And We're Off!

Brialee RV & Tent Park in Ashford, CT   April 22-24, 2016

We made it!

Despite two storms on Friday night, the second one being a huge thunderstorm, our first camping trip of the 2016 season went down in the books as a success. We decided to try an April trip this year and chose Brialee RV & Tent Park because they had a full activity schedule, which can be hard to find this early in the season, plus with an off-season rate of $20/night, we couldn't go wrong!

Living in New England limits our camping season and our camper has been parked in our driveway since the end of October. It was as though it was Christmas Eve again the night before we left, based on the level of excitement in our house. All three kids were eagerly anticipating a fun weekend of camping. The camper was fully stocked, car packed and address loaded in the GPS when I got home from work at 11am on Friday. The kids chatted about the "new campground" for most of our trip and my youngest son spent almost the whole hour asking "are we there yet?".

When we arrived, we were given a map to our site. I was a little disappointed at first as we drove away from the playground since I asked to be on a site near there, but was pleasantly surprised to discover a second playground as we pulled up to our site. Our site was in a field-type area and we were not thrilled with that. I did call the office to see if we could be moved to a site with some shade, but was told that all of the sites were full! We certainly weren't expecting to hear that in April. We settled into our site and while my husband was setting up the camper, the kids and I went exploring. We were near a brand new bathroom, with showers, in addition to playground, fields and covered pavilion. The site was a little tight, but was all grass, which is always a plus.

The new bathroom and showers

One of the playgrounds 

It was Earth Day Weekend, so the campground's activities were Earth Day themed, as were the activities I planned for my kids. While there, we went for walks in the woods on their paths (the wooden walkway definitely needs a little TLC), visited the playgrounds, participated in activities like crafts, candy bingo and a 2.5 hour marathon kickball game for my oldest son. There was a Family Movie Night on the Saturday night and the movie being shown was Daddy's Home. I didn't think was the best choice for younger kids, so we had a fun evening around our campfire instead.

A walk through the woods

 A majority of campgrounds don't have activities on Sunday and have an early checkout, but Brialee has Sunday activities and a late check-out. It definitely made packing up on Sunday morning less stressful!

Overall, we had a good time and would definitely consider returning, especially since we were not able to enjoy the pool, splash pad and pond this visit. All three kids asked when we were going back as we were heading home. I would not want a site in the same area during the summer as there was no shade, but there were some shaded sites that would be great for a hot summer weekend. 

Next up, Whispering Pines Campground in Hope Valley, RI for Memorial Day Weekend!

Happy Camping,
Rachel

P.S. See below for some more pictures from our weekend at Brialee!

Collecting rocks to paint.

Planting our strawberry plants for home.

Painting their rocks.

T Minus 24 Hours

We have less than 24 hours before we kick off the 2016 camping season! There are three excited kids in my house, all armed with $5 each from Grammy to spend in the camp store. We've been getting the  camper ready all week and that involved a HUGE shopping yesterday.

My husband takes care of the camper maintenance "stuff," while I stock the camper, plan meals and pack for myself and the kids. I purchased some new goodies for this year, some big and some small, and I'm looking forward to trying them out. I'll be sharing reviews of them as we try them out.

We still had more shopping to do and no room left in our cart!

The kids are excited to explore a new campground and I'm excited to see what activities they're offering as part of their "Earth Day Weekend." We always choose campgrounds that have activities for kids and it's an added bonus when they have them for adults too!

There have been elevated fire weather warnings for Southern New England this week. I'm not sure if there will be campfire restrictions as a result, but we will find out tomorrow. We have the S'mores supplies packed and will be cooking them over the grill if needed. S'mores are an essential part of camping for us, although my daughter eats them without the chocolate. I'm still trying to figure out where she came from because I love chocolate.

Where are you camping this weekend?

Happy Travels,
Rachel

3 Kids and a Camper

Trying to start a blog with baby twins in 2013 was a little too much to handle, but I'm back! My twins are now three (or almost four, as they like to say) and my oldest son is nine. We've done a lot since my last post in May 2013, but one of my favorites is that we've become avid campers! I camped regularly as a child. My husband did not. When he brought up the idea of buying a camper in 2014, I thought he was delusional. As did all of our family and friends. It turns out that he's not against camping as long as he has air conditioning for sleeping. My husband is very pragmatic and after much research decided he wanted to buy a Jayco travel trailer.

We traveled to Forrest Marine & RV Center in Tyngsboro, Massachusetts and purchased a 2015 Jayco Jayfeather 23XB. Not only did they not think my husband was crazy, they encouraged and supported our decision to start camping with our 3 young children. Their service is top notch and I highly recommend them to novice and experienced campers.

Our maiden voyage was in May 2014 to Whispering Pines Campground in Hope Valley, Rhode Island. Camping with 1 year old twins and 7 year old boy, in a brand new camper, in the pouring rain had some challenges, but overall we had a great weekend and we were hooked!

Over the past 2 years, we have traveled New England and the Mid-Atlantic states exploring and creating lasting memories. Our 2016 season officially begins this upcoming weekend with our first trip to Brialee RV & Tent Park in Ashford, Connecticut. This April has brought everything from a snow storm to 70 degree weather to New England, so I'm hoping Mother Nature cooperates.

Throughout the season, I will be posting tips for camping with kids, campground reviews and more. We have many camping trips booked for this year and will be adding more. This is also the first year that we're doing a "Fall Fling" special. We will be spending weekends at my kids' favorite campground,  Sunfox Campground in Lisbon, Connecticut, from Labor Day through Halloween. 

Follow our adventures here and on Instagram. 

Happy Travels,

Rachel

Last year at Lake Compounce's Bear Creek Campground in Bristol, CT

Parents' Guide to Gaspee Days

If you're local to Rhode Island or visiting the state anytime between now and early June, be sure to read my Parents' Guide to Gaspee Days on Kidoinfo. The Gaspee Days Arts & Crafts Festival kicks off the season this weekend!

Wordless Wednesday

Perfect attire for a scooter ride on a hot afternoon in late-May. I hope he always travels through life with  the same level of confidence.

Imagine Sisyphus Happy

Last month, I saw a posting an Facebook and although I can't find it now, the gist of it was "I just conquered a mountain.  So what if it was a mountain of dirty laundry?" I 'liked' the post when I saw it on Facebook, but lately I've been thinking about it again. I think the fact that I have endless loads of laundry to do each day as the mom of 3 kids, including 2 babies, has made me reconsider that quote.  

I think that it would be easier to climb/conquer Mount Kilimanjaro than the laundry in my basement.  No, I am not saying that I could wake up tomorrow morning and set off to climb an actual mountain because I definitely couldn't. After all, I did take a van tour to the summit of Mount Washington in New Hampshire. I'm also not discrediting the amazing amount of training, strength and endurance it takes to climb an actual mountain. But, think about it. You have a list of things you want to do in life and one of them is "Climb Mount Kilimanjaro." You climb the mountain and once you successfully descend it, you can put a nice checkmark next to it or cross it off your list entirely. If "laundry" is on my to-do list for the day, I can put a nice checkmark or cross it off my list for about 2 minutes. Then more clothes are dirtied and the entire cycle starts again. Rather than conquering a mountain, I sometimes feel more like Sisyphus from Greek mythology. Most likely you know his story, but may not remember his name. He angered Zeus, Father of the Gods, and his punishment was to roll a huge boulder up a hill each day, only to have it roll back down at the end of the day for all of eternity.  

Philosopher, Albert Camus, invited his readers to look at the myth of Sisyphus from another angle and said, "One must imagine Sisyphus happy.” In light of so many tragedies throughout the nation during this past year, I try to pause when I feel that I have a never-ending task as Sisyphus did and reflect upon what I am actually doing. Yes, I have endless piles of laundry, dirty dishes, diapers to change and Legos to move from my living room. I have days when neither baby will nap and my 6 year old is as ornery as can be. Days when I feel that my life is like the movie, "Groundhog Day," and I'm destined to repeat the same day over and over.  Rather than dwelling on the negativity of Sisyphus' fate or that of Bill Murray's character in "Groundhog Day," I need to "imagine Sisyphus happy" because I sometimes forget how fortunate and happy I am. I have 3 healthy children, a loving husband, family and friends and a home in a great community. Those dirty clothes, dishes, diapers and house are here each day because they represent, not my "burden" to carry each day, but the abundance of love, laughter and joy in my life.  

Wordless Wednesday

A love of reading starts early.