A Great Adventure

"Life is either a great adventure, or nothing" Helen Keller 

      We choose adventure.  We didn't let the fear of the unknown stop us, we jumped in with both feet! 

       Jackson and I love our house in Flagstaff.  We built a life there.  The boys had friends and were apart of groups.  The house was just finished (finally after 10 years).  But, we knew we were meant for something else, somewhere else.  

        It all started about 2 years ago.  We were almost done with the house, we were living in it by that time.  Winter was on it's way and like every year I was dreading the thought of 9 long cold months.  Yes, its Arizona, but up in the mountains it starts to get cold in October and freezes by the beginning of November.  The last frost date is the second week in June.  I dreaded the cold months, driving on frozen streets, wearing 3 sweaters at all times.  I think I must have had on one too many sweaters and my coat that day (inside with the heater turned up to 73F), I was still cold.  I sat down with Jackson and asked him, "Is this where we want to spend the rest of our lives?"  That got us talking about where we want to be and what we want to be doing in the next 35 years.  We wrote a list of all that we would want to do and what we would look for in a new place. It included water, warmer weather, grass for animals, a good job market, lower taxes.  We also wanted to be closer to the ocean.  Over the next year we scoured books, talked to friends from other states, and did a lot of research.  Finally we narrowed it down to east Texas.  We put a plan in motion.  After taking 4 months off work to finish the house Jackson and I packed up, gave the keys to our Realtor and headed east!  We were all so excited!
      We have now been here for 6 months.  Jackson's job is going very well.  The boys and I are making friends. We have joined a new Cub Scout troop, church and home school group.  We even found a zoo we love.   We are in contract with 50 acres of beautiful grassy pastures.  I love the people and small towns.  I love the leaves.   I love the warm weather!
      It hasn't been all smooth sailing though. On our trip out here we had 4 blown tires, between 2 cars and 2 trailers. A window popped out in my little camper on a day that rained like crazy.  We didn't know the window was out till we stopped to sleep and the floor, bed and blankets were all soaked with rain water.  The wine in the cupboard had fallen out and spilled all over the clothes that came out of the closet along with the spaghetti that had re-hydrated with rain water.  That was a long night.  Next time I'll make sure the cupboards stay closed.  The window was fixed and we headed east, again...
   We rented a small house by a lake.  It is very small, but has a big back yard.  We were all moved in when Jackson's work called to let him know his Nursing license never transferred.  There was a paper mistake with the Arizona to Texas transfer and he was home another month with us..... in the very small house, day after day.
     The house has been in contract 3 time.  It has not sold.  We decided to take it off the market and give renting a try.  I like the idea of keeping the house we worked on for so many years.  We will go back this month to check on the Flagstaff house and see friends and family.  I look forward to the visit.  I look forward to coming home to Texas even more.

      

        

      

1964 Shasta, Spring Roll

Here she is, my completely redone, Spring Roll!  My amazing husband, Jackson, took the time to do the work himself and I love everything about my little dream space.  He updated the gas, water, sewer, electric, kitchen table and flooring.  As well as painted inside and out.    

 He chose to change over the water line completely to a very durable, plastic, bendable tubing that won’t freeze. The hot water heater needed a new thermostat, but he got it to work as like new!  Most of the wood was in great shape, but he reinforced and insulated the few walls that did need it.

  

 I picked out a great wood pattern for the floor, sanded all the original wood on the inside and shellacked it or painted it white.  She had all the original door knobs and handles, we just repainted those.  I found cushions, plates, and a shower curtain in red and turquoise to match as well as new counter tops and table top.  To complete the retro look, Jackson installed a retro fridge and microwave from Nostalgics. 

 I kept all the wood untreated in the bathroom and sanded as well as I could in such a small space.  We found and printed out vintage, cowgirl, pinup pictures and decoupaged the walls with them.  It needed quite a few more coats of the wood sealer when they were up.  The project was easy and added a lot to a small space.   I love the cowgirls!

 She is now ready for a road trip!

Spring Roll

           For my birthday last year I was sent a wonderful magazine, Mary Jan's Farm, from my favorite aunt.  It is a fun, country girls, sit on your front porch and read kind of magazines, even the ads are great!  Anyway... there were stories of girls camping in cute little trailers adorned with lace and cowgirl boots.  What they are doing has a name: Glamping!

                

Glamorous camping:  Satisfying your craving for the outdoors and your penchant for a good meal, nice glass of wine, and a comfortable bed. 

              Oh, that’s for me I thought.  Turns out I’m not the only one.  There are groups of girls going out together Glamping and having fun!  First things first, I need my glamorous abode. It just can’t be anything.  The research I did suggest I needed a vintage trailer.    I wanted one I could fix up, but not too much, and make my own.  We thought it would be fun to have a trailer that the boys and I could use when camping and vacationing.  It took a few months but last fall we found just what we were looking for! I couldn’t believe it! It was a great price, $400, a great year and model, 1964 Shasta, and has a shower and stove!  We drove and got her, brought her home and have been slowly getting her ready for Glamping and wherever this next year takes us. 

I have been pondering on a name for my little glamper.  I think I have found it: Spring Roll.  Ya, I know, it’s something you eat.  But, I love spring rolls.  If I had to choose a last meal, spring rolls would be on the list.  Plus, she looks like one! Here she is.

Oh, and for more info on Glamping, these are my favorite sites and book:

Glamping with MaryJane: Glamour + Camping [Book]

http://littlevintagetrailer.com/

http://www.sistersonthefly.com/

This is what she will look something like when we have finished her makeover.

  

This is what Spring Roll looks like now.  This is while we were camping this past summer.  That's Spring Roll on the right. 

Everyday Adventures

Being a farmer, teacher, daycare provider, wife, cook, mom of 3 crazy boys and Boy-scout Den Mother means that every day is FULL of great adventures.  I get up, get dressed and arm myself with prayer and a strong cup of coffee.  I love what I have been given and the trials and joys that those in my life bring.  Every day is full..... I just never know what it will be full of!

giant mud puddles in our front yard

Chicken Butchering

making super hero costumes 

Boy-Scout days

baby sheep, chicks, pigs, goat.... you just never know

dirty boys and great veggies 

camping trips

silly faces, but they're clean

good food

On this morning I woke up, to  3 scientist in my kitchen! They each had on their chosen "safety gear".  Hunter had goggles, Alex had an apron and snow gloves and Jimmy had a magnifying glass (at least one eye would be safe).  What had woken me up was the sound of the microwave going, never good that early in the morning.  They were making fossils and had microwaved the plaster of paris and water.   Thankfully now we all know that plaster of paris does not blow up when heated in a microwave.  They made dinosaur fossils that day.... in their safety gear and underwear!

Past Adventures

We love going places!  Even the events that lead up to one of our great escapes are fun for me!  Months of planning (I usually make a 3 ring binder full of directions and info on where we are going), months of saving, a deep clean of the car and house and then shopping. I love everything about it.  I usually don't sleep for 3 days before we leave, I'm just too excited!!   For the last 3 years we have been able to plan some great family trips.  The first year was the biggest so far. 

 In August of 2011 we went to Virginia for a week.  We took 3 days to drive there and 3 to get back,  a fun 2 week vacation! There is so much to see: Mt. Vernon, D.C., beaches, historic old towns, we could have stayed all year and not have seen it all.  Everyone's favorite was Mt. Vernon.  We took most of the day to explore the old home of our country's President.  The ideas he installed while in office, what he believed it and who he was really shine through in the tours.  My boy-scout boys were able to earn patches by answering questions at the end of the tour. There is also a well put together museum for all ages on the property.  In August it very humid and hot - I loved it since I am always cold here! Just to see a small taste  of the history of the United States is so worth the drive.  We absolutely will be going back someday.  

The next year was a more relaxing vacation.  We decided that a week on the beach in San Diego would be a good change from our daily routine.  We ate out, spent time playing in the ocean, made many sand castles, toured a few museums.  We stayed at the welkresorts.com/san-diego/.  A great place to take a family vacation.  We had a water park and 8 pools all to ourselves since we went during the school year.  

 The boys are great at funny poses, and climbing on things.  Here they are with Laurence Welk and fishing with dad on the pier.

Mira-mar Air Show, Alex is being a jet and then  pretending to get sucked into one! 

Old Town San Diego

More great poses! 

The Boss, "Mr. T" 

Cafe on the OB Pier, my favorite place. 

We walked back in the rain... allot of rain!

This last year we went to Idaho to see friends for a few days.  The highlight was a day to Yellow Stone.  An inspiring place of natural beauty.  

The ranch where we stayed with friends.