The Puma Purchase

Today we picked up our new Palomino Puma travel trailer! http://http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBEGtB6ZrP8
It is 33 feet long and will sleep 9 (OK, maybe 7 comfortably). There are 3 bunk beds in the back room and a queen bed in the front room with a sofa, dinette, and full kitchen in the main area. There is a bathroom with a small tub and shower. It also has an outside kitchen. It is quite a step up from our Coleman pop-up camper. We loved our pop-up and made many great memories in it, including 2 trips to Disney World and 2 trips to South Dakota, but as a family we had just outgrown it.

We visited the Fort Worth RV Show a couple of weeks ago and had a blast looking at all of the fancy motorhomes, fifth wheels, camper vans, and travel trailers. We brought along a camera to take pictures of the ones that we really liked for our family. We also have been searching the web for pictures and prices. We seriously considered a Class C motorhome. It would have sleeping space for all 6 of us, and it would make driving so much easier. Ultimately we decided on a travel trailer because it was a fourth to a third of the cost of a Class C and then we would have our car to drive around when we got to where we were going. We didn't want to buy a Class C and not have any money left to travel in it. Many of them also have more interior room than the Class C's.

On Monday we loaded the kids in the car and went to one of the RV dealers from the show. We looked at a few options and decided on the Puma 30KDBSS travel trailer. This morning we took care of paperwork for insurance and storage and then picked it up this afternoon. We are so excited about making new family memories in this camper. We are trying to decide where we will go first and plan some trips. Some places on our wish list are Louisiana for Mardi Gras, Branson MO, Catholic Familyland in Ohio, Washington DC, the Grand Canyon, and of course our favorite Disney World!

Healthy Habits for Our Household

We enjoyed lots of cookies, candy, treats, chips, dips, and special meals over the holiday season. But now that it is over, it is time to crack down on some healthier eating habits. The baby is now 9 months old, and still have 10-15 pounds of baby weight to lose. Now, when I complain about this some people have told me that I look good. While this is flattering, the bottom line is that my clothes don't fit. I have 3 pairs of sweat pants that are comfortable and a couple of pairs of jeans that I can squeeze into but are tight. I don't want to spend money on new clothes when I have a closet full of them, and I know that with a little will power and hard work I can get rid of the rest of the weight that I gained with precious baby #4. Besides my extra weight, a couple of the boys are carrying a few extra pounds (they love food like their mother), and I don't want them to become part of the childhood obesity epidemic going on in our country. If they ate what they wanted whenever they wanted their weight would easily become a problem and get out of hand.

So what are we doing? We are not eating junk food. I'm not buying cookies or candy or chips or fruit snacks. What candy we had left from Christmas I put away. We are having healthy snacks, and instead of 2 or 3 snacks at night they are eating just 1. I am having the kids make sure that they have a normal serving size instead of as much of a snack as they want. Michael found a Dancing With the Stars workout video, so I bought it for him (about $9) and he and I have been dancing off some pounds. It is fun and a great workout. The boys are also enjoying the Michael Jackson Experience on the Wii. It is a workout as well. They are allowed to have a dish of ice cream on the weekend.

I have started working out again. Before I got pregnant, I was working out pretty hard 5 days a week. It feels great to get back on the treadmill again even though it is harder to find the time with the demanding baby. I'm hoping to add in weights in a few weeks. I got a juicer for Christmas, and now I have carrot-apple juice every morning. It is full of vitamins and quite tasty. I make sure I have lots of vegetables and some fruit every day and always drink plenty of water. I'm hoping that when the weather gets a little warmer we can load the baby in the stroller and go for some family walks. My goal is to be rid of the baby weight by the end of February. I'll report back in then!

RV Roadtrip

Instead of packing up the car to go visit our family for Christmas this year, we decided to rent a motorhome. We had several reasons for this adventure. First, the baby would not have to be restrained in his car seat, saving him and us several hours of him screaming uncontrollably. (Please don't judge me - I did my research on seat belt laws in motorhomes and am aware of the risks. I could discuss all of this in another post.) Second, my parents do not have enough sleeping space at their house for all of the people who would be staying there, so the RV gave us some extra room without anyone having to stay in a hotel. Third, with 4 growing boys we have outgrown our pop-up camper and are considering upgrading to a travel trailer or motorhome that can better accomodate us. We thought it would be a good idea to rent one before buying to see how we liked it.

After looking into a few RV rental companies we decided to go with Cruise America since it was the closest one to our house and we were able to get one night free. I had read some questionable reviews about Cruise America rentals, so I was a little apprehensive, but it turned out to be a great experience. We rented a large motorhome that can sleep 7. It had a queen bed in the back, a queen bed over the cab (the boys loved this one), a sofa that folded out to a full size bed, and a dinette table that folded out to a single bed. The driver and passenger seats in the front had lap/shoulder belts and the sofa and dinette table seats all had lap belts. It had a refrigerator/freezer, microwave, stove, sink, bathroom, and shower. We were very impressed with the amount of storage, and it was very clean. In fact we were able to secure all of our things much more securely than when we pile everything into the SUV.

So we packed up our stuff and left our house on Christmas Day for my parents house in Houston. Although it was kind of loud because of the rattling windows and screen door, we couldn't have asked for a better trip. To everyone's surprise, Luke actually fell asleep in his car seat and slept there for about an hour. That was about it for him in his seat. The rest of the time I held him or nursed him in the sling. The other boys played cards and watched movies. It was nice to be able to use the restroom without having to stop, and when we did pull over for lunch we could make our own right there in the RV. We did not have to spend money or wait in line for fast food. We also had plenty of room to bring our dog and guinea pig with us. We all slept very comfortably at night too.

Even when we got home Corey and Michael had a camp out in the RV in our driveway. Michael thought this was a really special treat. Now we are getting RV fever and would really like to buy one. We are going to the RV show in Fort Worth next weekend to check some out and we have been looking online at used ones. I'm not sure if we will end up with one, but it is fun looking. We have made some great family trips and memories in our little pop-up, and we would love to make more, just in something that we can all fit in.