411 The Walters Bunch

I wrote this with the kids this summer to try and fully explain our camper woes.  We were all tired of working on the camper! We are so glad it is over! D and I always feel like we are forgetting to do something now because EVERY spare minute we have is no longer filled up with working on the camper. Ode to My Camper: In the driveway, you set Looking a little sad The girls and I had a thought And made a little bet We looked through the HGTV magazines we had And found several things that we bought. We decided a little paint and cloth Could really cheer you up. Excitedly we worked together  Planning out your salvation from demise. We  had barely started on our camper Before realizing that this would take forever And shouted out with our woeful cries. No longer would this project just be for fun D had voiced concern over several things he found. He said there was no point in going forward If the structural issues were not done. ...

"Puddle" in the backyard that helps keep her feet clean. Remember this summer when I went out and measured the 30 inch plus cracks in the yard, well, that is NO more. We have had about 8 inches every month for the last 3 months! That is 24 inches of water. Our ground is so saturated it squishes up water when you walk on it. This means CONSTANTLY washing the dogs feet before she comes inside. It has been so bad that D and I last night were discussing which level of saturation we preferred. We both agreed that we prefer when there is standing puddles because then the dog runs through them she helps clean her feet. Of course, running through puddles means she gets mud all over her "under carriage" and we have to wipe that off too, but still easier than when there is only mud. When there is no puddles, she literally comes back to the door with "mud boots" and it requires several minutes of soaking and scrubbing to get her clean enough to be allowed in. Now...

It was miserably humid outside. Well, all our hard work paid off. Our Boy Scout camping trip was absolutely miserable. The humidity levels were so high that even night time was uncomfortable. In four years of camping with this group, this was the worse trip. The mosquitoes were in swarms by the thousands and since you were just dripping in sweat from the humidity levels, they just stuck to you. Thankfully, we had a/c and spent most of the time in the camper watching movies. We really got to enjoy our new cushions and paint job. Unfortunately, our stupid dog made her super long crazy tail bleed again. it was reminiscent of our big trip a couple years ago where we had to make her a tail splint to keep her from whacking the tip of her tail open on everything. Usually she doesn't have this happen on our short trips, but lucky us she made an exception this time. A good portion of our weekend was spent cleaning blood off everything her tail whacked. Luckily, my new paint held up rea...

I think we should call it the "Mystery Machine". I can almost hear Scooby. Once upon an early June morning, my daughters and I thought, "how wonderful and fun it would be to repaint and update our camper." We stepped forward with excitement and gusto. Wow. That was a good day. That's all it lasted...one day. We quickly discovered that WAY more was going to have to be done and my husband had to become involved. Instead of a two week redo, this became an almost four month long, several hundred man hour project. We took two and a half of the walls down to the studs and rebuilt them; we put putty tape under EVERY outside screw hole (240 ft to be exact); replaced almost every light with LED lights, including brake lights; we reupholstered couch and dining cushions; we repainted inside and out; I sewed new curtains and privacy drapes; the girls decoupaged the table with places we have visited; D repacked the wheel bearings and mounted the spare (with the new wood...

We did it. We made it through birthday week. Unfortunately, a stomach bug hit hard this week. A and T were both completely miserable with T being by far the worst in actual sickness. A was the worse by far with the moaning, complaining, and just general whining. You would have thought she was about 6 if you just went by behavior. Granted she doesn't get ill often, but boy is she exhausting. Fortunately, all is well now. L and I were only mildly ill and D somehow missed it entirely. I have banned all throw up stories because for some weird reason the kids like to regale us with their tales of sickness over and over, usually during a meal. My girls played an intense volleyball game on A's actual birthday, which was too much for her and caused a relapse that night. Of course, the youth volleyball league changed the rules again. I mean why would they keep the same rules each year then everyone would know what is going on. They raised the points needed on the first two sets, ...