Adventures of a Modern Farm Family: Have an RV...will travel!

Earlier this year my mom told me the dates they were going to Lake Shelbyville for their annual vacation. It had been years since we had been able to join them on their vacation. When my mom told me the dates I assumed that she was inviting us and made a plan to join them. The plan was that we would join them on a Sun-Wed and if Brad was not spraying he would come along. Well, the dates changed and were moved up by a week. The spraying wasn't done and it meant if I wanted to go to Lake Shelbyville I would have to drive the motor home by myself! I had only driven it to my in-laws and back once with Brad there to help me if I needed it (and tell me to drive slower...apparently 50mph was too fast for him). I have always said that I could drive the RV if I needed to and that the kids and I would just pack up and go if Brad wasn't available. It is easy to talk the talk and a lot scarier to walk the walk or in this case drive the RV.

Vince being so good in the canoe with Brandon and Tina

He picked me flowers on his canoe ride (Thanks Tina and Brandon)

Brad helped me pack up the bike, bike trailer, stroller, etc and had the RV in the driveway ready to go. Just because I can drive it doesn't mean I should be the one backing it out of the shed. Brad gave me a quick run down of things I needed to know to get it level and move the slide outs in and out the night before and I took notes! The plan was that we would leave a little after my parents and meet them somewhere along the interstate so 1 or 2 of my sisters could jump in and help entertain my kids and keep me company. On the way to our meeting spot the interstate had construction and was down to one lane. Talk about white knuckles! I was relieved to finally reach our meeting spot, but I still needed to get fuel. With my mom's help I was able to find a spot and get fuel with out too much trouble. We then went and ate lunch. After lunch my mom asked me how many kids I could take with me besides my kids. I told her they could all ride with me. That is five teenagers: Kasi, Kennidy, Tina, Annie and Brandon (Kasi's boyfriend). After they all got in the RV I was trying to feed Cecilia, change diapers, get the movie started, etc., when I looked out the window and saw my mom and Dave pulling out of the parking lot (kind of fast). I was a little worried they weren't really going to Lake Shelbyville now that they got rid of all their teenagers! I was ok with it because in the RV we had a 2:1 adult to child ratio!

Making mermaids on the beach

Joel excited to head to the lake

When we finally got to the campground Mom and Dave weren't there (they had a 30 minute head start on us) and I thought maybe they really did leave me with all the kids. A few minutes later they pulled in to the campground, apparently they tried a shortcut and got lost. They started unpacking the truck, camper, and horse trailer while I was trying to park the RV and get it level. I was having so much trouble they managed to get everything unpack and both tents completely set up before I was finished. I learned a couple valuable lessons. The first lesson just because I think a camp site looks "pretty" level doesn't mean the RV will think it is level. Secondly, leveling the RV can be frustrating and I shouldn't get upset with Brad when he gets frustrated when he is leveling the RV. Lastly, when you attempt to level the RV 6 times and don't make any progress just move to a new location. I would have moved sooner if it didn't require backing up a few times, but it was well worth it. Plus, backing up wasn't nearing as scary as I thought it would be. It helped that I had my mom making sure I didn't run into anything and I had a backup camera.

Cecilia hanging out in camp

Cecilia and Grandma Dawn

On our way home I was by myself with the kids and I was nervous how it was going to go, but it ended up going really well. I felt more confident in my driving abilities and all three of them slept almost all the way home. We only needed to make one pit stop for Cecilia and we made it home without breaking anything on the RV. Well, the backup camera now reads upside down and backward, but I take no responsibility for that!