Summer project dreaming...

It's that time of year again...the time when I start daydreaming about fixing up our pop-up camper.  A few years ago (okay, more like 7? maybe?) we purchased a used camper for $700.  Aside from a few times that we camped out in the yard, we have taken it on one...yes, one...trip.  A 2-night campout in Mass, when we went down for the free day at Plimoth Plantation over 6 years ago.  While we have some great memories from that little jaunt, the camping isn't really part of the fun memory! 😬 This was back when Jim was working for the furniture store, and he got off later than planned from work that afternoon.  This put us driving through Boston in heavy traffic, getting lost on the way to our campground, and having to park/situate the camper in the dark.  It wasn't the best start to our weekend, unfortunately.  Then Jim didn't sleep well and needless to say, if Daddy ain't happy/well-rested, it can kind of put a damper on things!  So none of us have the best memory of that trip, and we haven't been camping since.  (Although the camper did get used by my sister's family a few years ago when they visited for 3 weeks...so it has come in handy!)

BUT...I have a dream and I just keep persisting with it, in spite of the fact that none of the rest of my family is terribly enthusiastic about camping.  A few years ago I discovered The Pop Up Princess blog, and I saw what people were doing with their campers.  There are some amazing remodels featured there!  Things I had never thought about, like re-covering all the cushions, painting the cabinets, putting down nicer flooring, etc.  Campers are honestly pretty "blah," with that boring 80s or 90s decor (ours is from 1993), but they can be made SO NICE inside with a little creativity and elbow grease!  This is what ours looked like on the inside, although the pics are less than stellar...you can see the general "dusty rose" and "hunter green" color theme going on. 😉

{Obviously these 2 pics are also several years old!}

I've been kicking around the idea of updating the camper for several years now, and last year I was able to make new covers for all 6 cushions, over the course of the summer.  It was definitely time-consuming, but I had a lot of fun doing it, using some material I had on hand (plus some that I got on a good deal from Joann's).  I also started making new curtains and got half of those finished.  Here is what the cushions look like now, and the curtains will be made out of the green ladybug fabric.  (We are currently storing the cushions in plastic, in our garage, to protect them from critters!)

The big holdup for me was wondering if we were going to be able to replace our canvas.  The bunk ends are in bad shape, as you can see in the picture at the top of the page (which is from early 2014).  They are in much worse shape by this point, with a seam that's completely destroyed, lots of mildew/mold, plus mouse damage that happened last winter.  I knew that if we were actually going to be able to use the camper, we would have to get new canvas, which is not cheap.  I knew where I wanted to get it, how much it would cost, and began a fund to save up for it, but once I had the money set aside, hubby was still not completely on board with spending the money.  Then a couple weeks ago he changed his mind and decided to go for it, and as of today we have the canvas ordered, and it should be here by next week.  They just happened to have one for our model in stock!  I am so excited! Of course, it'll probably be a few weeks or more before we can put it on, as the camper is still buried in snow in the yard at the moment.  But once we can "pull her out and pop her up" we can make sure the canvas fits, and then I can go to work on the cabinets and the floor.  I *think* Jim has some flooring left from a job that we will be able to use on the floor.  And even though the cabinets are not anything special, I think they'll look a lot better when I get them painted.  I also have plans of how to make the bed a lot more comfortable so hopefully Jim will sleep like a baby next time we go camping. 😴

This is my one of the makeovers I am getting inspiration from (photo from The Pop Up Princess):

Check out the before/after photos of this makeover on her blog...I especially love the table and countertops, and hope to do something similar with ours.  (There are tons of other makeovers I've gotten ideas from, as well, but I'm sharing this one simply because the color scheme is similar to what ours will be, and because of what they did with the counters and table.)

Anyway...this will hopefully be a summer project that will actually get checked off my list this year!  I can't wait to see how it turns out.  To be continued... 😊

Summer Recap

So, obviously my plan of sharing quick little tidbits of our life here on a daily basis didn't exactly pan out...surprise, surprise! ;)  And, I just discovered 3 comments waiting to be published...from my last post, back in June!!  Sorry, everyone!  I feel like such a blogging flop!! :(

I've been thinking for a while how I really want to get back to blogging on a regular basis.  I just don't seem to be organized enough to actually do it!  Today I was watching a live training seminar about how to launch a successful ebook (which is something I'd love to do someday!) and in a roundabout way it inspired me to "pick up my pen" (aka keyboard) and write something in this little neglected space.  Perhaps, just perhaps, I'll be able to make the time to post more regularly.  I miss it.

Anyway, to recap our summer...it's been a good one.  It's pretty much flown by (why does that always happen?!) and tomorrow is our first official day of school, although we are easing into it this year, just a little bit at a time.  So tomorrow won't actually be a full day.  I have a few fun plans up my sleeve, and then we'll do our morning time routine, maybe a little math, and call it good.  Although, Sam's math curric. hasn't actually arrived yet, so unless it comes today or tomorrow, he won't be starting that just yet!  I was a little slow on getting the last of my school stuff ordered this year.  And realized after I'd ordered everything else, that I'm not sure yet what I'm doing for Josiah's handwriting this year!  Good thing I didn't plan to be into a full school schedule for a couple weeks or so. ;)

We kept our summer pretty low-key and didn't make any big trips this year.  We made a couple visits to our local nature center:

We had chickadees raise a family in our birdhouse again: 

We visited Polar Caves for the first time as a family, along with some of our good friends (thanks to free passes from the library book sale):

We had four nights of VBS at church:

Julia spent a week at camp (and came home sick :( ...and then Josiah and I came down with it too, which meant we lost about 2 weeks of summer to sickness!) :

We enjoyed our annual July 4th church picnic:

And we spent a day at Story Land with friends...so. much. fun!

Then there were the little spontaneous visits and playdates with friends, neighborhood soccer practices, a couple of beach days...

Ari continued to grow and grow and started really TALKING!

She got a big girl trundle bed under the Lego table in the boys' room:

She's discovered the delights of sweet corn. :)

And her hair grew, too.  Enough to finally make pigtails!!

Jim has been keeping pretty busy this summer, for which we're so grateful.  But he's not so busy that he doesn't have time to work and play with the kids here at home. :)

 blacksmithing with the boys

putting siding on our garage addition

Here are a few of the projects he's been working on: 

 new windows and door in an old house

 woodbox made for a friend

frame for a wedding gift 

We celebrated our 17th anniversary on August 7th...enjoyed dinner out at a favorite restaurant and then we went and played mini golf without kids!!!!  (Haven't done that in YEARS and it was a blast!!)

It was a FUN summer:

And we're SAD it's over! 

But we are looking forward to hopefully having a great fall. :)