Author: travelingterrells

Wishing a Happy Birthday to Ryan! You can be so strong yet so sweet at the same time and we love you so much! This picture was taken at your school party that was so fun. Poppy even came to play guitar for you and your classmates!

 

Some of you might have known or seen this coming. Today was  bittersweet. We’ve sold our travel trailer that has served us so faithfully for the past three years. Our children are growing at such a rapid pace that we’ve simply outgrown our Apex 18BH. We spent our last three nights in the little guy over Columbus Day Weekend  but don’t fret, it’s going to a good home to make new memories and support new adventures.

Three years of adventures, diapers, hikes and challenges have gone by and our camper has kept us warm and dry throughout. This has been our home away from home. Our children have learned the joys of camping and being outdoors. We’re truly thankful and blessed to be able to live the life we do and spend time with our family this way.

If you’d like more information on the Apex 18BH by Coachmen, click this link and check out our video tour I prepared  for when I planned to advertise the sale. Luckily it never made it to market and was snatched up by acquaintances.

For general information about our Apex 18BH we posted when we first bought our trailer, click here.

The children were upset and I even teared up as well. But this is not the end for us. We’ve got a plan and you’ll just have to stay tuned in to find out. Until then, thanks for stopping by.

Columbus Day Weekend at Brook n Wood is to some the biggest weekend event of the year. If you ask my kids they would certainly tell you that Halloween at Brook n Wood is the cat’s meow. We arrived late Friday night so that we would already be up or the events on Saturday. The weekend kicked off with a hayride followed by pumpkin painting. We later got dressed up in our costumes and participated in the Halloween Parade followed by a costume contest. Sarah was Frankiestein from Monster High, Ava was a witch and Ryan was Superman. This year, everybody won a small prize for their costume. After all the prizes were handed out we took the children trick-or-treating around the campground. We had barely enough time to count our loot when they announced the Scary Hayrides were about to begin. Linda held a place in line with the kids as I helped scare the riders on the first hayride. I rode the second hayride with Sarah and Ryan. Sarah’s a seasoned champ while Ryan seemed quite concerned especially when the deranged man with the chainsaw jumped aboard. Ava made it on the third hayride with Poppi and Ryan slipped right on again (I guess he wasn’t too scared). Sarah and I got to scare the riders of the the third hayride as well and she just had a blast doing it!

The next day brought a few more hayrides, I took the kids on a nature hike and we were treated to live music by Kin, a two man band recently formed by my father-in-law, Mario and Linda’s nephew Matt.

This weekend is always bittersweet as its usually our last weekend camping as it starts to get quite cold after mid-October. In fact we have not been up since school started as our weekends are full with soccer practices, track meets and birthday parties. Still, this weekend was a little sadder than past season closings as we’re making a big change representing a departure from  the only way we’ve known as a family in the past regarding camping as well as a big jump towards our camping future. Please stay tuned as to what exactly we’re doing and how we transition. Thanks for stopping by.

Grandpa came up this past weekend  to spend time with us. Lots of swimming, biking and campfires. Ava got her cast off and is doing a lot better walking. I don’t think any of us knew how long of a recovery was involved once her cast actually came off. Aunt Michelle and Juliana also came up and on Saturday we went to the Dutchess County Fair and had a great time on the rides. Sarah has come to really like the games at the fair and won several prizes. It was a fun weekend and the weather was beautiful.

We’ve had a few requests for a video tour of our Apex 18BH by Coachmen.  I’ve been meaning to shoot this for awhile now so here we go. Hope you enjoy and thanks for stopping by.

This past week myself and the kids stayed out with my parents in Suffolk County for a few days as Linda was working and it’s a bit difficult caring for all of them solo now that Ava’s in a cast. We went out one morning to the Long Island Aquarium in Riverhead and had the best time. The children were engaged for hours petting stingrays, watching sharks and learning about all different kinds of fish and the local ecosystem. We attended a sea lion show as well but the favorite for the kids was the Ray Pool. There’s no replacement, especially for children, for the sensation of actually touching something and even feeding it.

The aquarium is not only fish. There are penguins, alligators, otters and even monkeys to be seen. We had gone here last summer and I’m sure we’ll go here next summer as well, making it a yearly ritual.

When I was editing this video I became inspired by some of the music for the movie,  Jaws. The famous theme can be heard on this video as well as some of the music in the movie that set the stage for many of the town scenes. Enjoy the video and thanks for stopping by!

As you may have noticed in our recent post when we went to Sturbridge, MA there were things we (I) wanted to do in the area that were left on the table. I’m ok with that, being we’re traveling and vacationing with small children but just days before we set out on this trip we were thrown yet another curveball: Ava fractured her tibia playing with kids in the yard and after 6 hours in the ER it was determined she needed a full leg cast for a minimum of three weeks. We were in tears thinking of this poor child not yet four years old yet having to cope with the limitations set upon her in the middle of summer. What should we do, cancel the trip? How is she going to react when her siblings can swim and ride their bicycles and she’s confined to a wheelchair. Doctors orders were no weight bearing meaning we would have to do everything for this poor child. It was a difficult call.

Well, we have two other children to think about. What about their summer? They started going nuts sitting around the house, Ava too. This accident has stressed each member of our family even if some are too young to express it. We decided that whatever limitations existed it was still better to go. A lot of work for Mom and Dad sure but this whole endeavor has been work. Raising small children is work. Camping is work. Life is work, but we love our family and we love giving our children these experiences.So here we go…

I said earlier that there were things left on the table but we still were able to do quite a bit. I was hoping to film at least three movies from this trip but the work we put in limited my ability to film as I was helping Ava, or the other two… or perhaps pushing a wheelchair. A few times Linda and I split up and I took Sarah and Ryan swimming but we had good family time as well. Lake George Escape is a great family campground. Every day of the week had activities and crafts that Ava could make. They had a great saltwater pool with a splash zone for the little ones as well. We also swam and tubed in the Schroon River. All the kids were able to enjoy the large playground and I brought our bicycle trailer so Ava could take rides with us. We could have spent a lot more time there.

We went into Lake George Village to visit  Fort William Henry for a ghost tour that probably would be better suited for older kids and returned the next day to visit a small amusement park, Dr. Morbid’s Haunted House and and ride the Minne-Ha-Ha Steamboat around the lower lake. Sarah and Ryan really loved the haunted house and were asking to go back the next day. Note: this is probably too scary for most children their age by my kids seem to have this fearlessness  about them. I call it vigor.

We visited Fort Ticonderoga at he top of the lake another morning and were able to see the way soldiers lived, performed and prepared for battle. We stuck around long enough to seem them fire the cannon and left afterwards as the heat of the afternoon was getting to the kids.

The weather was great for us. Great nights for campfires and warm days. We actually had a couple days that we didn’t get wet at all. A good thing for Ava as we definitely didn’t want her to feel excluded. Sure,there were things we would have liked to do but couldn’t. I didn’t film and capture as many memories as I would have liked, but Lake George – We will be back! Thanks for stopping by and please enjoy our “highlights” video.

 

Happy Birthday to Ava who turned four years old on August 2nd. , and yes, that’s a full cast on her right leg! She broke her tibia playing with friends in the yard just three days before her Birthday BBQ. We scrambled to change the venue to a more friendly ceramics class and it worked out anyway as we had rain the day of her proposed party. Hopefully the cast is only on for three weeks and we can salvage the last couple  weekends of summer. Linda and I were in tears as the doctor was casting her leg as she’s been doing so good with swimming and bicycling around the campground this season.

Luckily her siblings have been so helpful so far. After much consideration, we are not altering our camping plans for the rest of the summer. Activities maybe, but we’re still going away as we have two other children to think about and it’s their summer as well. Besides, they have been going a bit stir crazy in the house, any new activity will be a welcome activity for them. Kids will be kids. Bones can get broken, skin will be bruised and cuts will happen. All we can do is adapt and overcome these challenges as a family. Now stay tuned as to how we make out. Thanks for stopping by.

Only one Christmas a year can be hard on kids. The waiting, the anticipating…. Why not have a taste mid way through the year if you can. How can it hurt? Many campgrounds have themed weekends, whether it be Luau Weekend or Halloween Weekend, so it helps to look ahead when you book. This way you know to bring your Hawaiian Shirt, some spooky decorations for your camp site or maybe a string of Christmas lights. Our kids love Christmas in July almost as much as Halloween Weekend which occurs Columbus Day Weekend in the early Fall.

We arrived at Brook n Wood Friday night and swam in the pool until it closed at 9:00. My sister came up with her husband, Jeff and their two children and we had the most delightful weekend. We went on a “Zombie/Ninja Hike” later that night before turning in. In the morning we went on a squirt gun hayride and later the kids made gingerbread cookies. More swimming followed by the Santa Claus Hayride in which you can see my father in law on the ukulele next to Santa. He also provided the other music in this video so thanks are in order to Mario for the entire soundtrack.

The kids exhaust themselves up here. They hardly watch any TV and are outside playing constantly. On the hayride you can see Ryan just lose it and fall asleep in our fellow camping kid Brody’s lap.

After the hayride we went up to the Rec. Center where Santa had presents for all the girls and boys (hint, hint to parents) followed by an Ice Cream Social.

The next morning we all went on a hike and painted rocks followed by, you guessed it: more swimming. Ava and Ryan actually took naps in the afternoon and we went out later for ice cream at the Holy Cow in Red Hook, NY.

My sister and family checked out the next day and the children played in the brook and weswam a bit more in the pool to tire the kids out for the ride home. We’re so glad they could come up and join us for the weekend and it’s so nice to get the cousins together.

Thanks for stopping by and enjoy the video!

The kids have been begging to stay sleep over Grandma and Grandpa’s house for a couple of months now so this week worked out that I could bring them out and spend a few days. The weather was beautiful this past Wednesday so we decided to take a trip with Grandpa on his boat out to McAllister County Park in Port Jefferson, NY. This park is just a short trip across the harbor which is perfect for young attention spans. Sarah and Ava came here with us last year but this was Ryan’s first trip.

Pirate’s Cove is adjacent to McAllister Park and can be a very busy anchorage on the weekends. I’m sure you may be able to hike in but I’ve only been by boat. The reward is basically a whole beach to your self.

On this trip we anchored on the protected harbor side, collected shells and swam a bit. We eventually hiked around to the Long Island Sound side for some swimming as well. At high tide there are some great little shallow pools that form behind the breakwater. You can see Ava swimming in these in the video. Last year we must have been there at low tide as I don’t remember them, or it may be the agony my feet were in at the time that may have created pain induced tunnel vision- bring water shoes!  Tons of small rocks and broken shells are abound.

When we got back to the boat we had lunch and headed back as the kids were all tired. They napped in the car and later we all took a dip in the pool for a freshwater rinse. Thanks Grandpa for taking us out, it was a wonderful day.