OBX 2019 Edition...Part I...

Well here we were again - packing up for our annual trip to the Outer Banks. Camper - check! Golf cart - check! Bikes - check! Boogie boards - check! Fire pit - check! Every. Other. Thing. Imaginable - check! I always laugh thinking what our neighbors must think of us as we spend two days loading everything up - but that's the camping life I suppose - want to be prepared for everything.

As per usual we did a pit stop two night stay at the Williamsburg KOA. We had our favorite site this time. We read, swam, enjoyed campfires, and of course lots of time spent at the jumping pillow and park. 

Adam and I ventured off to Busch Gardens on the Friday and had a great time riding all the rides - many multiple times due to small lines - and it was just a great Adam and Mom day. 

From there it was time to pack back up and head to the beach! 

Spring Break...Celebrating Easter...

This was our 4th year in a row celebrating Easter at the Williamsburg KOA. It was fun to have some additional visitors in tow with us. In true Easter weekend tradition the kids decorated eggs. Always a fun time. 

The campground once again had a petting zoo brought in. Luckily this year Harper wasn't as terrified of the animals. It's so sweet seeing all those farm animals just chilling and getting all kinds of love and attention. 

On Easter morning the boys were thrilled to see that once again the Easter Bunny found them at the campground. There was chocolate, and candy, and books and video games - perfectly curated baskets for two well deserving boys. 

After a pancake breakfast, Kathleen, Adam and I headed back to Busch Gardens (again, it's an Easter tradition!) while Mark took a drive to Sand Bridge for a little walk down memory lane, and Andy took Harper and Olivia out for a boat ride. Everyone was doing exactly what they wanted to do - what could be better!? 

We all came back together for an epic Easter egg hunt. The kids had a blast and we then topped off the evening - and our spring break - with some delicious Easter pizza! :) What could be better!? 

Another spring break in the books - what will we do next year!? 

Spring Break...Williamsburg...

Our spring break adventure would not be complete without a visit to the Williamsburg KOA! This year Uncle Mark, Aunt Kathleen, Olivia & Holly joined us. We had a lot of fun enjoying all that the campground had to offer - and with warm weather - it offered a lot! The kids did a ton of swimming, bike riding, basketball playing, jumping pillow jumping, park playing and enjoying lots of 'smores!

We also made a big family visit to Busch Gardens. Mark had been talking about this part of the trip for months - seriously - months! He vowed to ride some of the coasters and within 4 minutes of entering the park, Adam had him convinced (or bullied!?) to ride Loch Ness Monster!! Kathleen and I sat behind them and I'll say it was thoroughly entertaining. Good job Mark - way to conquer your fears!

It was definitely fun to have a whole group of us as it meant we got to all take turns riding together on big coasters and also enjoying watching Harper on his rides. This year he was big enough for the bumper cars and boy did he rock those - he was driving like a maniac - as you're supposed to do - and did it three times in a row before we finally convinced him to move on.

This was just the start - we still had Easter to celebrate! 

Christmas camping in Williamsburg...

Part of the perks of our season passes to Busch Gardens was entry into the infamous Christmas Town event at the park. We figured we ought to take advantage so we planned one last camping trip at the Williamsburg KOA for the year so we could see what all the Christmas Town fuss was all about.

Camping during Christmas time has become something we've done quite often. We've got all the festive lights to decorate the outside of our camper and plenty of Santa hats and twinkling necklaces to decorate ourselves. However the inside of the camper was missing something - but Al came through with a present for the family to help change that.

The boys thought it was so clever that Al would bring a gift two days before Christmas and it added just the right amount of holiday cheer to the camper. Add to that the Yule Log playing on a loop on the tv with Christmas tunes to accompany it and we had ourselves a festive abode in the woods.

We enjoyed a nice stroll through downtown Williamsburg and enjoyed seeing everything decorated for the holidays. Candles in the windows, fresh wreaths on the doors, and a perfect excuse to visit the local candy store. Adam was so excited to dive into that caramel and chocolate apple - and it did not disappoint.

What did disappoint was our timing on arriving at Christmas Town - apparently we arrived when the rest of the world had also planned on arriving - oops! I guess Busch Gardens at Christmas is all that it's cracked up to be considering the line of cars - but we don't know for sure as we decided as a family to bail out on the 45+ minute wait to just get into the parking lot - and opted for quiet evening in our festive camper building a gingerbread house instead.

I have to say - I kind of liked it. The boys did a great job working together to build and decorate the house and I was proud of myself for just sitting back and letting them do what they wanted with it - relinquishing control isn't my strong suite - but that evening in the camper was one of my fondest memories from the entire Christmas season. It's funny how life works out that way sometimes.

On Christmas Eve we packed up the camper and headed home to continue the festivities...