Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The baby snapper

Today as we were doing laundry we found an Itty bitty hatchling snapping turtle.
We took him back to the creek and are hoping he stands a chance. I suspect that he had been whisked off by a bird and landed in the field he was in.

Sunday, April 19, 2015

650 miles

Go big or go home.

When we travel..man do we travel.

This morning I woke up around 4 and started rousing the natives (aka bears known as kidlets) we were rolling out of the rest stop as the sun was on our backs.

We drove into a wicked storm from Pensacola to Mobile Alabama. ( I would offer a few photos however they are no where on my SD card ) The gulf winds were blowing. We were thankful for the rays of sunshine as we drove deeper into Alabama and Mississippi.  By late afternoon we were in Arkansas.... sun was perfect...and temperature was pleasant. Our backroad GPS adventure was quite a drive. We even drove by the riceland  rice plant! 

As we entered Little Rock Frank called on our hand held walkie-talkies... there were more weather storm warnings...these included hail and Uhm yeah, tornado watches.... the clouds were ominous and the wind was a wee bit way too twister ish for my taste.

We made it through just past little rock. About 650 miles today. We had hoped to arrive at our destination but fell about 200 miles short. So another night of *moondocking * which is what our sweet Blondie boy calls it.

Where are we headed? Well....we will be workcamping this summer in Missouri at a small private resort campground. A different role for us.

Certainly not what we *thought* we would be doing this year but we are excited about the opportunity! 

The only challenge now is that it feels COLD after 4 months in sunny Florida. And we may need to give up some shorts for some jeans!

Saturday, April 18, 2015

On the road again. Wow! What a day!

So they finally came. Our freedom tags! We have been waiting on license plates from Texas so we can start a new adventure.

The plates from Texas are a formality.
We are changing out domocile. As a full time rv-er's there are many reasons that we would do that. Some of which are the freedom of laws when it comes to homeschooling, the lack of smog checks,  insurance perks and the ability to say we are from the biggest continental state.

Don't get me wrong. .. we still love California but when you have no real roots it makes the most sense to pick a state that makes full time  rv living easy.

So today was a westward ho kinda day.... it started out well. But as always there were way too many potty breaks and well... yeah... the serpentine belt on the van decided to shred on the I-10. Not so fun. Frank, in true fashion was awesome and sent me to the auto part store ( thank goodness for that 2nd vehicle ) with a parts list and quickly changed it out!

We did make 406 miles today...less than I hoped for. We had a camping spot lined up then life happened so we are sleeping with the big rigs this fine evening ..

Or as Aaron calls it...moondocking.

It's lights out and no charger so g'night from rainy Florida

Where are we headed?

Come back soon and see

Thursday, April 16, 2015

Lingering because of the Lonestar State

So. Florida. Sunshine skies filled with blue sky and white fluffy clouds. how I will miss the pool.

We are waiting.

My moms camper and truck are being tagged ( for all those that don't speak Californian... we are waiting on license plates to arrive from Texas)

Why Texas? Well there are lots of reasons to choose Texas as your domocile state as a full time rv'er.

Yes you CAN choose the state from which you reside.

Some factors for us were insurance costs, vehicle registration fees , and homeschooling laws.

So we chose escapee's as a mail forwarding servive ... and started the process of vehicle registration. 

And now we wait. The tags are on their way and we start to leave Florida very soon.

There is a family friendly work camping position this summer in a place that was not even on our radar.

And once those tags arrive we are headed north west.... but not as far northwest as we thought.

Monday, April 6, 2015

Blue eyed boy

This is my kitten.
He died a week ago today.
It still hurts.

When he was born his momma tried to take him out. She killed his 2 other littermates. The vet said he would be lucky to live 6 months.

Keeping weight on him has always been a struggle and he is almost always thirsty. Last weekend his kidneys shut down.

I took him to the local vet assuming the worst. The vet was a special man. He tried to save him. Bandito, the cat who loved to look our the windows of our camper as we rolled, died after surgery.

we were blessed to have him for almost 3 years. His kidneys stopped development when he was probably 6-7 weeks old. He shouldn't have lived 6 months. But he did.
My heart still hurts but I am so very thankful for a vet that tried ... this cat took a piece of my heart. And will forever be missed.

Saturday, April 4, 2015

Hoppy Easter

I dont know what to write some days...
Today was Easter.

And its not about egg hunts or ham and scalloped potatoes
But sometimes I find that we get caught up in the tradition that we forget how short life is.

And being stuck in an rv kitchen preparing food at camp is just well...
Unnecessary.

I would rather enjoy the day with the kids.

I mean who will even remember the menu.

Besides. It's really all about Jesus ...right?

But what does that really mean anyway?

And just HOW is that applied by eating a meal?

I am finding I ponder hard topics

This year I somehow feel like a failure.
That somehow there is a right and wrong way to celebrate.

There are over 100 fun filled family pictures with friend on my phone.
We ate lamb, and pasta and breaded eggplant. Mom even brought some traditional devilled eggs

We had a great pancake breakfast at camp
Hunted easter eggs with the other campers
Enjoyed the afternoon at the pool
Late afternoon meal with friends and family
And even made a few jamberry sales.

So what am I missing?
Arianna.  Olaf. And photos.

2 outa 3 isn't too bad