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 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.

The weather here was a little ‘rough’ last night.  The t-storms rolled in about 7:30 or so.  I was watching from the upstairs window, then decided the basement would be a better choice.  When it was raining so hard I couldn’t see the playset 10 feet from the window, we decided under the stairs was a much better option for use and our two nuts. (The Peanut is at camp, it stormed there too, but I don’t know how badly!)

After the rain had subsided, I took a quick look outside and noticed something different about our camper.  It looked like perhaps the awning that folds down had come unrolled.  Then I noticed that there didn’t seem to be anything on the roof anymore.  Of course, the roof is fine. It is just that the camper is now lying on it’s side.  You need to remember, this is a 27 foot travel trailer that weighs roughly 6000 pounds.  We had it set up for guests to sleep in when they came up to visit.  My mom and her husband had just slept out there last weekend! 

I am assuming it will probably be a total loss. The slide-out was out and it fell on that side of the trailer. I cannot imagine that was good for the inside.  I can’t even imagine how to get it upright without snapping the wheels off the axle. 

It’s probably better this way.  The truck to pull it broke over the summer, and I can’t pull it.  But it is fun to sleep out there with the kids every weekend!  Oh well, I guess we will just have to wait to see what the insurance rep says.

Hope you have a great day.  I will post some pictures of the camper later.

I am feeling a little flat today.  I should be feeling full of life and happy.  We just found out the Pecan (who will be our fourth for those that don’t know) will be a girl.  The Peanut will be VERY happy!  I am happy about that, more because it really limits the choices my wife has for names.   We have always had a very HARD time agreeing on a name, and I am sure that this time will be no different.  For now, Pecan seems like a good name.

Back to my flatness though.  When I went to leave work last night, my motorcycle had a flat tire.  I was fortunate enough that someone at work had a truck, and was willing to drive me (and the bike home).   I looked this morning and it is still flat!  Bummer.  The tire fairy didn’t come in the night and fix it.  I should have dropped it off last night when my co-worker drove me home, but I didn’t know where I could take it, and in the car, I just didn’t have the resources to figure it out.  Anyway, my brother in law said he would help me tonight.  So I should have it back tomorrow night, I hope.  And then I will not be flat any longer!

Here are some things that I learned today.

1) Motorcycles are heavy.  Very heavy.  Even more so when trying to load one onto, or off of a truck.

2) Motorcycles move easier when ridden, not pushed.  One the same line.  It is easier to control the bike when only one person is pushing, not four.

3) I have some great co-workers who really helped me out when needed.  Thanks!

I could have made all sorts of bad musical ‘notes’ about ‘b’-ing flat in this post.  For your sake, reader, I did not.  Until now. Almost made it, but I couldn’t help it.

Wow, I didn’t think it had been that long since wrote, but according to my mom, it has.  So here I am writing.

The Peanut goes to camp tomorrow.  For two weeks.  It is a four hour drive to get her there, and four hours back.  That means 16 hours in the car for me, so she can play for two weeks!  Of course, she is excited, the Walnut is sad, he will miss her.  Mom is sad.  I am a little ambivalent at this point.  I will miss her, but I don’t feel sad that she will be gone.  Perhaps I will feel different tomorrow when we leave her with a bunch of strange people.  Probably not.  I usually don’t get really choked up about stuff like that.  I will see her in two weeks.  She will be safe.  I don’t think I would leave her somewhere she wouldn’t be.  I mean, my wife went to this camp for about 10 years in a row, so it should be OK but my daughter.  Of course, it means she is growing up, which is sad, but in a different way for me.  I guess each year the kids get older without us having another one, is one year closer to me having my house all to myself (well, with my wife of course, but she will be scrap booking ALL the time, so it might as well be to myself!)

With the Peanut gone, I get time to to some home improvement projects. I will be painting the Walnut’s and Almond’s room.  Green and Gold and Brown.  No, we are not packer fans, it’s just the Packers stole their colors from John Deere.  Tractors are a big thing with 2 and 4 year olds!  We will also be working on finishing part of the basement for a new master bedroom, hopefully to be done BEFORE the new baby is born!

Wish me luck, perhaps I will post some pics!