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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!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Congratulations on your first year on the road. May God continue to bless you and lead you and grow you in Him. We're enjoyed the year because of this blog! Thanks for letting us be a part of the journey!

Unknown said...

Congratulations, on your year long adventure.
Sincerely,
Kim and Gabe Ruiz

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