Author: Jenn

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Day 16: Yosemite National Park

Jenn

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Majestic. Breathtaking. Awe inspring. Is there a way to describe the beauty of Yosemite National Park without sounding cliché? El Capitan reaching violently towards the sky. Half Dome ,austere, keeping…

Majestic. Breathtaking. Awe inspring.

Is there a way to describe the beauty of Yosemite National Park without sounding cliché? El Capitan reaching violently towards the sky. Half Dome ,austere, keeping watch over the valley. Bridal Veil Falls unapologetically crashing through the forest.

Today, we enjoyed Yosemite National Park. We stopped at vistas, hiked up to Bridal Veil Falls, explored bridges, went on a ranger walk, observed mule deer, and watched Half Dome glow bright orange at sunset as the moon rose behind his stoic face. Magical.

Of course, for every moment of magic there is the pinch of reality. When we told the boys we were going on a ranger walk they protested. Thing 1 saying he “could learn all this on the internet.” Sigh. They ended up enjoying themselves (for the most part), learned a few things, and earned their Jr. Ranger badges.

So far the hardest part of our trip is accepting that we can’t see it all. I could spend a month exploring the wonders of Yosemite but the road calls, new adventures await, and there is work to be done. 🙂

Love and Laugher,
jenn

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Family on the Road On the Road

Catch Up Day (Yosemite)

Jenn

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Today was a “catch up day”. Brent spend the entire day working at the lodge where there is internet. We lost our cell phone service yesterday coming up the mountain…

Today was a “catch up day”.

Brent spend the entire day working at the lodge where there is internet. We lost our cell phone service yesterday coming up the mountain right after we got a call from our tenants that the fridge broke. Oh lovely.

While Brent worked, the boys and I did school and laundry.

Thankfully, we have a security guard.

Gotta be “serious” when you are sitting on your “thrones”.

While the laundry was drying I “made” the boys walk 1/2 mile up a hill to the country store because I’m a “terrible” mother for wanting them to get exercise. Unfortunately, the store had closed 15 minutes earlier. Oooops. The 10 minutes that followed weren’t pretty. Good thing, no one was around or I might have just decided to hitch a ride. It’s also a good thing that I had my walkie-talking and could call ~~911~~ Brent.

Love and Laugher,
Jenn

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Family on the Road On the Road

Great Noni

Jenn

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There is nothing like getting ready for church in the Wal-mart parking lot when it’s so cold you can see your breath. We are in Turlock, CA, to see Brent’s…

There is nothing like getting ready for church in the Wal-mart parking lot when it’s so cold you can see your breath.

We are in Turlock, CA, to see Brent’s “Noni”. We’ve been meaning to see her for years and had decided that this was one of the first things we would do.

We got ready and headed over to her retirment community where we took the shuttle bus to Turlock Covenant Church.

Today was one of those mornings where I felt God’s presence as sure as I felt my own pulse. Church isn’t always that way for me. Faith has always been somewhat difficult for me to embrace as I’m a bit of skeptic by nature but today I fought back tears as a deep peace settled into the crevices of my soul.

After church we spent the afternoon visiting with Noni.

The boys swept her porch.

Thing 1 played the piano for her.

I sat in her small apartment, not much bigger than our RV, looking at her things. Everything had a history, a story. I noticed picture upon picture of family and I thought about how grateful I am for mine. Dear family, I hope you know how much I love you.

Later, while Brent and the boys went move the RV closer to Great Noni’s apartment so she could see it, she and I spent a few minutes alone. She told me about her wedding and how her and sister had a double wedding. She told me about how she missed her husband. Being missionaries to Africa in the 1950s, they had their own set of adventures. I was reminded of the real reason behind our year on the road. Love. To say Brent still gives me butterflies is an understatement and going on this adventure with him…for lack of better words…is a dream come true.

Sappy, I know.

We said our goodbyes to Noni…

and hit the road.

We drove through fields

through small towns

and up into the mountains to Thousand Trails Yosemite Lakes to spend a few days enjoying the beauty of Yosemite National Park.

It’s beautiful but sure is cold cold up here…even colder than the Wal-mart packing lot we woke up in this morning.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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On the Road

Day 13: This road? That road? What road?

Jenn

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This was the GPS display this evening when I went to type in new directions. Hmmmmmm….. We left Morgan Hill this morning bound for Turlock, CA. We I have a…

This was the GPS display this evening when I went to type in new directions.

Hmmmmmm…..

We left Morgan Hill this morning bound for Turlock, CA. We I have a thing about avoiding interstates so we decided to take Highway 152.

Despite an ominous sky, the drive was beautiful.

The road wove through farms and hills covered with Oak trees.

We passed San Luis Reservoir and around that time we passed a few signs as well. Signs we should have paid attention to. Signs that would have saved us a lot of time. Signs that would have helped get us to our destination. ~~Signs that wouldn’t have made me feel like an idiot.~~

We drove on. We crossed Interstate 5 in favor of the smaller highway and headed north from Los Banos until we ran into this.

Ending the call I was on with my dad, “Dad, I think I have to go. The road is closed. I saw a sign back a bit but I didn’t really read it.”

Ooops.

I opened up my “trusty” GPS and told Brent to head down “this road”. We’ll take it to “that road” and it will connect “a road” that will get us to Turlock.

A few mintues later we ran into this….

“On the GPS it looks like a major road,” I explain. So we go right, instead of left, because this road meets up with our original road. “Maybe it’s passed the construction part.”

It is…about 300 feet.

“I bet they just put those there to reduce traffic. I bet it’s fine.” So we go left bypassing the original road closed sign.

It was fine…for about 40 minutes.

We passed ~~nothing~~ the Great Valley Grasslands State Park and birds for miles until I saw this up ahead.

I held my breath.

Uh-oh. I guess they meant it.

We turned around, headed back, drove around the orginal “road closed” sign, and all the way to Interstate 5.

The day only got better.

The rv park we were going to stay at was a parking lot. “I’m not paying $40 to sleep there. I’d rather sleep at Wal-Mart.”

So we did. I feel legit.

Wal-mart would have been fine except we forgot to fill up our water tanks, it was raining, one of the boys favorite books got demolished in the slide out, and I broke the doorknob to the bathroom. Thing 2 really “had to go” (he doens’t mess around) and said the door knob wouldn’t turn. “Oh you just have to turn harder,” I said. Nope it wouldn’t turn, he informed me dancing outside the door. I walked over, grabbed it, and turned it. Turn it so hard that the inside broke into about a 1000 pieces.

Ooops.

At least Wal-mart had unicorn bike helmets.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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On the Road

Day 12: More friends

Jenn

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We spent the morning doing school. (That’s what we do most mornings!) After school, my friend Michelle came to pick us up. Michelle and I have been “penpals” for over…

We spent the morning doing school. (That’s what we do most mornings!)

After school, my friend Michelle came to pick us up. Michelle and I have been “penpals” for over 3 years. She originally found my blog through a Google search. We began emailing regularly and our friendship grew without ever meeting each other.

It’s a weird experience meeting someone for the first time in person who already knows many details about your life. Not only that but replacing pixels with a real voice and real expressions is quite a trip. At one point, I blurted out that I was having a hard time connecting the Michelle in my head with the real life Michelle. FYI, the real life Michelle was even more wonderful that the Michelle in my head…I didn’t even think that would be possible!

Michelle kindly took me to The Garlic Shoppe (I loooove garlic) in Gilroy where we pet animals and bought overpriced garlic items including ice cream. I had to have a bite. It was strange not necessarily gross but strange.

In the evening, Brent met up with us at her house where Michelle treated us to Mr. Falafel. The kids played and once her husband got home we stayed until 11:30 that night and I think we could have kept talking until 11:30 the following night.

I also have to show you the cutest little garland she made us. It’s a string of hearts cut out of a map with a family picture in the center. The hearts each have a state on them.

Our home state. (I noticed they are in alphabetically order. A girl after my own heart!) 😉

We hung it over our door and it looks darling. I’m going to take after pictures of our rv remodel as soon as I ~~clean it up~~ get a chance.

Meeting Andrea and Michelle and other bloggers I know got me thinking about the internet. People criticize the internet but in my life it has been a huge blessing. For starters, it allows Brent to work remotely and without it I don’t know if we would be doing this trip. Secondly, it has introduced us to many amazing people. Sure I have wasted numerous hours online looking at pictures of hairless cats (I looooove hairless kitties…sorry Meow Cow) or bangs the night before a haircut but overall I’m so grateful for the doors it has opened up. I’m also grateful that you take the time to read about our lives.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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On the Road

Day 11: Mama’s Day Out

Jenn

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Today, I drove “the beast” by myself….in the city. Big girl. By the time I reached my destination, my body hurt from all the anxiety. My first stop was San…

Today, I drove “the beast” by myself….in the city. Big girl. By the time I reached my destination, my body hurt from all the anxiety.

My first stop was San Jose to meet, Andrea, a blog friend of mine. She was in the middle of a crazy busy week but made time to have coffee with me and was every bit as sweet as I imagined!

After coffee, I spent 30 minutes on my phone looking for diesel fuel. I have this irrational fear that I’m going to fill up our tank with unleaded. I filled up at Rotten Robbie and headed up to Palo Alto to Ikea. Why Ikea you ask? I had a craving for Swedish meatballs. Kidding…sort of…the real reason was we needed a faucet.

Somehow we lost, yes lost, the faucet we bought for our new sink before we installed it. We searched and searched but have no clue where it went. How does one lose a faucet? We must have dropped it off at Goodwill along with all our other stuff during chaos of moving.

After getting the faucet (and meatballs), I got back on the freeway bound for ~~home~~ Morgan Hill. Then it started to rain and I hit traffic. Perfect.

Finally, I made it to ~~Mecca~~ Trader Joe’s. I hadn’t been to the grocery in over two weeks and Trader Joe’s, although in a different city, felt oddly comforting. I filled the cart unsure of how I was going to fit it all in the rv.

Amazingly, it all fit even if it means I’m decorating with brussels sprouts.

Well what did the boys do all day while I was gone? Thing 1 and Thing 2 did school while Brent worked. They even fit in a little bike ride. I must say I was very very happy when I received a good report upon returning home.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Family on the Road On the Road

Not All Rainbows and Flying Squirrels

Jenn

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“Mommy, mama, daddy, dada, we saw flying squirrels!” squealed Thing 2 as he and Thing 1 came rushing into our bedroom this morning. Just the sort of thing I dreamed…

“Mommy, mama, daddy, dada, we saw flying squirrels!” squealed Thing 2 as he and Thing 1 came rushing into our bedroom this morning. Just the sort of thing I dreamed about in the months before we left. I mean, not specifically flying squirrels (that might be weird) but curious little boys excited about God’s creation.

Of course, it’s not all rainbows and flying squirrels.

Later, Thing 1 comes stomping out of their room, “I wanna go home.” We asked why. “If he (Thing 2) is not going to keep our room clean, I wanna go home.”

We had our first meal together as a family in the rv. It was mostly pleasant until “the crunching” got to me. PMS is not fun for me or them particularly PMS in a 280 square foot rv. I finished my lunch outside at the picnic table.

Like I said, it’s not all rainbows and flying squirrels.

After finishing school, I decided a walk would be good for us. Aside from having to referee who got Nico and who got Nigel, it was lovely.

We ended the day with a workout and dinner. After the dinner I got a call on my cell phone. “I have Nigel”.

“Huh? What? You have Nigel? Oh noooo!!! We’ll be right there.”

Nigel had gotten loose and wandered down the street. Brent and the boys went to campsite 247 and found him happily sitting on a stranger’s lap.

Yeah, it’s not all rainbows and flying squirrels BUT it’s so worth it.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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On the Road

Day 9: And we’re off! (again)

Jenn

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Today we cast off on our own. We left the security of Brent’s parents and officially hit the open road and landed at Morgan Hill, CA but not without a…

Today we cast off on our own. We left the security of Brent’s parents and officially hit the open road and landed at Morgan Hill, CA but not without a few detours.

Detour #1 – The family picture. The picture was fine or as good as it can be with 2 kids, 2 pugs, and a cat. (Nigel, the light pug, looks thrilled. Simply thrilled.)

It was during this picture, I put Meow Cow in the car without rolling up the window. Ooops. We spend 10 minutes searching for him as he watched hidden amongst the stuff in the garage. I’m certain he was laughing.

Detour #2 – We stopped at Goodwill to drop of our last (for now) load of stuff. This Goodwill was in a strip center and not set up for RVs. As we were unloading the stuff, we found out we were blocking a lady who had to get her child somewhere. We moved and circled back around to drop off the rest of our stuff. After we were leaving we hit a curb hard. Ouch.

Detour #3 – We weren’t on the interstate but 10 minutes when Meow Cow peed on Thing 2. Good times. (Note to self, don’t forget to put litter box in the truck.)

Detour #4 – Pottie breaks 20 mintues apart. (I’m sure we’ll soon come to see this as a part of life and not “detours”)

Detour #5 – Finally, we get to our campsite after dark (just brilliant our first time out) and we may or may not have used our phone flashlight to park the beast between trees. As we started to open her up for bedtime the large slideout didn’t want to go. Brent found a small leak in the hydraulic system. Bummer. He and Nathanael went to Wal-mart at 10:00 pm ~~leaving me and to fend for ourselves~~ to get brake fluid only to come home and discover that he didn’t have the switch turned on properly.

Newbies.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Family on the Road On the Road

Homeschool, Haircuts, and Halloween

Jenn

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Homeschool Roadschool School started off our day complete with a wonderful view of the neighbor’s backyard. I’m amazed how well school is going so far. Yes, we are a…

Homeschool Roadschool

School started off our day complete with a wonderful view of the neighbor’s backyard. I’m amazed how well school is going so far. Yes, we are a little behind the traditional school year but I’m not worried. We’ll catch up. The boys seem really relaxed and interested in learning. However, Meow Cow proves to be an occasional distraction.

Haircuts

After school, we headed back over to Brent’s brother’s house and his wife gave us all haircuts. Little things like this are such a HUGE blessing. Thank you, Kristi!!

Halloween

The highlight of Halloween, besides seeing our little guys dressed up in costumes they either decided to reuse or piece together with items we already own, was visiting the pumpkin man of Santa Maria.

The Pumpkin Man takes off an entire week every year to carve pumpkins and we aren’t just talking jack-o-laterns with triangle eyes. He had carved everything from an intricate covered wagon train to Batman. Some of them were amazing with the detail and shadowing. The Pumpkin Man said this was his “passion”. He and his wife were standing in the front yard chatting with people who stopped to look at the pumpkins. I talked to him for a bit and he was fascinating. This year he carved 30 pumpkins but gave 7 away. He says he does this every year.

I love how the world is filled with interesting people!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Cousins and Pumpkins

Jenn

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Today after working on the trailer our house we went over to Brent’s brother’s for a BBQ. His brother, like Brent, is a grill master. Seriously, I’ve never tasted better…

Today after working on ~~the trailer~~ our house we went over to Brent’s brother’s for a BBQ. His brother, like Brent, is a grill master. Seriously, I’ve never tasted better BBQ than these Nims boys. It must have something to do with growing up with Santa Maria Style BBQ.

His brother even has a custom oak pit BBQ.

While the food cooked, the kids carved pumpkins.

Thing 1 and 2 took it very seriously.

After dinner there was entertainment.

And complimentary dance lessons.

The boys have had fun visiting with their cousins. While parking in Brent’s parent’s driveway hasn’t been the ideal location, it’s been good to “try out” the rv and to spend time with family. One more day in Santa Maria and then we are heading up north for a few days.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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