Florida Family Camping at it's best! With our side of crazy, of course.

There is nothing quite like escaping everyday life and enjoying a getaway.

Camping at Ragans Family Campground has been that escape we needed and did not disappoint! 3 nights was plenty of time for us to enjoy everything they have to offer and leave us already hoping to be back soon!

We even decided to stay an extra night (a total of 4) bc we just weren't ready to leave yet.

We arrived Wednesday night in the "after hours" time frame. The registration team had already called when the store was closing just to make sure we were still going to make it and had our packet conveniently placed in a designated spot outside the store to grab at the front gate. Piece of cake check-in!

I'll say more about campsites later, but I do believe we lucked up on the best site in the entire campground even with it being our first time visiting! I don't recommend going somewhere you've never been and trying to maneuver into a site in the pitch black*, but it happens. 🤷

*no trees or campers were injured in the process, thank the Lord! 🙌

At the first sign of sunlight the next morning the kids were up and ready to see and do everything there was!!! There were families going for a walk, children riding their bikes, people of all ages fishing at the ponds. Our site sits right at the edge of one and we could hear all of natures lovely sounds at work. Oh and that darn Sahara dust. The kids first thought was "is something burning somewhere??". No kids...it's Africa.."coming to Amercia"..good movie..anyways 🙃

Even though we may be submerged in nature and the outdoors, arguably one of the best feelings in the world is plugging up your Keurig and popping in a K-Cup to get your day going. Camp..glamp..whatever you want to call it, but coffee is a beautiful thing. Due to the nature of my life you won't be surprised to find out that no sooner than I got my coffee in my cup and stirred in my sugar cubes and the only creamer I live for....I realized my creamer had gone bad. I shouldn't have left it in the camper for a few weeks because the fridge didn't stay cold enough I guess. Rookie!!! Rookie mistake I tell ya! The campground store has coffee, but my creamer is life and I want that or nothing. Bratty, I know. But that Dunkin Coffee Creamer Extra Extra has me all kinds of EXTRA when it comes to coffee.

The kids were so excited to get out of the camper that they barely ate any breakfast and were begging for me to put their sunscreen on which never happens.

We made it outside and took a short walk up to the water park area. We passed the inflatable bounce house, inflatable jump pad, cute little cabins you can rent, swings (baby swings as well), playground, mini golf course and pool on our way. To say they were excited is definitely a huge understatement.

The water park area was just about to open so we sat down on a picnic table and waited. Then the coolest thing happened.

I noticed a woman with a campground staff shirt walking around with a purpose like she was on a mission. I asked her if the water park area would open soon and she assured me it was, but that they were shooting a commercial first thing and if I wanted the kids in it than they were more than welcome to go ahead and start splashing around. I later introduced myself to her and we spoke briefly. Her name is Diana and she and her husband do a great job running the place. You can tell they truly love it.

But the commercial, yall.

One word was all it took and my little Charlee girl started striking poses. Kissy faces, peace signs, and ALL that. She said, commercial...lady here is a star RIGHT HERE 🤣🌟

The gates flung open and off they went. A camera man pulled up in a news vehicle and I overheard him mention to someone that he'd like to get some footage of some camp sites. Me, being me, walked up and introduced myself and told him I had overheard him mentioning needing a campsite to film. I told him he was welcome to use ours and our friends beside us. And sure enough he hopped in his car and wheeled up at spot 2 and 4 and started shooting. Full blown star status, y'all. 🌟 🌟 🌟

The kids were begging for me to get in the lazy river at this point and given the 1000° temperature it didn't take much for me to put our stuff down and hop right in. They had plenty of nice lounge chairs in the sandy "beach area" for you to sit and watch or sit your stuff at for a home base. The kids went down the water slide 37 times and we floated, splashed and I'm pretty sure made it in the back of the commercial. I was busy trying to look natural and suck my gut in so I wasn't studying the camera man. But, yall. What are the chances?! Good thing I decided to spiffy up a bit before we went. If we did make the commercial I'll do my best to find it and share with yall. As long as it didn't add 10 pounds 🤣🤣🤣 that gut can only be sucked in so long... 🤷

We got our temporary fill of the water park and went to pick up our rental golf cart. I highly recommend bringing your golf cart, 4-wheeler, side by side, or whatever ATV because there are fun muddy trails out in the woods and space to ride and enjoy in the campground as well. Garson got to ride back there with friends we bumped into! The sweetest lady who works at his school and her grandson Jordan were tearing up the trails and asked him to join them! Yes a spunky 60 year old even loves the trails. And for Garson, He LOVED it too. We have got to hang with their family here and it's always nice when the kids have even more little ones to add to the fun! But, if you rent a golf cart it cannot be driven past a certain point to the ATV trails, but it still certainly is worth it and serves it's purpose in the campground. We signed the waiver and they radioed someone to bring it to us. We walked out the door, hopped on and took off!

You must be 16 or older to drive. This was just a photo op 😜

Our next adventure was paddle boarding and boy was I not prepared for that. It's kind of like child birth. People only post the cute pics and don't tell you of the struggle and pain involved. We stopped by our campsite and grabbed the kids life jackets. They are a must if you are in the lake. Don't worry if you don't have any. They have plenty and they're free to use. And most of them looked brand new. I grabbed the paddle board and oars..paddles...whatever they're called and made our way to the lake.

I was doing my best to explain to my 5 and 7 year old about avoiding paddling in a circle and how to work together and blah blah they stopped listening just as a boy smacked his sister so hard with a paddle in the back of her head. She was screaming crying and the lifeguard and her dad tended to her and whatdayaknow mine found it necessary to start listening to my instructions again 🤣

Jackets on. Paddles in hand. And I sent them off. They did SO good! It took a minute, but giggles and smiles and teamwork...for JUST a minute they were working as a team. They were proud and so was I! The paddle boards are inclusive and no extra cost..same with mini golf..and campsites get 4 wristbands for the waterpark. One of the many great things about this place!

But after their tandem paddle boarding was over they decided it was my turn to go and I was NOT prepared for that!

Garson wanted me to go with him, but what he didn't know was that just because he bossed his sister around didn't mean that would fly with me as a passenger. I was the captain now. If you've never paddle boarded let me tell you it is NOT as easy as it looks. My thighs were engaged. Engaged like he done took a knee. My toes was a grippin' that board and my knees were locked in a half bent, feeble squat, keep your balance type of way. My 47 pound son shifted his weight abruptly one too many times. He just about got knocked off with a paddle...accidentally of course. I didn't realize that blinking made you move. I took a deep breath and just about flipped that dang paddle board. You have to have rock solid balance...which I do....if you were wondering....I sure enough do.

Charlee and Trevor had taken off back to the water park while we paddle boarded and I relied on a kind stranger to document it. I seriously asked a lady to walk over and find my phone and take out picture 🤣🤣🤣 but I mean...it had to be documented...LOL. Even though I JUST about lost it and went head first when I pointed at my chair (I'm telling ya the SLIGHTEST move and you're done!) I managed to stay up and dry and smiling...it definitely needed to be documented. And she did a good job. Caught my good side and all.

I could go on and on and on about all of our fun here.

We played a very intense game of mini golf where I made a HOLE IN ONE! And displayed an excessive celebration dance bc that NEVER happens to me. Charlee learned how to hold the club on each and every hole bc for some reason the girl didn't get my athleticism. Well at least not my golf skills ⛳

We got hand-dipped ice cream from the store and pizza and ice cream bars...not all in the same trip!

The store also has an isle of camper must haves if you find yourself in need of something. Just fyi! And the weekends are much busier than the weekdays, but that is to be expected. It's still an enjoyable crowd and people are not on top of each other! That's a thumbs down for me when a campground feels like that and that is not the case here for any of the sites.

We rode around and scoped out the best campsites for future use. And enjoyed the most beautiful scenery.

Spot 2 and 4 are spots on each side of a pond side cabin and they are so good. Spot 414 and the spots surrounding it may be our next sites. The 30's are in a good area too. Under numerous pretty shade trees and secluded in the back of the camp ground. The best part about spot 4 is shade, right on the water and that we can see our kids on the inflatables and play ground. They're not big enough to fully wonder off without me being able to have my eyes on them yet.

Our keepsake for the trip is the coolest and most unique thing we've gotten from a campground!

We made tie-dye shirts at the Activity Center. For just a few dollars for each shirt the kids got to hand dye the shirts with the help of some sweet girls on the staff. They have activities planned all day everyday and written on a board so you can plan your day out. Train rides, rock painting, karaoke...you name it! Everybody in my family talked a big game, but would not commit to sing a song with me. Next time!!! For real. We enjoyed listening to some kids butcher a few songs and one lady who made whale calls. There ain't no way that was singing 🤣

The karaoke happened in the covered pavilion area that's attached to the store, poolside, steps from Wibit Lake, steps from the water park area, steps from the mini golf course and right across from the volleyball sand court. There's also a full basketball court and another covered pavilion with picnic tables.

Wibit Lake is where the paddle boarding takes place and they have an inflatable obstacle course type thing that the kids climb up and jump off. There is also a floating trampoline! It was so cool. The kids spent a lot of time in the lake and I propped up on one of the many lounge chairs they have over there. There are some shaded areas and full sun areas for whatever you're desiring. There were plenty of lifeguards everywhere and people were genuinely helpful and looking out for each other. The kids just hung out in the lake making friends and acting so grown. Just swimming around and making the best summer memories!