Life's a Trip: Unwinding in Cherokee, North Carolina

Our first day in Cherokee, North Carolina, was spent at home...aka our current campground:). We were all pretty tired from the push of getting everything in order to go back on the road, so a low key day was just what we needed to recharge.

We didn't leave the campground, but we certainly weren't lacking for things to do. The Cherokee/Great Smokies KOA was awesome. Because we were there in September we pretty much had the place to ourselves...their peak times are the summer months when school is out and October when the leaves are changing through Thanksgiving, so we hit it just right :).

To start our day, Dan made us a yummy breakfast of blueberry pancakes. Remember all those blueberries the kids and I picked a few months ago? Well, our RV freezer is about the size of a small ice chest and the berries filled it to the brim...so, there has been some serious blueberry eating going on over here to try and make room for any other foods we may want to keep frozen. Pancakes, smoothies, cobblers, and plain frozen berries for a snack. We've still got at least a half dozen quarts to go through...a good problem to have, I suppose :).

After breakfast, Dan took the kids to the pool to swim while I stayed behind to finish putting away and organizing the last of our things. This is something I enjoy, making our home functional and comfortable (and hopefully nice to look at, too), so I was grateful for the time alone to really focus on my doings.

a little sneak peek at the changes we've made to our interior...

...i'll show ya'll more soon :)

When they were done with their swim, we all grabbed a lawn chair and vegged in our little yard under the shade trees. So.....nice! I can't remember the last time that all 7 of us have been completely content to just sit quietly and rest like that. No books, no games, nothing. Just happy to be together and enjoying the beautiful surroundings :).

Hungry tummies ended our resting time, as they have a tendency to do. I can't remember what we made for lunch...probably sandwiches or something similar. Rested and refueled, the kids had energy to burn. Out came the scooters and their new 4-square ball, they played with those while Dan washed the camper and both of our vehicles. I supervised...hehehe ;).

We only have 2 scooters and 1 ball for the 5 kids to share. We learned a long time ago that less is once again more. If all 5 each have their own, they aren't nearly as appealing to them. Give them a couple to share and take turns with, and they will play with them way more! As parents we want to give our kids everything we can, sometimes the best thing we can give them is simply less (when it comes to material things). So anyway, they took turns with the toys but they also played with good 'ole sticks and rocks :). I love watching them explore nature and find simple things (like a seed or stick) to play and imagine with.

practicing his fire making skills ;)

The kids had spotted a giant chess set on their way to/from the pool earlier. They all wanted to go play, so I walked over with them while Dan washed (and washed...) getting all the nasty love bugs off of our camper. The chess board was made out of tiles and the pieces were huge! The kids all enjoy the game and really got a kick out of the size of it :). A tournament of sorts commenced with Tristan taking the lead up until the last round when Trevor claimed the final victory...

Just as we were wrapping up our chess tournament, Dan finished up his stuff and walked over to join us. He had told us earlier about a little wooden bridge leading to a path in the woods that ended at a creek. We had a little bit of time before it was dark, so we all headed over to check out the path.