Well, this thing is REAL. That’s for sure. We talked about it for so many years and planned it for the last 8 months, yet somehow the first few days seemed surreal. To be honest, I was so exhausted and emotional that I don’t remember much of those first few days at all. For the last 8 months everything had fallen into place: work, school, our house. Giant decision were easy. They took some work and lots of research but everything just seemed to flow. And then the end of July hit, and we seemed to hit bumps and glitches at every turn. I thought WHAT ARE WE DOING? Life is perfect, everything is perfect. The doubt started to creep in and I was losing faith that this was where we were supposed to be. But we pushed through, even though:
• The movers didn’t show
• The generator on the RV broke a week before we left
• The air breaks went out on our first night driving
We pushed through and dealt with it all in stride, then really starting to have fun. I think one of the best things so far about this trip is how much time we are spending TOGETHER. Which to be honest, seemed a little scary to me. 24 hours a day with my crazy crew with no breaks? Yet it has been wonderful to spend this time together. Yes, we have our moments of annoying each other but we have TIME now:
• Time to slow down and enjoy each other.
• Time to hear share all of our stories and perspectives (and there are a LOT of them between the 5 of us)
• Time to answer their gazillion questions instead of always feeling rushed.
Sometimes I will take one to help clean up or John will take the Curlies hiking, he and I will talk while we are driving and everyone is asleep. We are making it work, deepening our relationships, and we are working as a team which is priceless. The unity as a family we are starting to feel is precious and something I am truly grateful for.
The other thing I have done, which has made me very happy, is to start teaching the girls. After so many years of teaching 3rd and 4th grade, I’m thrilled to be doing what I love and sharing it with my girls. This has really filled me up and given me great purpose. Reading with them and teaching them as we go is a beautiful thing. I love hearing how smart and thoughtful they are about the things I’m teaching them and how they are applying it as we hike, walk, or even drive. It’s funny to see that their “school personalities” do not always match their “social personalities” and I’m thankful to see a whole new side to my girls. I am so proud to be their mommy AND their teacher.
The most stressful thing about this trip has been the learning curve on how to live in and drive the RV (which includes towing a car.) Holy wowzers has this been an undertaking. We knew it was going to be hard but the first week was some major learning. I will let John discuss that in greater detail but for me the unknown of “how does that work,” “how do you turn this on/off/,” or “when can we use that and when can we NOT use that???” We are definitely getting the hang of it, but I can only relate it to having a newborn and being a new parent. I feel like we are finally coming out of that newborn fog thinking, “Ok, yes, we can do this!”
At first we drove straight through California and Nevada to Utah where we ventured to Arches National Park. We stayed there for a couple days and got in some good, hot, hiking and then we were off to Rocky National Forest. We stayed there for 4 days which was great because it gave us a chance to finally get settled in and catch our breath. We had some beautiful hikes and spent a day just relaxing at one of the creeks by our campsite. Once of my favorite memories at RNP is that the girls earned their Jr. Ranger badges for Rocky. Let’s get this straight: it is not simple! You have to complete the entire Ranger book which teaches you all about the particular park, animals, and ecosystems. But, when you turn it in, the Ranger quizzes you on all the things you learned. It wasn’t easy but they did it and we were all super proud of them.
Next, it was off to Badlands National Park in South Dakota! We’ve had a great time here as well. One of the highlights has definitely been visiting Mount Rushmore National Memorial! I had heard mixed reviews but the girls were so excited to get there and when we finally did, well, it was truly breathtaking. We were in awe of the beauty and specialness of this great American site. They have done a great job of building a little hike around the mountain and have some great educational stops along the way to learn why and HOW this amazing site was built. We really fell in love with the surrounding area which is called Black Hills. We made a quick, but awesome, stop in Deadwood! I love Old West History and even though we arrived on a Sunday and couldn’t visit any of the museums, we stopped in at the old original Saloon 10, where Wild Bill Hickok was shot holding the infamous two pair of Aces and Eights. The town is really great and I highly recommend making a stop there.
Next we stopped for 3 nights in Plymouth and Kohler, Wisconsin where I spent my time homeschooling and John played amazing golf with some of our favorite buddies. Kohler is a GORGEOUS little town that I highly recommend visiting. The owner of Kohler faucets has reinvested a lot into this beautiful little village. I was able to go to the spa too and it was just the reset button I needed. Next stop is Chicago and I’m so excited to take the girls to one of my very favorite cities!!
I also wanted to say that we are so thankful to all of you for checking in on us; texting, calling, sending us messages! These and your good thoughts and prayers keep us going. We are truly grateful for all the support. We love you guys!
P.S.- If you haven’t seen it already, check out this YouTube compilation of our greatest moments of the first 14 days played to Tom Petty’s “Runnin Down a Dream,” our anthem of the trip so far:

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Utq6YvbPaI4