For Mother’s Day this past weekend, our family went down to visit my Uncle Kenny and Aunt Barbara in Snow, Oklahoma. That may sound like a weird thing to do for Mother’s Day, but it’s why we went down there that is much more interesting.

The reason we went to Snow, Oklahoma is because for several years now, Susan has wanted a pop-up camper trailer to pull around and camp in. I’ve had the feelers out for a while now, but this one “popped up” (pardon the pun) over the weekend and the timing couldn’t have been better.

As you can tell in the following photo, Morgan and Susan were excited to learn the news. I didn’t tell the kids that we would be camping until we got there, and didn’t tell them the camper was ours until we left with it.

After setting up the camper, Uncle Kenny suggested that we build a fire later that night. Susan and Morgan walked around the area, collecting little sticks for the fire.

A few minutes later, we learned how Uncle Kenny collects firewood.

A closer inspection reveals Mason driving!

Some quick work with the chainsaw, and we had some real firewood.

Soon it was dark, and the fire was bright. The kids were fascinated by the campfire. Most of the night was spent with the kids getting too close to the fire, and the adults worrying about the kids getting burned. We forgot to bring marshmallows to roast, and when the nearest store is half an hour away (round trip), sometimes you do without. The kids didn’t mind too much.

Whenever the fire would get low, Susan would show off her Girl Scout Skills by stoking the fire. Woomph!

Soon the fire was out and, after a few minutes of stargazing, we called it a night. It rained and stormed all night — lucky for us, the camper does not leak. It was amazing to hear the thunder roll way out in the country like that — you could hear it coming, and going. We could also hear coyotes off in the distance.

The camper worked great. Susan and the kids were thrilled with it. The next morning we transformed it back into the portable box on wheels that it is, and towed it back home.

The camper has a few things here and there that need fixing, but overall we got a great deal on it. It’s big enough to sleep 6-8 people, but small enough that Susan can tow it with the van. We are looking forward to taking many family adventures together in the camper in the near future.

Happy Mother’s Day, Susan!