing beam etc. rather than please come sit and enjoy a lovely meal with your family. This has generated a thought of removing said dinette and getting a normal table and chairs! Hoping to get this completed when we are stationary for the holidays.

#4–What do we cook….

The same thing we always did just in a little smaller area. The stove top has three burners and the oven fits on 9×13 pan max. We have eight plates and four cups so we do dishes after almost every meal- we are the dishwasher 🙂 The fridge is bigger than a regular camper fridge but it’s smaller than a normal residential size. We easily fit a weeks worth of groceries in it.

The beach here is always changing. Our neighbor that lives here all summer said “I love the beach because it is always changing. You never know what it will be like. It changes every day.” Honestly I kind of thought she was crazy because I’m from Kansas and I know a lot about the beach, and the beach is……. the beach.  

We got here at the end of August and the beach was like a postcard. The sand was nice and clean, smooth, so soft, no seaweed. Right now there is a cliff (4-5 foot drop) that got here about two weeks ago. It never used to be there. When that cliff first got here, there was hardly any beach. Then it came even closer and when you got to the end of the walkway there was the cliff and the waves were crashing right up to it. It went from a huge smooth sandy beach, to tiny beach, to a drop off cliff beach…..and as most flatlanders know, fields don’t change like that in Kansas.

There can be different items that get washed up too, from driftwood to a big bench from who knows where to a telephone pole (huge normal sized telephone pole covered with barnacles) to tons of seaweed. It’s always changing! Our neighbor was right. 

The beach that is always changing reminds me of life, life is always changing. People come and go, things come and go. The beach goes through seasons, life goes through seasons. When you hear the word beach you typically think- it’s sunny, 80 degrees, no wind, perfect day. That’s the beach on occasion but not always, it has its seasons. Just like life has its seasons. There’s a bible passage that talks a lot about seasons:

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 “To everything there is a season, and a time for every matter or purpose under heaven: 2 A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted. 3 A time to kill and a time to heal, a time break down and a time to build up. 4 A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. 5 A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and time to refrain from embracing. 6 A time to get and time to lose, a time to keep and time to cast away. 7 A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak. 8 A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.”

Now that is time for a lot of different things! The beach looks different on different days and life will look different on different days. It comforting to know change has always been and will be but it is even more comforting knowing He is with us every day of every season.

Another time of change is coming for us. We’ll be packing up in a week or so and taking five weeks to get home for the holidays. We have a scratch off map and are excited to mark off some new states. We won’t be “working” we’ll just be adventuring. I’m sure things will go “wrong” but it’ll be a part of the season, this new season that He has given us!

1- The morning they found the cliff, Oct 26th

2- The “cliff” from the down below

3- From the waters edge

4- Seaweed wreath

5- From the walkway looking out to ocean before the cliff

6- Beach art- when the ocean gives you seaweed make it beautiful!

Our Days Off

We get two days off a week. Thankfully we both get the same two days off and those two days are consecutive days. Typically speaking we get Monday and Tuesday off. Most weeks we spend those two days differently. 

One day we stay at the campgournd and we rest.  We go to the beach, we go to the pool, we go kayaking, we play at the playground, we use the hottub. We go for walks, ride bikes, fly kites etc. We read our bible stories, we sing our Sabbath songs and we rest. I started practicing the Sabbath in January. It looks different than what I had always thought it was but mostly it’s acknowledging that God tells us to rest one day a week and it’s not crossing things off any list. It’s not doing laundry and paying the bills while trying to “be” with your kids. It’s just a day of rest and a pause. At this point in our life it’s not meditating and quiet for hours on end. But our two year old and four year know that the Sabbath is different than the other days. As they grow I hope to make it more meaningful but for this life stage this is what it looks like for us. 

On our other day off we act like tourists and go see the sites. We’ve bought three tanks for gas since August 28th, it’s nice to have everything you need so close, plus no commute (besides golf carts). But on this off day we get out and go see things.

To date we have been on a ferry to an island (that can only be reached via private airplane, boat or ferry). We have been to five different lighthouses and we were able to climb up one of them. We have gone to a sand dune state park, to the Wright Brothers National Memorial, the NC state aquarium (that had a sea turtle hospital), multiple fishing piers and seen sea fishing first hand, plus new parks and boardwalks. 

And now here are some pictures of all of that!!

8:00- He goes to work, work at this hour includes cleaning the pool, picking up trash (cruising in a golf cart looking for bags on the side of the road), being on call for any maintenance type needs. She finishes breakfast with the boys. Then usually does some form of “camper school” which involves calendar time, reading a bible story and then something else….. doing a craft, singing deep and wide and then going to the beach and digging deep and wide holes. There are endless options. 

9:00- She has to send a Zingle (a text message to all the humans staying at the campground regarding the day’s activities). The boys are welcome to come along on a trip to the office (we both have golf carts so getting around is pretty easy) or they can opt to go work with Dad (they love trash duty). 

10:00- He is still on duty (with or without one or two children) and usually has started working on a project of some sort by this time- mowing, building bunk beds, cleaning AC filters, tearing down picnic tables etc etc. She is either having free time and at the beach playing baseball or something of the sort with the boys. Or could be prepping. Prepping could be for the craft at 11:00 or for the next week, planning events, drafting weekly schedules etc. 

11:00- We both are usually at the morning activity. Depending on the day of the week this could include: scavenger hunt, worship, craft time, tie dying, rock painting or something of the sort. The boys are with us doing said activity. 

12:00- Lunch time! We both clock out and go back to the camper and eat lunch. We get an hour lunch break IF we have to go back that afternoon. He goes back on mowing or big project days. She goes back on prepping days. Sometimes we both stay home after lunch, it varies.  

1:00- Nap time and quiet time. Little m still naps. Big M has quiet time (he is in our room) playing with quiet toys, listening to an audio book or occasionally falls asleep. They get their time apart and now Mom and Dad can too. We take turns taking our own naps, going to the beach or pool and reading, running errands. 

2:00- Still nap time for little m. Big M gets to do a “big boy activity” (something he doesn’t get to do when a younger brother is around). Work on phonics flashcards, play with slime or rice, play slap jack or matching, read a chapter book. Sometimes both parents are around, sometimes one is working or sometimes one is doing their own relaxing. 

3:00- Nap time is usually getting over. The boys have a snack. And we start getting ready for the 4:00 activity. Prep for anything that might be needed for it. 

4:00- Activity time. Usually the Fun Train (he drives a pick up that is pulling 12 double rain barrels on wheels while she is sitting in the bed of the pick up with a megaphone and a stereo and the boys are having a grand ole time). Sometimes this activity time could be a foam party, bike ride or pool games—whatever it is we are all together. 

5:00- Most days of the week the work day is over. On Fridays or Saturdays there might be another activity later on. Now we prep, cook and eat dinner. If it’s a beautiful day out we might push everything back and go to the pool for a little while before dinner. 

6:00- Clean up dinner. Maybe go on a walk, go to the pool, go to the beach, watch the sunset. Or prep for the 7:00 activity. 

7:00- Activities at this time include: s’mores, bingo, movie night, karaoke or glow train. If we have an activity we typically all go and make a night out of it. If there is not an activity then we have some more family time, play baseball, read, walk, ride bikes, beach, pool, etc. Then start showers and get ready for bed. 

8:00-Ideal bedtime for boys on non activity evenings. Bedtime gets pushed back if we are still at an activity at this time. Adults clean the camper, have a fire, eat ice cream, work on the blog or just enjoy some peace and quiet. 

And for all of this “hard work” we get a free camp site (includes- water, electricity, trash, sewer, cable and internet) plus we each get paid $10/hour. 

Stay tuned for an in-depth financial breakdown post soon!

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