Well, the camper saga is over.  We have accepted the insurance claim, they are sending a big check to the bank, and a much smaller check to us.   Hopefully they can come get the trailer this week sometime, but when the person called about it, they were unaware that it was sitting on it’s side.  So who knows.

I am sad about the trailer, but I should have seen it coming.  Some day, I will learn to listen, and realize that God is trying to get my attention in subtle ways.  Let me explain.   In February, my wife and I took a class about finances, called Financial Peace University.  It is a Dave Ramsey thing, and most people either love him or hate him.  That is not a discussion for here.  In Dave’s Plan for financial freedom, his second step is to pay off all your debt using the ‘debt snowball’.  He also encourages you to sell anything that isn’t essential to your life in order to pay off your debt.  If you have an expensive car, sell it and but a cheap junker.  Do you have a boat?  Sell it.  Sell the camper, sell, sell, sell.  Sell so much stuff the kids think they are next, is what Dave says. 

We talked about selling the camper, but I said no.  I liked the camper.  We used it.  It was fun and the kids liked it.  I was planning on going camping with the kids this year.  So we didn’t do anything about it.  Next thing I know, the transmission goes out on the truck.  Well, now we can’t buy a new truck, and it would cost too much to fix it.  So, I have a camper that I CAN’T TAKE ANYWHERE.  So, maybe I should sell the camper.  I can hear Dave Ramsey, “SELL THE CAMPER!!”.  Quiet Dave!   I like the camper. I will just set it up in the yard, and we will sleep out there and guests can sleep out there.  I really should have taken notice when the truck broke.  Not two weeks after getting rid of the truck, the camper blows over in a storm.  Ok, so I didn’t want to sell the camper, so now it is destroyed.  I guess the good thing is insurance.  I have now paid off the loan on the camper, and I don’t have the camper.  So I have in effect SOLD THE CAMPER.  I truly do believe that God is trying to get my attention.  He is saying, you took the class offered at church about finances. FOLLOW THE PLAN.

There is a little bit of money left over from the insurance, I wonder if it would be ok to get a new TV??

I have finished taking all the stuff out of the camper.  If you don’t know, my camper has not had a good summer.  The insurance person who was here was pretty blunt about the fact that the entire inside would probably need to be replaced.  Since that costs ALOT of money, they would likely ‘total’ it, send me a check, and then come haul it away. 

In anticipation, I decided it would be best to get as much out BEFORE someone is here waiting for me to get all the stuff out.  Let me tell you, it gets HOT inside a camper that is lying (laying??) on it’s side!  It was about 95 degree inside the camper, and going up and down the ladder didn’t help.  All I can say is that seeing it all up close really drive home the point on how they keep the weight down on them trailers.

Hopefully it won’t be too much longer before they decide what they will do and get the trailer. It is sad to see each day.  I will get another trailer someday, but probably not for a few years.  I will wait until the Pecan is old enough to enjoy it.  For now, a tent will suffice for me and the two older ones.

Have a safe weekend.  We leave early tomorrow morning to pick up the Peanut from camp.  She has been there almost TWO WEEKS!  So much has happened since then, I wonder if she will recognize us!

Well, so much for a different week.  A pair of storms blew through this afternoon.  One names Walnut and the other named Almond.  I am working on painting their room while the Peanut is at camp.  I left most of my painting supplies on the counter last night, and this is what I came home too….

That would be spackle.  Wall patching spackle.  My poor wife, she was in tears.  I didn’t really seem to worried about it.  But then I am not 6 months pregnant either.  Anyway, it is mostly cleaned up.  The floor at least.  It will be awhile before it all get taken care of, but it should just wash away as long as it doesn’t get painted.  I am not too worried about it.  Sorry dear, I though it was pretty funny, but I know it was a really hard day for you.

Well, just to keep you all posted, and so that you don’t have to actually READ the other posts in case you have fallen behind, here is a quick, brief week in review for last week, July 7- July 13.

Monday, July 7th - Drove Peanut to camp.  Finnish Camp.  Hopefully she will be done now.  Just kidding, it’s a language camp and she really enjoys it.  I just wish it were closer.  It is 4 hours away.

Wednesday, July 9th - Ultrasound for my wife.  Another baby!  Yeah.  I was hoping it would show a baby and not a ham steak.  A girl this time.  Two of each, is that enough?

Also on Wednesday - Flat tire on motorcycle.  Too bad I was at work, 40 miles away. It’s a long walk.  Thankfully, a nice co-worker game me AND the bike a ride home.

Friday July 11 - Got the bike back with a new tire, then the storm hit and blew over the trailer!

Well, that is where I sit now.  I will keep you posted on the exciting things that happen this coming week. Hopefully nothing more than last week.

Have fun.

I really don’t know how strong the wind was.  I am not sure I really want to know either.  What I do know is that this is my camper.

The side on the ground has a slide-out, that is about 12 feet long and slides out from the side about 2 feet.  It’s really nice.  Ok, it was really nice.  I don’t have any pictures of the inside.  It is hard to look in from the door on the top, and it doesn’t look good.  There are a few interior walls that are no longer where they belong.  We had everything set up for people to sleep in when visiting.  That seemed to work well enough.  Gave them a litte more privacy when visiting than 3 young children would allow them if they slept inside, in the basement on a pull-out couch.

From what I can see, when it tipped, the slide was shoved back in.  The slide track ripped out of the floor of the camper.  That is pretty impressize, considering the bolts still have the 2 inch washers on them that were beneath the floor.  Also, it seems that the couch (which is on the slide) is about 6-12 inches further in the camper than usual.  That is not a good sign.

I am not sure I want to see the side that is on the ground.  It can possibly be good.  Oh well.  We call our insurance people, and an adjuster is supposed to call us.  They did ask if it was drive-able, or tow-able.  My wonderful wife response was that we were not sure how to even get it back onto it’s wheels.

We will keep you posted.  I will miss the camper, and secretly I hope the damage isn’t so bad, but I don’t think I will get so lucky.  I didn’t have the means to take it anywhere this summer, but we were planning on using it here at the house.  There wil always be other times.