HeaderRight and analytics

Pic of the Week

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Winging it

This has turned out to be an interesting week.

We didn't stay at the campground in Myrtle Beach because it was pretty expensive. We just didn't count on it being so difficult to find somewhere else to stay. We called so many campgrounds but places were either full, crazy expensive, or didn't answer the phone. We wound up landing here in Wilson, NC. Pretty small town but we're staying at a park that's almost like someone's rural yard. They've got horses and donkeys here. Sadly, the pool is closed. But the town has everything we really need, even if not much for entertainment.

We had to take the trailer over yesterday because somewhere along the way we ran over a nail and one of the tires had to be replaced. So I took the kids to Walmart because it's way too hot here to just wait outside for a few hours.

We've been trying to find somewhere to go near Virginia Beach next week. But since this weekend is the 4th of July, we're once again running into the choices of expensive or way out of the way. And many places are full. I think we have found someplace for next week though, and the week after that we'll be heading to Virginia to visit a good friend of mine from college which I am really looking forward to.

For now we're just laying low, getting little things done like clean out the car and trying to get the endless mountain of laundry put away. Not too exciting this week! But next week we'll be back to doing museums & beaches so that will be fun. And of course we have Rinnah's birthday on Friday, and Jeremy just found out he has Monday off too so we have a 4 day weekend! Yay!

Friday, June 25, 2010

South Carolina

Well, our plans have changed yet again.

We were planning on spending this coming week in Myrtle Beach with Jeremy's parents. We had big plans for celebrating Rinnah's birthday with them there and staying at a fabulous campground. But last night they let us know they won't be coming. Poor Ian just kept asking why-it's hard when he understands that we were going to see them but can't really understand why they changed their plans. Rinnah asked if we could go see Mickey instead. LOL

So since we didn't really have a good reason to stay at that campground, other than all our packages that were being delivered there, we're switching things up. We're at a Walmart in Walterboro, South Carolina tonight. Then tomorrow we'll head to the campground in Myrtle Beach to pick up our packages and stay for a night. Then after that-it's up in the air. We'll be looking at our museum lists tonight and tomorrow to try to find somewhere to go. Also thinking about what all we want to do for Rinnah's birthday since Jeremy's taking that day off work and we want to make it special for her. She gets so much more excited about things this year than last year of course, and it will be a lot of fun to make a big deal of it for her.

Monday, June 21, 2010

One year on the road

We have now been on the road for one full year. What a year it's been! We have so many wonderful memories from this year and we've learned so much.

We have logged around 10,000 miles on the trailer and far more on the truck. We've visited 23 states. I haven't counted the exact number, but I'm pretty sure we've been to around 75 different museums and zoos. Our best guess is around 150-200 different parks and playgrounds. We've seen the Pacific and we'll see the Atlantic on Wednesday. We've visited a whole list of friends and family. Jeremy has worked in 4 different time zones.

More importantly, we have so many memories with our kids. We've proven to ourselves that we don't need as much space, as many toys, or as many clothes as we thought. We've created a life where adventure is the norm, and change is expected. The kids don't know very many current tv characters but they can describe museum exhibits they saw months ago. They love playing outside and exploring new places. We spend a lot less time (maybe too little!) keeping up the house and far more playing with our kids. There are so many things about this lifestyle that we love.

There have certainly been challenges along the way. We've run short on bandwidth for Jeremy's work. We've had to do repairs on our house, which leaves us homeless in the meantime. We've had some long hours of driving and some near misses with floods and tornados. We knew that we'd be missing out on community and that has been harder than we anticipated. It's not always easy to have the kids sleeping a few feet apart.

We've also gotten to take our kids to some pretty amazing places-they've splashed in the Pacific, ridden to the top of Pike's Peak, walked along the rim of the Grand Canyon, and played in the desert sand. They've cooked s'mores over campfires. They've picked blueberries and oranges fresh off the tree. They've hiked over waterfalls and seen national parks. We've ridden trolleys, boats, zip lines, and trains of all sizes.And we have spent more days than I can count going for walks, playing in the sand, and exploring playgrounds.

Here are some favorite photos of the last year:

From Kansas City


From Kansas City


From Kansas City


From Sioux Falls


From Sioux Falls


From Sioux Falls


From Sioux Falls


From Sioux Falls


Rinnah's first birthday
From Rinnah's Birthday


From Rinnah's Birthday


From Rapid City, SD


From Rapid City, SD


From Rapid City, SD


From Rapid City, SD


From Rapid City, SD


Mount Rushmore
From Rapid City, SD


Watching bear cubs play in South Dakota
From Rapid City, SD


From Rapid City, SD


From Fort Collins


From Fort Collins


From Fort Collins


From Loveland CO


Building a campfire
From Loveland CO


From Loveland CO


From Loveland CO


From Loveland CO


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Colorado Springs


From Loveland CO 2nd visit


Rinnah's first steps
From Loveland CO 2nd visit


From Loveland CO 2nd visit


From Loveland CO 2nd visit


From Denver


From Denver


From Denver


From Denver


From Denver


From Wyoming


Mouse that stowed away under the hood of our truck
From Wyoming


From Wyoming


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


From Salt Lake City


zip line in Park City, UT
From Salt Lake City


From Ian's Birthday


Ian's birthday-riding the commuter train
From Ian's Birthday


From Pullman, WA


From Pullman, WA


From Pullman, WA


From Seattle


From Seattle


From Seattle


From Seattle


From Seattle


From Seattle


From Seattle


From Seattle


From Seattle


From Meetup with Cindy


From Portland


From Portland


From Portland


From Portland


From Portland


Decorating Christmas cookies
From Christmas


From Christmas


From Christmas


Riding the train with Grandmother & Granddaddy
From Christmas


From Sunnnyvale CA


From Sunnnyvale CA


From Bakersfield, CA


From Bakersfield, CA


From Bakersfield, CA


From Bakersfield, CA


From Bakersfield, CA


From Bakersfield, CA


From Phoenix, AZ


From Phoenix, AZ


From Phoenix, AZ


From Phoenix, AZ


Grand Canyon
From Phoenix, AZ


From Jacksonville, IL


From Jon's wedding weekend


From Jon's wedding weekend


Uncle Mike
From Jon's wedding weekend


Uncle Jon's wedding
From Jon's wedding weekend


From Jon's wedding weekend


From Family photos-Jacksonville, IL


From Family photos-Jacksonville, IL


From Family photos-Jacksonville, IL


From Nashville flood


From Orlando, Florida


From Orlando, Florida


From Orlando, Florida


From Orlando, Florida


From Disney


From Disney


From Disney


From Disney


From Jacksonville FL


From Jacksonville FL


From Jacksonville FL


It's been a great year!

Based on original Visionary template by Justin Tadlock
Visionary Reloaded theme by Blogger Templates

Visionary WordPress Theme by Justin Tadlock Powered by Blogger, state-of-the-art semantic personal publishing platform