Changes

 

Change is the only constant.

You can be afraid of change. You can resist change. You can try to avoid change.

Or you can embrace it.

Nothing stays the same no matter how hard we try. Just as a river is ever-moving and constantly changing so are our lives. Embracing change allows us to fully discover the possibilities that come with that change. It enables us to create more opportunities and create and reach even more life goals than if we stayed stagnant.

We are in midst of change right now. I’ll be honest it took me a bit to embrace the change, but there is always a bright side. This year we setting down some roots for a bit in a place we never thought we would and at a time we weren’t exactly planning on it, but nonetheless here we are.

The past 2 years traveling in our RV and the year before that traveling a few places but having no real “home base” have been absolutely amazing. We embraced the unconventional life and spent so much time making memories and having adventures together. It was what we needed to heal from the trauma of my Sudden Cardiac Arrest.

It was what I needed. 

However, the seasons have changed and we felt the need to settle down somewhere for several different reasons. The biggest one, which dictated our location, was Shawn’s work: now that they opened a central office he needed to be there more and his work travel schedule had picked up which made our personal travel schedule that much harder to navigate.

 

So here we are in house in a neighborhood in the Midwest. This past week we skied as a inaugural family adventure of our new chapter. There are tons of adventures awaiting and a huge area of the US we have not yet explored in our backyard, so while we are not on the road at the moment we will still be focusing on making memories together and making our own adventures here in our new town. We are embracing this new chapter, this change.

 

 

 

 

Yesterday I took my oldest 3 up the Beehive Trail in Acadia National Park. I thought a lot about it before I asked them if they wanted to go. I debated on if it was “safe”. I questioned if I really wanted to do it and if I could handle the height of the trail while being on exposed cliffs. Ultimately I decided it would be a great adventure and a great experience for us to have together.

As I passed the warning signs at the beginning of the trail, I again questioned myself. However, we trudged on. We begin the climb and it was pleasant and not too challenging. About a quarter of the way up that quickly changed. There were rocks you had to climb up onto a ledge about 2 feet wide and other places there was a gap in the ledge which they had secured metal rungs over and you had to walk across to get to the other side. The mountain seems to be slightly angled out toward you at some points so you feel as if you must slightly lean back to get up and over to the next ledge as you climb up metal rungs. You look up and all you can see is mountain and sky, you look on each side and all you see is sky and then you look down realizing just how high above the ground you are. You are literally standing on a ledge about 200 feet up on the side of a mountain. The views along the way and from the top are spectacular.

I felt accomplished as we sat down at the top to have some water and take it all in. It was a short hike, less than a mile, but challenging and rewarding. You may wonder why I would take my children on a such a “risky” hike, but in reality it was no riskier than walking down a crowded sidewalk in the city with cars rushing past. Maybe it was even safer because we had complete control of our actions. The older two encouraged and looked out for their 7 year old brother. G decided to bring up the rear towards the end so he could make sure we all made it up ok and took all the pictures for me so I could keep my eyes on L.  I love the way challenging experiences bring them together and give them chances to lead.

This was a mostly a mental challenge for me. The physical part was easy. But the mental part, facing the height and letting my children take this safe risk was tough. I am a worrier by nature. There are times I just want to put my children in a bubble and never let them out of my sight. That’s not healthy for them or for me or even realistic. By letting them do things that are a little risky with me and that take us out of our comfort zone I get to teach them how to be safe and how to navigate a tricky situation. I get to show them I trust them make good decisions and give them confidence to know they can overcome any obstacles both mentally and physically. To me, these are invaluable lessons and ones I hope stick with them throughout their lives.

Our Days: Part 1

I often get asked:  How do you fit it all in? How do you do school? How do you handle being in such a small space? What DO you DO all day? So I thought I would share a little bit about what our life looks like on the road.

We have a few types of “days”. The first of which is what I call “Home Days”. On these days Shawn will usually leave to work since 80% of his day is spent on the phone and it’s hard to keep 5 children quiet. Often times he will also do the laundry while he works or run any errands we need to do while he is out, such as getting a few groceries we are out of before coming back or going to the post office.

These days are spent doing chores, prepping food for the week, schoolwork,  and playing outside. Just overall low keys catching up with the normal things that have to be dealt with and enjoying some down time.

 

This is what our couch usually looks like.

We try to have as much time creating as we can.

 

PlayDough is another favorite activity. I have one bin of art supplies we keep on hand.

Displaying his creations.

School often happens in unconventional positions.

With limited space we utilize all space and get creative. P is working on her math lesson in the passenger seat of the cab.

Enjoying some quiet moments during “Rest” Time

Most of all I love they all share the space and

end up working together throughout the day.

Each RV Park offers a little different scenery and play area which can always be fun for the younger ones to explore! Although we all enjoyed the huge Koi fish at this location.

As much as I love our adventures, I love these low key days equally as much and the time we all get to spend together.

(These pictures were not posed, we actually had a pretty ideal day the day I snapped them. However, not everyday looks this ideal, but we do our best!)

 

 

Creating Lifelong Learners

(This is an old blog but I’m just realizing I never published it. This is how we continue to school as we travel and it is my goal to create a blog for each location with resources and ideas we used. )

 

Canoeing in the spring right the top of the giant manatees!

The touch tank is always a favorite. They got to hold a starfish.

As we embark on this journey we will no longer be homeschooling but rather roadschooling, as the full time rv community likes to call it. It’s just an extension of how we’ve already been schooling but opens the doors to even more opportunities. My main goal for our children is to teach them that learning is an everyday thing and encourage them to be lifelong learners. Even though we aren’t quite on the road yet, we’ve been traveling full time for the past 10 months and have been able to see and do some amazing things to enrich the kids’ education.
Two weeks ago I was able to take them to see the manatees at Manatee Springs, visit Clearwater Marine Aquarium, and go to LEGOLAND. There were some obvious educational activities, but I was also able to incorporate some not so obvious lessons, which is what I love doing!

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I found some amazing lesson plans online (link to plans) and used those for an in depth study on manatee anatomy, sea grass habitats, the balance of the ecosystem and the role humans have played in endangering these mammals. I also had them watch a documentary (here) to help prep.

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This was our second visit Clear Water Marine Aquarium since we purchased an annual family membership last year on a deal I found. It was cheaper than tickets for 1 day! Last year they did the Behind the Scenes Tour and loved every second as well as learning a ton about the animal rehabilitation program. This year we continued to expand on their knowledge of marine life. Clearwater had some excellent plans available online (here).

Now for the not so obviously educational moments, a lot of which I call real life learning.

Map reading skills– At LEGOLAND and along our route. At LEGOLAND they obviously used the map to figure out where they wanted to go and made plans for how they were going to be able to ride every ride and see every exhibit. Along our route I had them help choosing which route we were going to travel and help plan stops along the way.

Math– Distance x speed = Time problems, How much fuel do we need?, How much more time until we reach a particular destination?, Personal Finance/ Budget planning- Prioritizing their purchases to keep them within their budgets.

Character Traits– This is a biggie to me. They have to learn how to get along, how to work out differences, how to jump in and help out when needed. We are together A LOT and it’s not always easy. There are explosive moments, there are moments when they hate my guts or can’t stand their siblings, but when it’s all said and done the usually handle the situation and are able to continue in a positive manner. This trip in particular was almost ideal. So ideal that I kept thinking “Ok someone is going to fall apart any moment.”  But they didn’t!

As we travel I’ll be sharing more of our lessons from the road and links for any cool materials I come across. Maybe you can apply some of these ideas to your trips even if you don’t homeschool or roadschool and we can inspire you to be a lifelong learner too!

 

Always Running Behind. . .

 

 

. . . seems to be my theme lately. Life is busy. I like to refer to it as full. My life is full. Bursting at the seams. I haven’t stopped to blog because there is always a kid who needs something or a chore to be done and at the end of the day this Momma is tired.

But, blogging is important to me. I want to inspire people to live the life they love, whatever that may be. I get bogged down and feel like I don’t have anything to offer. Yet over the past few months I’ve had people reach out to me, looking to make big life changes and asking me how I did it. I love these conversations. They energize me. I don’t have it all figured out. Not even close. But over the past year or so, we’ve taken risks and we have completely changed our life to try a path less traveled. We broke away from the norm and decided to try something different for a while and this is what life is all about. Taking chances, discovering yourself through your choices, always trying to be the best version of yourself. It’s about connecting with other people and helping people grow. It’s about giving my kids thousands of experiences to learn and grow from so that when they are ready to leave the nest they have the knowledge and experience they need to make the best life for themselves.

So yes, my life is busy, but I need to remember to slow down, connect and take time to record the seasons we are going through, the good ones and the harder ones.

Hopefully to connect with and inspire others along the way.

Let me know what your wildest dreams are or a big life change you decided to make. I love being inspired by other peoples’ stories.

Catching Up. . . Kentucky to New Mexico

 

A quick overview in photos of our spring and summer before we head out for our next adventures!

Daniel Boone National Forest and exploring with friends!

Hiked in Red River Gorge in Kentucky

Walked across some amazing natural bridges. . .

And climbed rock formations.

Enjoyed the quiet, rolling hills of Kentucky.

Made a stop to along the Bourbon Trail in KY.

Met up with more friends in Bardstown, KY.

Visited family and friends in Nashville.

I had a good cardiologist check up on my heart while in Nashville.

Then Shawn and I headed to Vegas for a long weekend with some friends.

Then it was time to head to Taos.

We visited some neat museums along Route 66. . .

And some iconic locations.

Of course, we couldn’t miss out on Cadillac Ranch in Texas.

They jumped in the frigid water at Blue Hole in Santa Rosa.

And finally arrived in Taos.

We spent many hours hiking and exploring local trails.

And were able to make it up into the mountains before all the snow melted.

Then we took a trip to Arizona and visited Horseshoe Bend outside of Page, AZ.

And toured Glen Canyon Dam on Lake Powell.

We hiked in Glen Canyon National Forest

Then continued on to Utah to visit Zion National Park.

The views were amazing!

Next we scooted up to Bryce Canyon.

We love hoodoos!

 

We explored the park for 2 days and took an awesome 13 mile bike ride!

Before we left Utah we checked out Pink Coral Sand Dunes State Park.

The dunes were vast!

On to Colorado, where we soaked in Pagosa Springs natural hot springs.

And camped at 10,000 feet on top of this mountain.

We then explored the Land of Fire and Ice in Grants, NM

Between all these adventure, the kids had swim meets in Cortez, CO, Los Alamos, NM,    Santa Fe, NM and Albuquerque, NM.

 

We spent many days playing in the rivers around Taos.

And hiked as much as we could. One of our favorites was the Williams Lake Trail pictured here.

Both sets of Grandparents came to visit us on the road in their own RV’s.

 

Thursday night Music on the Plaza was not to be missed!

We caught as many gorgeous sunsets as we could.

The 4 of us biked the South Boundary Trail.

And hiked to the tallest peak in NM.

Wheelers Peak  13,162 feet!

We made a quick trip back to TN.

The kids saw some friends. . .

And I got to spend some time with my Grandma.

We took another route back to NM and were able to take in the USA/Mexico Border on our way to Las Cruces, NM for Gunner’s State Swim Meet.

Meow Wolf in Santa Fe was an interesting experience.

We finished up our last two weeks in Taos with mountain camps for the oldest 3 and a trip to Uncle Cliff’s in Albuquerque.

We just squeezed in the Tri Taos Triathlon

And a weekend spent with Nashville Friends.

 

 

On The Road: Nashville to Taos

The kids finally finished this compilation of our drive to Taos. They videoed the scenery for about 15-20 seconds every hour so we could show the changing landscape. There is also  original music for the video composed by their friend Ethan Slot.

This was a tedious project for them learning how to cut clips to match the music, but they learned a ton and are looking forward to their next project!

 

The Land of Fire and Ice: Grants, NM

When I found out we would be headed to Grants, NM for a few days I wasn’t aware of the treasures that we would discover there! I started my research of what was in the area and was pleasantly surprised.

Grants is located about an hour and half from Albuquerque but the landscape is vastly different. Grants has many volcanos that have erupted and many lava flows visible. Our first impression driving down I-40 towards Grants and seeing all the lava flows made us feel like we were in make believe land. It was bizarre.

 

Our first stop was Bandera Volcano and the Ice Cave. Before we visited I utilized their website and was amazed with the educational resources they provided. It gave us a good background and prepared us to be able to absorb more as we toured. Check out their site here.  They also provided a self guided tour pamphlet when we checked in.  The kids were thrilled to be able to say they went inside an actual volcano and enjoyed walking through the lava flows and learning how they impacted the land and future growth in the area.

 

Walking up the side of the cinder cone volcano

Looking into the cinder cone, it’s about 800 feet down and 1400 feet across.

Lava! We learned why the lava is different colors: as time passes the minerals leech out at different rates. White lava= calcium, Red Lava= Iron, Green/Yellow Lava= Sulfur

Amazing to see the trees that have made their home in the lava flow. There are trees as old as 700 years here!

At the top lookout. T was not excited about the photo.

The Ice Cave was another crazy site! It was a warm 75 degrees when we visited but as promised the cave remained 31 degrees. The cave is formed by a lava tube and because of the insulation of the lava and the cool air circulated from below it remains cold and all the water frozen. It is also tinted green from a prehistoric algae which I thought was pretty cool. Before it was turned into a protected land mark there was a trading post and dance hall there and they used the cave to keep there beer cold, another interesting fact.

Headed down!

Ice Cave- It is about 20 feet thick here.

Looking up out of the lava tube.

He was determined to climb up all by himself!

 

We were going to hike in El Malpais but due to exhausted kiddos we decided to bypass. We did however drive through it and even spotted a coyote. El Malpais means ” the badlands” and was named by the Spanish because the land was so bare and rough.  It is a very remote area with little cell service so be prepared, know where you are going and have plenty of gas. There is a nice visitor center in Grants just off of I-40 with some great info!

Driving through El Malpais.

 

Our last stop in the area was El Morro. I have to say this was the absolute best visitor center of a National Park/Monument that I have EVER visited. The staff was wonderful. They were friendly and engaging. They encouraged the kids with the Jr Ranger Program and actually discussed their answers with them when we completed their requirements. I cannot say enough good things about our experience with the staff! Secondly, the monument itself was very neat and the tour booklets they provide you are an invaluable resource.

El Morro, which means head, bluff or rounded hill, is exactly that, a giant buff sticking up in the middle of an otherwise flat area. Because of its shape and the sandstone it is formed out of it funnels a lot the water from the top to a giant holding pool at the base. This was a valuable resource for travelers as they made their way west and a constant, reliable source for the Native Americans since it never dries out. A pretty remarkable thing in the desert. It was a known point all the travelers looked for and stopped at. As they visited many inscribed their names, petroglphys, or even poems  into the sandstone walls surround the pool. There are carvings as old as 400 years old. Some of these names they have been able to research and the history that person’s  journey is provided in your tour guide. From witty Spanish Generals to a 12 year old girl who were shot by an arrow to the American Army Lieutenants on camelback, we enjoyed reading each person’s story and it enlightened us to some parts of history we had never considered before. There are also ancient ruins of a pueblo on top of El Morro but I forgot my hiking pack and the little ones did not allow us to explore that area.

Fun school day!

This was the long awaited site the travelers looked for as they made their way across this dry land.

 

The pool at the bottom of El Morro.

Some of the many inscriptions

There was a hail storm the day before so T’s favorite part was playing with all the hail.

Identifying birds and T found a beetle!

Time for a rest!

 

One place we didn’t visit because time wouldn’t  allow was the Wolf Sanctuary. It is a bit of a haul from Grants but we hope to make it in the future! If you happen to be out that way here is a link with all their info!

We would love to visit the area again and spend more time exploring and perhaps even take a true caving trip into the lava tubes!

 

So Refreshing!

 

Want to take a dip in the same pool of water as Billy the Kid?

Then go to Blue Hole in Santa Rosa, New Mexico! Now it is a popular attraction and easy to get to from the interstate. It is a good place to bring your kids and yourself on a hot day or even a cool day like it was when we went!

It is 80ft around, 80ft deep and always 61 degrees. It is an underground spring that puts out 3,000 gallons of water a minute and keeps this rock hole in the desert full! There are under water caves that people have died in while trying to explore and map them, but do not worry they have had it gated off to the public since 1976. They think the underground cave system may somehow be connected to Carlsbad Caverns but the caves are so big and complex they are not sure.

I liked it a lot! It was cold! Paisley and I jumped off a 20ft cliff into it. It took a lot of nerve to do that! L wasn’t old enough to go off the big cliff but he was the first one in. So if you are ever passing through New Mexico make sure you stop and take a dip!

G

( This is the first of many guest posts from the kids. Part of their school is researching places we visit and learning how to edit a video, as well as , improve their writing skills. Just one of the many ways we incorporate learning while traveling.)

 

 

 

Lots of Miles, So Little Time

 

 

I’ve kind of fallen behind on blogging. It’s not that I am not thinking of it. I am. I have so many blogs started in my head, and on my phone’s notepad and even in emails to myself. I’ve got a million and one pictures documenting our journey. But I have not had the time or the energy to finish anything.

In the past 28 days:

• We’ve driven 2000 miles ( 1200 of which were just over the past 4 days),
• We’ve flown to Las Vegas and back on quick 4 day parent getaway,
• I’ve been a single parent for a week while Shawn was on business in OK and I opted to stay put with the kids.
• We’ve handled all loose ends in Nashville, including Dr visits.
• And somehow, I’m still sane. ( At least I’m trying to pretend I am.)

But we have finally landed in New Mexico. It’s going to our home base for a bit. We will still be mobile, but some work stuff came up and we decided it would be best for us to head west for a bit. And honestly, we love it here, so it’s win/win.

It wasn’t on our itinerary to be back in this area until July but when Shawn approached me with the idea 4 weeks ago to chuck our original route out and head west, I agreed wholeheartedly. That’s the beauty of this lifestyle:  we can make these types of decisions and have the complete flexibility to change our plans when we need to.

So here we are, again, in the Land of Enchantment. I’ll be soaking in these views and taking a deep breath before I continue on. As soon as, we get settled in I will share more from these last few weeks. Even though they’ve been exhausting, they have been absolutely amazing, challenges and all.