Back in the campin' saddle again

WOW!  It has been since before Christmas since I blogged.  Crazy!  We have been doing lots of things, but apparently I could not get it together to blog about any of it.  :)  Winter was filled with LOTS of snow and coooollllldddd weather!  I am so happy to see the warm weather I just don't know what to do with myself.  Spring sports are starting and camping is back in session!!

Due to Mike's aneurysm, last year we did not have a great opportunity for camping.  We are hoping to make up for it this year.  Our Spring Break was this week.  It is coming to an end and we go back to school in two days, but it was fun while it lasted.

Each year we typically go to Florida over Spring Break.  Each year we pick a park or place to visit while we are there.  In addition to a particular park, we will visit my parents who live in Clearwater Florida during the winter and early spring months of the year.  As a result of softball and track for Emily and Ryan, we decided we just had too much on our plate this year and decided to stay in Virginia and camp a few days instead.  We reserved two nights at Jellystone Park in Luray Virginia.  This is one of our favorite campgrounds so we are trying to make it an annual tradition.

We left early Monday, camped Monday night, Tuesday night and packed up Wednesday morning and headed home.

This is overlooking the campground.  With the mountains in the background.  It was very pretty and sadly, this picture did not do it justice.

Ryan found this chain and then hooked it to himself as if it were chained to a wallet.  It was too funny.  Had to take a picture.

For the first time EVER, we decided to rent a golf cart.  We NEVER do this, but we seemed to be the only people staying there who did not have a golf cart.  We figured they must not be that expensive and decided to check it out.  We rented one, for just one night, and rode the thing until the battery was not longer charged.  We charged it overnight and rode it several times until we had to turn it in before we left.  Mike took a selfie while he and the kids were on it.

You were not allowed to drive the golf cart unless you were 18 years old and had a valid drivers license.  The kids were not able to drive it, but decided to pose as if they were able to take it on their own.  It was crazy.  They wanted us to drop them off everywhere and then come pick them up.  Even places that we were so close to that we could yell at a person who was there (from our campsite) and we drove them there with the golf cart.  Normally we would not have agreed to it, but figured since we were paying for it.  Was kind of like an amusement park ride.  :)

Lydia and Mike shot some hoops.

We rode the paddle boats.  Lydia had to ride in the back.

Mike and Emily drove Lydia around.

Mike realized, after we got to the campground, that we had forgotten fire starters.  We keep them in the camper and only had one left when we thought there were more.  Instead of purchasing more fire starters, we noticed that we had pinecones all over the campground and there was no fear of them running out.  The kids filled a trashbag full of pinecones and Mike decided to give it a whirl to start his fire with the pinecones.  It worked!!  Not sure if you can see the pinecones in this picture (maybe when you click on the picture to make it bigger), but they are there.  We were quite proud of this fire so we took a picture.  :)

It does not matter how many times I download pictures on this thing.  I am NEVER able to get the pictures to load on here in the order I want them to.  This is Ryan and me on the boats.

Lydia was the only one I could convince to get in the Yogi basket for our traditional picture.  Ryan and Emily are sitting and leaning on the golf cart in the background.  

This is the other Yogi in the campground.  We were on our way to play mini golf.  We played the mini golf course there about 4 times while we were there.  We should be pros by now.

The two movies, if you can see them, are from the famous Jumping Pillows that are at the Jellystone Campground.  The kids LOVE them!!  I have a movie from way back.  We were at this campground when the kids were much younger.  They still loved jumping, but Lydia was not a fan of jumping when others were jumping at the same time.  Click on "camping" on the right side of the top of the blog, and it will take you to camping at Jellystone back in 2009.  My brother and niece make an appearance in these too.  Love to make memories!!

 

Hey Yogi, Weee'rree Back!!

In 2009 we visited Yogi Bear's Jellystone Campground (see camping off to the right) and went back again this past weekend.  Things have changed and stayed the same.  We took a picture in the picnic basket again, but this time not everyone fit like they did 6 years ago.

While there, the kids enjoyed the jumping pillows, laser tag and were able to drive the paddle boats themselves this time!!  It was great!  The kids made breakfast on Sunday morning.  They mixed up pancake batter and broke up the left over hershey bars from s'mores so they could have "chocolate chips."  While enjoying their culinary creations, and patting each other on the back, Emily said "I love camping." to no one in particular.  It warmed my heart!!  There is a lot of work that goes into camping, but hearing your child say things like that makes it all worth it!  They all love it!!  So do Mike and I!  :)

Lasertag

Paddle Boats

Putt Putt course

Memories

I continue to wonder what makes kids close to their parents and hope that Mike and I are doing a good job creating a good relationship with our children so when that crucial moment happens that they can either come to us or go to their friends, that they come to us.

My family did not camp when I was a kid. Once my brother and I moved out, our parents purchased a nice used motor home to see how they liked the camping/traveling thing. They loved it and have since graduated to a new, much nicer model RV. Mike has so many fond memories of camping with his grandparents when he was little. It is such an important thing that our kids have these same great memories.

This past weekend we went camping with my parents and my brother and his family. We all met up at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park in Luray. We had camped at the Jellystone Park in Natural Bridge, but not in Luray. It was such a great campground!! It had so many great things to do that there was really no time for the "sitting around the campfire" type of camping that we enjoy :).

They had these great jumping pillows. They were these huge plastic/canvas pillows that had air constantly being pumped into them. You could jump on them just like you would a trampoline. We all loved it!! Particularly Mike! The early teenage kids kept asking him to come back over and jump with them because he would jump so high and it would cause them to jump higher and higher. As my brother described it, he looked like a rock star with all the kids hovering around him :). Lydia did not like it if there were a lot of people jumping at the same time she was--particularly big people (mainly Mike :)). She did not feel secure while jumping so she would wait until there were just a few people jumping and then she would have a great time. Emily jumped and jumped and when we were not at the jumping pillows, she would ask to go to the jumping pillows. Ryan liked it a lot, but he preferred riding his bike. We allowed him to ride just down from our campers and over in front of the pool by himself. Needless to say, he thought he was something else and spent most of the weekend doing just that. My niece, Adella, was kind of hit or miss. She liked it, but only if she was jumping with someone else, but she too felt a little uneasy if lots of people were jumping around her.



As most campgrounds do, this campground also had a playground. We usually spend a lot of time at the campground playgrounds, but there were so many other fun things to do here that we only spent a short time there.
If you purchased a wristband you were able to have access to several activities without paying extra. We took full advantage. Mike and Ryan purchased a wristband and Lydia and Emily were free on everything that they were able to participate in (according to their age they were not able to go on the water slide at all). I did not purchase a wristband because I had to stay with Lydia and Emily when they were not able to ride. The paddle boats were part of our "free entertainment." Mike, Ryan and Lydia started on the paddle boats and Emily was a little scared. Once she saw them paddling and having such a great time, she decided to join in. She had to sit in the back though because the front was full :).

The water slide was included in the wristband price as well. Ryan went down the first day, but he was not able to touch the bottom of the pool at the bottom of the water slide and did not want to go again the
next day so I don't have a picture of him.

Lydia, Emily and I went on a wagon ride that Boo Boo and Cindy were hosting. Just prior to us getting on the wagon, they took Boo Boo away on a golf cart. We can only assume he was getting ready to pass out since it was 92 degrees and he was wearing a fur suit :). It took us around the campground so we were able to pass our campers where Grammy and Aunt Allison were sitting outside and waived to us.

The pool was really great! They had two kiddie pools and a regular pool. We stayed in the bigger kiddie pool. It started at 2 feet deep and gradually went to 4 feet. Everyone was able to touch in the majority of the pool. Plus, there was this great mushroom waterfall in the middle of the pool that everyone just loved.

S'mores were a big hit with Adella as well as Ryan and Emily. Lydia passed out before we could get the marshmallows out. It was a big day for everyone!

On our last morning there, we hit the pool and the jumping pillows one more time before packing up and heading home. It was a great weekend!!
The following movies are of the putt-putt game that was also included in the wristband price. We don't have any golfers on our hands at this point I don't think. :). Also, a movie of Ryan riding his bike past the pool and a movie of the jumping pillows. This will give you a better idea of how cool they were. Oh, BTW, you are not seeing things . . . yes, Ryan has a Mohawk! We will be shaving it off by the end of the week!

Camping with the Settles

What a terrific weekend!! The five of us went camping with my friend, Becky, and her family. Our kids are ages 6, 5, 4, 3 and 3. They absolutely love each other! This is the second year we have gone camping with this family. It is so much fun!! We went to Christopher Run Campground at Lake Anna. There is a great swimming area at the lake along with a little beach. They have a playground and some great fishing. Ryan and Lucas (Becky's 6 year old) both caught their first fish! Ryan actually caught 4 fish before the day was over! We were all pretty proud parents! Stuart owns a sailboat and he and Mike took it out on Sunday, before we left. His plan was to take the rest of us out as well, but when they returned it was getting late and starting to rain. Hopefully next time:). On Saturday morning, for breakfast, Becky brought ingredients to make "boiled bag omelets" that the kids could make themselves. They had such a great time shaking their bagged omelet and ate every bite! Never thought I would, but we sure do LOVE camping!!!