Author: Jenn

2 min read

Thing 3's First Year

Thing 3 – Week 2

Jenn

2 min read

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2 min read

I went to church for the first time on Easter. I don’t really remember it because I slept the entire time in the baby carrier mommy was wearing. I did…

I went to church for the first time on Easter. I don’t really remember it because I slept the entire time in the baby carrier mommy was wearing. I did get to wear a snazzy suit complete with a bow tie though.

My big big brother wore this same suit at my mommy’s college graduation.

I don’t think it will still fit him.

While my big brothers colored eggs I also got to wear a bib my Great Aunt Christine sent me.

My big brothers went on a cruise with my Weewa and Papaw. Luckies! My big brother was really sad to leave me.

Meow Cow, our cat, wanted to go on the cruise too. I think he wanted to get away from me. Most of the time he won’t even look at me and has only sniffed my head a few times before sulking away. I don’t think he likes me very much. Mommy says he hasn’t come to her once since I’ve been born. If you ask me he seems like a grumpy old cat but my mommy and daddy say he’s the best cat ever. I’m sure he’ll come around.

My big big brother turned 14 this week. Wow!!!! FOURTEEN!!!!! Mommy says it just feels like yesterday that he was my size.

I had my first doctors appointment and I had gained all my birthweight back plus 2 oz, weighing in at 8 lbs and 14 oz!

My mommy rested with me all week because her midwife told he she has a “21 day rest rule”. Daddy is taking good care of her. I’m glad because cuddling with mommy is my favorite thing in the world.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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3 min read

Thing 3's First Year

Thing Three – Week 1

Jenn

3 min read

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3 min read

I had a great first week. I took my first breath of oxygen, saw light, and finally got to stretch my arms and legs. Wow, that felt good. But the…

I had a great first week. I took my first breath of oxygen, saw light, and finally got to stretch my arms and legs. Wow, that felt good. But the best part was meeting my mommy, daddy, and brothers.

My mommy was the first to hold me after 19 hours of back labor followed and 1.5 hours of pushing. (Sorry mom, I know you wanted me to turn anterior but I just couldn’t.) Her belly was so warm and squishy. I recognized her heartbeat right away. She kept smiling at me and crying. This is us an hour after being born.

My dad is awesome too. His hands are so big and I feel so secure against his chest. He was right there when I was born, helping mommy sit up. Mommy says Daddy never once left here side while I was being born. She says she could’t have done it without him. I can already tell they make a good team.

My big brother instantly fell head of over heels in love with me.

My big big brother was a little more nervous to hold me but he came around and realized I wasn’t going to poop on him. Not yet anyway. He he!

I’ve spend the majority of my week sleeping with my mommy and daddy. Mommy says her midwife gave her a “21 day rule” which means she can’t do much for three weeks. Mommy also said it’s been “dreamy” to slow down and bond with me. I agree.

I am one happy camper especially when I’m being held.

Here I am 4 days old!

I also took my first car ride. Good thing I liked it. Mommy and daddy say I have a lot of miles ahead of me.

Dear Thing 3,

Welcome to our family. You cast a spell on me the moment your warm slippery body was laid on my belly. We can’t promise to be perfect parents. In fact, I’ll let you know ahead of time that, unfortunately, we’ll fail more times than we will care to admit. What we can promise is that we will always do our best and seek the Lord for guidance and no matter what we will love you bigger than the sky times infinity. Our hearts are overwhelmed with gratitude for your life. We look forward to all the adventures we will have as a family and watching God’s plan for your life unfold. We love forever and always.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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2 min read

Uncategorized

A Crazy 24 Hours

Jenn

2 min read

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2 min read

It was a driving day with our final destination a mere 4 hours away. However 4 turned into 12 because… You can’t pass up climbing a tree that looks like…

It was a driving day with our final destination a mere 4 hours away.

However 4 turned into 12 because…

You can’t pass up climbing a tree that looks like it’s from Endor.

Nor could we pass up a quick stop at the Hoh Rain Forest, a part of Olympic National Park and one of the largest temperate rainforests in North America. To tell you the truth, I didn’t even know there were any rain forests North America.

Or a stop at Ruby Beach where we stacked rocks and had dinner.

Finally around 10 pm the real adventure began when we arrived at our campground. We try really hard to not get into places after dark because once the sun sets there seems to be holes, poles, fences, guard rails, zombies, you name it, appearing out of nowhere.

We took a turn too tight and the wheels of the trailer got stuck in a ditch that appeared out of nowhere. Thankfully there wasn’t any major damage to the trailer, just a small crack, and a dent on the bed of the truck. However, to prevent further damage we decided to call a tow truck to pull us out backwards. It was 2 am before the trailer was out and we got to bed.

As if that wasn’t adventure enough. The next day we needed to decide if we were going to buy our season passes to go back to Breckenridge for the upcoming winter. We had mixed feelings. On one hand we really wanted to go but on the other we weren’t sure if we should spend the money.

As it turned out the decision was made for us when I decided to take a pregnancy test that afternoon “just in case” because I was a few days late.

And…

=

Two pink lines.

Guess we wouldn’t going back to Breck. I’m adventurous but snowboarding while pregnant? No thanks.

To say we were surprised would be an understatement but as the news soaked in we got excited. We weren’t the only ones excited. My dad sent me this super sweet text.

And here I am 9 months later on his due date and still waiting for this little guy to arrive!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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1 min read

Family on the Road

Goodbye Family of Four and Hello Family of Five

Jenn

1 min read

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1 min read

Before baby nomad gets here we decided to head out to the beach with a tripod and camera to get some pictures while we are still, sort of, a family…

Before baby nomad gets here we decided to head out to the beach with a tripod and camera to get some pictures while we are still, sort of, a family of four.

We are really excited about the new baby but along with that joy there is some, for lack of a better word, “sadness” in saying goodbye to the life that we have known for the last eleven years as a family of four.

I hope that doesn’t sound bad.

I’m so thankful that we’ve had these past two and a half years on the road to slow down, explore, and create memories to numerous to count with Thing 1 and Thing 2.

I’m also thankful for this new family member on his way and look forward to the joy he will bring and the many adventures that lie ahead.

Now it’s time to get this show on the road. I’m ready to hold a baby in my arms instead of a 40 lb bowling ball in my belly!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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1 min read

Family on the Road On the Road Our Backyard

Throwback Thursday – Our Backyard in New Jersey

Jenn

1 min read

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1 min read

Some of my favorite memories are the simplest. So simple that I rarely photograph them. It’s easy to remember to pull our your camera when Old Faithful is erupting. Unfortunately,…

Some of my favorite memories are the simplest. So simple that I rarely photograph them. It’s easy to remember to pull our your camera when Old Faithful is erupting. Unfortunately, it’s not so easy to remember to capture the ordinary moments you’ll want to remember in 50 years. Moments like when your kids share stories and laughter. Our 8 days in South New Jersey were simple days and, coincidently, are some of my favorite memories.

We really didn’t do much those 8 days and I don’t have many photos. Brent worked a lot. The boys and I took up jogging together. (That lasted a week.) Thing 2 got a new nickname, “Little Boy Long Long Legs”, when he kept pulling his shorts up high. I worked out under the pines. We explored the lake by paddleboat. We stumbled upon a delicious restaurant, George’s Place, in Cape May. We played in the water slides at the campground. We took sunset walks.

There weren’t any grand vistas or historic monuments but there was love and laughter and being together with my favorite people. That was enough.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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1 min read

Family on the Road National Parks

Throwback Thursday – Valley Forge, PA

Jenn

1 min read

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1 min read

Bear with me as we hitch up our time machine and head back in time for Throwback Thursday. The amount of pictures we take borders on absurdity and it’s impossible…

Bear with me as we hitch up our time machine and head back in time for Throwback Thursday. The amount of pictures we take borders on absurdity and it’s impossible for me to keep up without an assistant. So until the boys can be trusted to pick the best pictures of me, I’ll have to do all the photo management which could be a full time job in and of itself.

Anyway back to Valley Forge.

Valley Forge National Historic Park was the Revolutionary War encampment where the continental army lead by George Washington survived the long winter of 1777-1778. By the end of the winter, nearly 2500 soldiers had died from exposure, sickness, and starvation. And we felt like we “survived” the winter in Breckenridge in our RV.

The visitor center, like most national park visitor centers, was filled with information and hands on exhibits. We learned about the sacrifices and hardships the soldiers of the Continental Army endured in their fight for our country’s independence.

And away we go!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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1 min read

Family on the Road National Parks

Hiking Hurricane Hill at Olympic National Park

Jenn

1 min read

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1 min read

After a few days of exploring Seattle we were ready for a change of pace. Olympic National Park, located in the Olympic Peninsula, was a perfect place to slow down…

After a few days of exploring Seattle we were ready for a change of pace. Olympic National Park, located in the Olympic Peninsula, was a perfect place to slow down and take in the beauty of God’s creation. The highlight of our visit was hiking the Hurricane Hill Trail. I’m not sure which was more beautiful the views of the ocean and mountains or the fact that our boys hardly complained the entire hike. Perhaps the abundance of wildlife kept them smiling. It’s hard to have a bad attitude when a curious marmot is following you from a distance or when you stumble upon a heard of mountain goats.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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1 min read

Family on the Road

Video: Life as a Full Time RVing Family

Jenn

1 min read

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1 min read

If you’ve ever wondered what life as a full time RVing family is like watch this short video Brent put together for Go RVing. I think it captures the last…

If you’ve ever wondered what life as a full time RVing family is like watch this short video Brent put together for Go RVing. I think it captures the last few years of our life really well. In fact, every time I watch it I get a little teary eyed and feel so grateful.

Thank you to all our family and friends who add so much to this adventure. Thank you for meeting up with us in random locations. Thank you for letting us park in your driveways. Thank you for inviting us to your table. Thank you for sharing cool places to visit. Thank you for remembering us while we travel. You are always the highlights of our travels! You can visit two other full time RVing families in the video at The Lundy 5 and Studio Jema.

We’ve been enjoying sharing our family’s full time RV life with the Go RVing audience. You can read our other posts here.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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4 min read

Family on the Road

Our Heartland Gateway 3650BH Video Tour

Jenn

4 min read

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4 min read

In our search for an RV, we spent a ridiculous amount of hours online looking at various models and reading reviews and forums. After selling our old RV in Texas,…

In our search for an RV, we spent a ridiculous amount of hours online looking at various models and reading reviews and forums. After selling our old RV in Texas, we headed to Florida to meet my doctor before heading to Indiana, RV capital of the world. Determined to find ourselves a new home we braved the cold to visit RV dealerships and an RV show. We found many models that would work for us but finally narrowed it down to five models that had almost everything we wanted: Avalanche 360RB, Montana Mountaineer 356TBF, Cedar Creek Silverback 35QB4, KZ Durango 358BHK, and the Heartland Gateway 3650BH.

The things we were looking for in order of priority were:

Four or five slides with double slides in the back bedroom (Our last RV had 3 slides. )
A place for Brent to build a desk (If he can’t work we can’t travel!)
12 cubic foot or larger refrigerator or an RV with a space big enough where we could install one ourselves
Pantry
More kitchen counter space than our last RV
An all-in-one front bathroom (as opposed to a walk-through bathroom, i.e., one where the shower, toilet, sink are separated)
A second half bath in the back.
Washer and dryer hookups (Which ultimately didn’t matter b/c we aren’t going to use them after all.)
Booth dinette as opposed freestanding table and chairs (We like the coziness and the storage a booth provides.)
Storage storage storage!
Bathtub (Not a huge priority but would be nice.)

As you can see we had some high expectations but after living full time in an RV with our family for over 2 years we knew what we wanted. Although we knew we were going to finance this RV, we still had a budget we wanted to stay within so a few brands we would have liked to look at were out of the question.

A quick word about financing our RV. When we set out on the road we still had credit card debt. Most people insist that you should pay off all your debt before hitting the road. Clearly that would have been ideal but our boys were getting older and we knew we no longer had the luxury of time. So instead of waiting to pay it off, we decided to hit the road before everything was “perfect”. That’s another post for another time but to make a long story short, we chose to not wait to have our ducks in a row before following our dream. At this point of our journey, it made better sense for us to sell our old rig which was paid for to pay off high interest credit card debt and finance a new rig at a rate that is less than a 3rd of our credit cards. Not only did we lower our monthly payments, we improved our overall quality of life. Keep in mind we came from Southern California where we were used to a high cost of living so our monthly RV payment is teeny tiny compared to our house payment. That said, it would be ideal to have zero debt before you hit the road if you can do it!

Anyway back to the RV. Of all the RVs we looked at the Heartland Gateway 3650 BH had more features we wanted than any other RV, including a bathtub! In fact, the one thing it had we didn’t want was an outdoor kitchen. (At this time the outdoor kitchen is not an option on the Gateway 3650.) The big concern we had was the Gateway is a brand new model so there weren’t any used ones on the market. Used was our first choice but after lots of thinking we decided to get what we really wanted since it is our home. You can read more about how we finally made our decision to buy it from Dixie RV and see the photo tour here. Or for those of you who prefer video I finally had the time to put a little video tour together. Enjoy!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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1 min read

Family on the Road

Our 2nd Valentine’s Day in Orlando Florida

Jenn

1 min read

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1 min read

We didn’t plan it this way. It just so happened that we were in the same campground that we stayed at two years ago when we celebrated Valentine’s Day with other full…

We didn’t plan it this way. It just so happened that we were in the same campground that we stayed at two years ago when we celebrated Valentine’s Day with other full time RV families. The kids enjoyed exchanging Valentines and a scavenger hunt.

We’ve been meeting all sorts of new people and enjoying reconnecting with “old” friends. The number of families here has at least doubled or possibly even tripled in the last two years.

The more the merrier!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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