Camping at Kerr Lake

It's been a couple of years since Randy & I have had a chance to camp at Kerr Lake. Jeremy & Marie invited us to go over the first weekend in October, so we went. It is our favorite of all the places to camp. There is just so much opportunity for the kids (& the dog) to roam & get their energy out, exploring & playing.

This weekend was no different, except for one thing: It was COLD. And i mean, COLD! The entire reason we went this weekend was to hopefully be able to allow the kids to still play in the water for the last time of the season. It wasn't to happen. The wind was whipping around the campsite like crazy & in the mornings, it was in the 40s. Water wasn't a great idea. It didn't stop Zack though! He had no problems running into that water for a frisbee!

Despite the very cold wind, the guys were able to fish on the shore with the boys. One of the joys of camping here is that we can have a water site which is right on the lake. At this particular site there was water on 3 sides of the camper... and a park across the street. It was fabulous. The boys could go to the park, & we could stay on the campsite & see them. Or they could play baseball on the sandy shore. All this area made up a little loop too which was perfect for the kids to bike ride. It had to have been the best site we have had yet. Again, endless possibilities for little kids to have some safe freedom & get a LOT of energy out!

A little "rock climbing"...

fishing...

Kaleb was the first one to brave putting his feet in...

I also think that this is Zack's favorite place to camp! He doesn't love being on a lead, but he isn't on it too much, here. There is so much more room to roam free here rather than at a campground like a KOA. I guess each has it's perks, but being able to run & play is Zack's thing, so he loves it here. Plus, once we are here for a few hours, he tends to understand where his "territory" is & hangs close to us.

On the first night there, the campers next to us moved in & they had an American bulldog. It was instant friendship!His name was Zeke! So Zack & Zeke played together all weekend!Where's the frisbee??
Searching high & low for anything the boys would toss in the lake for him!
We had a great time despite the cold weather. I wish we had more opportunity to camp at Kerr Lake throughout the year. But those sites fill up quickly & it is hard to get in! Maybe next year we will have better luck!

Camping the 4th...

Here are some photos from our camping trip to New Bern over the 4th of July weekend. We had the absolute tiniest campsite ever. Literally. EVER. If you look closely in the picture on the far left, you will see the very edge of 2 red tail lights. That is our neighbors truck. So literally, we had from the pole over towards Jeremy's truck. And we were camping with 4 adults, 4 boys, and a dog. What were these people thinking putting us in this campsite? We were originally signed up for a spot against the woods/dog park, but they moved us last minute when this spot became available due to the fact that there was sewer hookup at this site. But really? It was TINY. It made things a tad bit stressful with Zack, who ended up spending most of the long weekend in the camper in his "new to us" (aka Craigslist) hard crate (since he busted out of the expensive soft sided travel one.) Argh....

We did manage to go out on the boat all together for the first time since Uncle Jeremy got a new bigger boat.... And because it went so well, we did it again on the night of the fireworks & watched them on the river. It was the highlight of the trip for me!




The kids enjoyed the pool as always & I was surprised that Eli became a little fish! As soon as he put on a pair of goggles, he was a transformed kid! It was crazy! He would swim under the water & all! We definitely spent most of our time at the pool! Or cooling off/resting in the camper. It was HOT!

Ethan loved how rough his daddy would play with him in the pool...

My little goggled up boy!


Little fish!

Jackson is just naturally great in the water. This was the first year that he would swim into the deep end & stay there most of the time. He was floating, doing handstand, & even jumped off with me a few times doing cannonballs! So fun!
When the heat was just too much to bear, we would go back to the camper for rest time, or movie time, or sometimes Nintendo DS time...Zack participated in a 4th of july parade where there was a prize for the best dressed dog & bike. (It was mainly for the kids....) but he was the best looking dog, hands down. At the end though, the judges said everyone got free ice cream for participating because they couldn't choose! Whatevs! I wanted to win fair & square- not tie! I mean, I made a cape for a dog for heavens sake!


The kids also spent plenty of time at the little park, too. We had not been to this campground in 2 years, so they had upgraded & built a pirate ship! The kids were all over it! (I hate that this first one is so blurry!)

Jackson took one of me & Marie watching them at the park...


The first night we were there, the KOA "tractor" came around to pick everyone up for turns on a "Hey" Ride! The kids got to ride around the park & holler "hey!" to everyone. It was cute... Ethan especially like the "hey" part! :)

During the ride, they took us all the way down to the edge of the campground to the docks where Jeremy & Randy were docking the boat... look closely to see them...
And I had to snap this shot down there while they whipped us around... the sun was so pretty setting...
Down by the water was also where we had a little mishap. We were just taking the kids & Zack for a little walk while the hubbies were fishing and Zack got stung by what we thought was maybe a yellow jacket or a bee. When he went to rolling & yelping in the grass, Kaleb came running over to see what was going on & as soon as he did, he got stung twice! It was terrible & later Randy went back to the area where we were all standing & figured out that there was a wasp nest underneath a picnic table that we were right next to & Kaleb had sat on the bench right next to it! It was a drama filled moment, but we managed to move past it & enjoy the rest of the day! (After I carried him all the way back to the campsite while Zack drug me on the leash & Marie handled Ethan & getting Kaleb's bike back to the campsite!) whew!


So we pulled it off, though... another camping trip with 2 families & a crazy dog! When we got home I texted this picture of Zack to Marie with this message : "Zack didn't appreciate his post camping bath... however... he isn't minding being back in the lap of luxury in my bed tonight!" We were so tired when we got home. If nothing else, the heat wears you out! I think we will wait for a spot at Kerr Lake next time ... Here's to wishful thinking! (They are ALWAYS booked!)

An evening at the beach....

During the last camping trip of the summer, we headed with Aunt Marie & Uncle Jeremy to Wilmington. We don't usually camp here because my family is there & why pay for a place to stay & vacation at "home?" We wanted to go back to Kerr Lake or to New Bern but both those campgrounds were booked. Soooo, with the beach available in Wilmington, we headed there for a full week of camping.
To say it started off disastrous would be an understatement. We were literally over it & everyone was ready to go home by the 3rd day (which in the years & years of camping, has never happened!), but thankfully things turned around in time to save the trip. Since things were a little rocky to start, I realized later that I only took a few pictures other than the one day we made it out to the beach. We packed some snacks & headed out in the late afternoon to hopefully save ourselves from the summer crowd, overwhelming heat index, & mounds of reapplied sunscreen!
We should have done this every night & we would have had a better vacation because the kids LOVED it!

An older kid who was a little ways down on the beach dug a huge trench. When he left to go home, the boys swarmed it like bees to a hive!Is there anything better than little toes in the wet sand??I had to force the boys to sit still long enough to get a few frame worthy shots... but i managed to get a few, i think!We wish we had gotten in a few more beach trips this year, but maybe next year! Because we are ready for FALL!