Camper Decorating!

We camped in our travel trailer for almost a year when I realized I hadn't put a bit of effort into making it feel more like home. I guess with a toddler and a baby, I was doing good to keep the kids and dog alive and not break anything on those first few trips. Our travel trailer was new when we bought it, so I really haven't felt the need to do any major redecorating yet even though there are some things I would change. I also have a full-time job, soo I don't know where I'd find the time to paint or reupholster. 


I did a lot of research on what items I wanted to add to the space. For instance, I wanted to add a headboard to our queen bed area, but I didn't want to add any weight. With a giant piece of cardboard, some quilt batting and fabric came together easily and is light enough to be held up with 3M hooks. I love the way it turned out - for little money and little effort AND it covered up the hideous wallpaper boarder - BONUS!

My favorite transition has to be the kitchen area. Again, the ugly border stood out along the wall and with no decorative items so it just screamed brown-on-brown-on-brown. I think the after is definitely improved, using little money and little time. I spent about $55 on the Smart Tile backsplash (which was SO easy to install) and a few bucks on the other nick knacks. Take a look: 

 

You also can see in the photos, I sewed curtains out of the same green fabric that I used on the headboards and used them in the bunk area so you can't see the mess that is my girls' beds while camping. 

I also put some decorations in the bathroom...its amazing what a shower curtain and some wall decorations can do (hung with 3M strips):

As well as add little touches to the dining space:

If you or someone you know works in the design and manufacturing of RVs, I would LOVE to talk to them. I just don't understand why they pick the UGLIEST patterns for the fabrics and wallpapers. That being said, I would love to reupholster the couches and remove the window valances buuut I'm actually in the middle of trying to convince the hubs to upgrade to a motorhome so I'm going to pause on home improvements for now. This camper works well for our family for weekend trips but I have a grand vision for taking longer distance trips for a week+ at a time and this doesn't work well when you have to strap toddlers into their seats for hours at a time. 

Overall, I am really pleased with how the small details turned out. It may not seem like a huge difference, but it really helps us keep the camper feeling like home.

What do you think?!

Camping with Kids

Camping with kids is like, the ultimate reason to camp at all, right?!

The number one question people ask when I tell them we're a camping family, is "how do you do it?! I couldn't be in such close quarters with my family for long periods of time, no thanks."

But the truth is, what a freaking privilege to take our kids outside of societal norms and all of the digital age, and teach our children about this incredible earth rather than let them sit on their tablet for a weekend. 

Have you ever heard of the saying, "see the world through children's eyes?" Camping with children is the most amazing experience from this perspective. Recently the hubs took our oldest little one down to the river by our house and intentionally stopped to slow her thinking and really soak in the scenery. "Look at the bright green grass...look at the trees without leaves on them...look at the clear, cold water..." He could physically see the excitement in her eyes to see something new and different. A lot of times kids seem to notice what you want them to notice...if you are checked out, they are checked out. 

Practically speaking, we have had a HUGE box of toys under the storage of our camper and have only pulled it out maybe once in the last two years. In it, it has:

• Bubbles
• Chalk
• Clipboards with paper
• Markers, lots and lots of *Ultra clean* markers (truly they come clean from EVERYTHING like magic)
• Play-Doh kit
• Velcro ball game (what is this thing called?!)
• Assorted Glow Sticks
• Inflatable cactus ring toss game (it IS Texas, y'all)
• Assorted Art Supplies
• Mini purses (my girls fill them with dirt and rocks, which is kind of how I am in a sense...girly on the outside but a get-your-hands dirty nature lover on the inside)

It packs up pretty neatly into a shallow, but long storage container with a sturdy lid. I used to keep this in the inside of the camper but the girls would ransack it when we weren't looking (I know, scary!), so I started storing it under the bed. It works great there and also allows the girls a bigger thrill when they forget what is in there.

Its a pretty awesome backup kit in case you have an unexpectedly rainy weekend, or if you are staying put at a campsite rather than leaving the grounds to explore a town or something. 

In all honesty, camping with littles can be challenging. Ours are on a pretty strict schedule which involves a daily nap between 12 p.m. and 2 p.m. sometimes causing us to stop everything just to get them down. But we play it by ear and see what works at the time. Sometimes we will put them down for bed at night and just take a deep breath and a big swig of wine because we survived the day. Other times we can't get enough snuggles from them thinking about what an incredible journey we've had. Camping with littles can be unpredictable to some extent but for me, that is also what makes it exciting! What are your best tips for camping with little ones?

A Little Background

My husband and I have been camping since the beginning of our relationship, about 14 years now. In fact, I knew he was the one when he told me before our first real date to bring tennis shoes! I was pleasantly surprised when he took me out to the Barton Creek Greenbelt in Austin, TX for a hike and a wade in the cold springs. My roommate thought I was crazy to fall for someone who found joy in bringing a girl he didn't know into the middle of a densely forested area without an expensive dinner. Especially me and my foodie self (I am somewhat known in my circle to get "hangry" without food). But I loved it and fell for him pretty much instantly after that. There is a lot of excitement in actually spending quality time getting to know someone without the interruption of cell phones, social media, or the buzzing of passersby in a trendy downtown restaurant. Let's be real, it also makes for a great story that we started our adventure on day one.

I grew up RV camping with my parents in a 1980s Class C motor home that had bright yellow plaid curtains and a bed over the cab with swirly patterned mattresses that looked like a mix of spilled coffee and shag carpets. We went to the same place pretty much every time - a piece of land right on Lake Travis where you could hear the water splash the limestone rocks at night. That is, of course, if you listened past the sound of our parents and relatives around a campfire shaking a vodka-type drink they lovingly referred to as "yucca." I can still hear the sound of ice shaking in a plastic gallon pickle jar as I think about it. 

It wasn't too long before me and my new adventurous boyfriend (now husband) started tent camping. Both history lovers, we gravitated toward anywhere with a good story to tell. Basically anywhere that had a war reenactment or people in general willing to dress in historical garb and speak in old Texas English, you could sign us up. We started pretty basic, with a tent, sleeping bags, a cooler and a pan to cook over the fire. Slowly, we started adding little luxuries until we ended up with a space heater, air mattress, and Coleman grill.

Shortly after we got married, we upgraded to a small pop-up camper, then a large pop-up camper, which was a disastrous purchase and a humbling reminder to be grateful for what you already have. The large pop-up was in horrible shape in pretty much every way, but the hubs couldn't resist the "steal of a deal." Let's just say our last trip in that jewel was in Canton, TX after torrential rains left everything soaking wet inside the camper.

We took a few years off when we started having the littles because, let's be honest, I was just trying to keep them and myself alive at the end of every day. Success so far! Once our second turned about 18 months, we started itching to get back out there and purchased a 24.5 foot bumper-pull travel trailer and haven't looked back. Now we have two kids, a dog, a camper and a seemingly never-ending craving for adventure.