Is anybody out there?

What? I still exist? Shockingly, yes.

Even though I'm clearly terrible at keeping up with this blog, I can assure you I've been thinking about it. Especially recently, as my mind wanders toward vacation with increasing frequency, I'm thinking to myself, Man, I need to update my blog. And then my head starts crafting posts, but somehow between my 9-5 (more like 6:30-6) and a busy home life, those posts never quite make it to the interwebs. Until now!

Well, where were we? Two years ago when I last posted, we were preparing to set off on our second trailer excursion to Savannah. I'm very proud of that trip, since it was the first (and so far only) time ever that we managed to squirrel away vacation funds for months, and we ended up spending far less than we had saved. What the what now? How'd we do that? (Serious question.) As prepared as we were on the financial front, we did have a rather large hurdle to deal with - our Mountaineer's AC was busted. That meant 14 hours of driving with the windows down, in a heat wave where temperatures regularly hung out at around 110 degrees, you know, because why not. During rest stops, Lola, Steve and I took turns rinsing off with the outdoor shower on the back of the trailer. We got some pretty sweet sunburns on our arms and the tops of our legs from the glorious sun beating down on our oven of a car. Good times, man. Did I mention I was first-trimester pregnant, nauseous and hormonal?

June 2012- somewhere in MD or VA on the way to Savannah. We had to pull over in a shopping center during a ridiculous (and historic) thunderstorm that wiped out power to that area for DAYS

That last sentence pretty much sums up why I didn't have the inspiration, energy or motivation to keep up with the blog during the trip. It was our last trip of the season - we never ended up getting the AC fixed, which was a good thing because the car's engine died on us that December. This cleared the way for Steve to purchase the pickup truck he'd been yammering on about, much to my chagrin. (I've since made a grudging peace with our Dodge Ram, which I have to admit does a bang-up job as a tow vehicle.)

The new addition - at our campsite in Michigan, August 2013

We welcomed our precious baby boy last year, on February 14. A Valentine baby! He came nine days early, so although we considered the possibility he might arrive that day, ultimately it just seemed like a one-in-a-million chance. Who gets that lucky?? Not that we would've minded if he had been born the 15th, the 18th or the 23rd either. He arrived healthy, safe and sound, clocking in at 7 pounds, 7 ounces and 19.25 inches long. 

Last summer, we had our hands full with our perfect little bundle of joy, who accompanied us on a weekend Fathers' Day trip to good ole' standby Wildwood, and later that summer, a 10-day trip to Traverse City and Empire Beach, Michigan (now one of our favorite new spots). RVing with a baby in tow was absolutely nothing like it used to be -- and it was awesome! Yeah, the space was definitely an issue. But we managed to rig up his playpen on top of the futon, and since he wasn't really that mobile yet, it was a good, safe sleeping (and playing) spot.

Our little piggy in his "pen"

Our six-month old camper was an absolute joy to travel with. He slept most of the time in the car, and we stopped every couple hours to feed him, after which we transported him back to his carseat where he cuddled back up with a little burp. Too freakin' great! He was obedient, sleepy, and smiley when the occasion called for it. Everything and anything you could possibly want in a baby, or travel companion in general. Mommy got to do her shopping, Daddy got to do his swimming, and baby just went for the ride, took everything in and as long as he had a teething ring or crunchy book to "read," he was happy.

Little beach bum

Now this year, our vacation is gonna look a little different. Our agreeable little traveler is now a 15-month-old running toddler with a mind of his own. He's 100% boy -- into EVERYTHING. Although he's amassed a sizeable toy collection, he's usually more interested in knocking things off tables, pulling on cords for the lamps that we haven't been able to hide/put up high, and playing with any electronics that someone carelessly left in his reach. He's also a ball of nonstop energy who DEMANDS everything -- whether that be food, milk, toys or snuggles. What happens when you take this kind of individual on a 14-hour car trip? We're about to find out. 

Oh yeah. And during our trip to Michigan last summer, my in-laws graciously offered to watch Lola for the week, seeing as it was our first extended RV trip with an infant. Lola has been great with him, but it was still an enormous load off our backs to not have to think about taking her out, feeding her, and worrying about her while we were away from the campground. Plus since his playpen was on the futon, she would've been relegated to the floor for sleeping. :(

This year he won't agree to sit in this handy dandy seat while we're campfiring

Again this year, the in-laws offered to watch Lola. And after thinking about this for a while, we decided to decline their kind invitation. As hard as it's gonna be to have our two spitfires on hand at the same time, we had to remember that Lola was one of the reasons we bought the trailer to begin with. Camping with Lola has always been a treat. Whether we're taking walks in the campground or hanging out around our own little campfire while she happily gnaws away at a stick (or a palm tree frond, when we're in Savannah), she makes our little family feel complete.

Our original baby, last Savannah trip

And did I mention that baby and Lola are little partners in crime now? When he's in his high chair, Lola sits patiently beside him waiting for the inevitable food drop. Most of the time, Nicholas will actually slip her the food himself (especially if the color of the food is green).

This time, we're breaking up our trip a little bit, spending three nights near Charleston (our first time!) at Givhans Ferry State Park, followed by five nights in our favorite spot, Savannah. We're sooo excited to start this season off right. Vacation mode has already taken over our brains and every day exists just to get us closer to our trip.

Thank you so much to all who have continued to check on my blog even when there was nothing growing here but tumbleweeds. I have truly appreciated it! And now that I've broken the seal again, I am vowing to be a much better blogger and update as much as I can. ESPECIALLY for this upcoming trip! See you on the road!