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What our life looks like as we transition back to a house

Jul 202016



Fulltime-family-moves-into-house

Hey there. Can’t believe it’s already been two weeks since we announced our plans to stop traveling and move back into a regular house. Since then we’ve been in a holding pattern – sort of treading water – as we house hunt. We had heard from other traveling families that this transitional period is a difficult one – and it is. We find ourselves juggling many emotions – mourning the end of our epic year of travel, excited for the conveniences and stability of a house, frustrated with living in a small space when we aren’t moving and exploring often, and anxious to find the perfect house sooner than later.

We’ve toured about a dozen houses in the last couple months – but nothing feels just right, so we continue to look. We are all anxious to find something sooner than later – because we want to ideally be under contract and/or moved into a house before school starts September 6. We are running out of time for this to happen – but we also don’t want to buy a place that doesn’t fit what we’re looking for – just for the sake of being moved in before school, you know!?!

So how are we passing time as we wait for the perfect house to come along? We have been spending a lot of time finishing our homeschool curriculum – and TODAY is the last day of the official curriculum. Hooray! <insert happy dance here!> We are all VERY excited for this to be wrapped up and I’m so proud of the kids and Jeremy for following through with this curriculum to the very end. I’ll write more about that later – but this has been a major focus for us these past couple weeks.

KROC_community-center

We got a membership to the local KROC Center – which is a community center and gym – and we go at least 4-5 times a week. We swim in their epic pool area (water slide, lazy river, hot tub!) with the kids. Jeremy and I will workout while the kids go to the 7-10 club (ages 7-10) and Playcare (younger ages) – which the kids absolutely love. And we SHOWER there because we don’t have the best showers at the campground we’re currently at.

Library-fun-reading-summer

We go to the Couer d’Alene library every couple of days. We put books/movies on hold ahead of time and drop-off/pick-up items 3-4 times a week. The kids are reading a TON thanks to the summer reading program and we are really enjoying this season in life where the kids can both read on their own!

McEuen-Park-Jumping

Many afternoons we’ve spent in downtown Coeur d’Alene at McEuen park – they have a wonderful splash pad and playground that the kids love (and it’s right next to the library).  I’m taking advantage of all the extra free time and working as much as I’m able on my frugal blog and a few other business ventures I have in the works.

Liberty-Lake-campground

We are staying at a campground out near Liberty Lake, Washington (about 25 minute drive to downtown Coeur d’Alene) and there are lots of trails, a playground and a lake! Although the spots aren’t very big (no privacy) and the restrooms/bath house is NOT very clean or convenient – it’s been a wonderful place to stay multiple nights and there are lots of opportunities to play and explore outside. We have met some wonderful people here – especially an Airstream couple who follows our blog and JUST started their Airstream adventures this summer (hi, Larry and Pat!).

When we can, we are playing PokemonGo at local parks and spending lots of time with family. I visit my grandma as much as I can and my aunt/uncle who live locally have been a great support.

Toothless-wonderful

Hadley lost her first tooth and the tooth fairy found us at our campground and Liam had an orthodontist consult. Next week BOTH kids will celebrate birthdays and Jeremy will soon start coaching high school football.

Dishes-convenienceWithout full hook-ups and not the best facilities at our park –
dishes, showers, restrooms and laundry have been a bit of a frustration.

Mostly right now I think the hardest thing about this transition is not getting too discouraged. When you make the decision to move into a house and you’re no longer exploring in your tiny home – it’s a waiting game and things that were once very manageable before become annoying. Like having to do your laundry at a laundromat, showering/restroom use without full hook-ups, cooking in a small space – it all was part of the journey when we were traveling and exploring. But now that we’re essentially “stuck” in the same spot and we know a house is just a short reach away (a house with these conveniences) I find we’re frustrated more with them. Does that make sense?

Beauty-in-the-place-were-atEven though we are anxious for the next chapter in our adventure,
we would be foolish to miss the beauty in the present.

Jeremy and I have to stop often and remind ourselves that we’re still living the dream – still in a beautiful place, with flexibility, nature, family time and many of the things we loved about being on the road. This hasn’t changed – so let’s soak it up while we can because before we know it, we’ll be back in the hurried, scheduled and regimented world of school and work.

We’ll figure it all out and it will all happen the way it’s supposed to. For now we just need to be patient and appreciate the present instead of focusing on the next chapter that will surely come soon enough.

Do you live in the Coeur d’Alene area and know of great places to boondock? Do you know anyone who might be selling a house or have land that we can park on while we househunt?! We’d love suggestions or recommendations!

Camping-Liberty-Lake

{ 13 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Day-to-Day Living, Idaho

Camping in Zion National Park {Utah}

Jun 122016



Zion-National-Park-camping-kids

Travel dates :: May 2 – 7, 2016

After surgery in St. George, Utah and getting the blessing to continue traveling we headed to Zion National Park. Back in early April I had found a rare 5-day cancellation in Watchman campground located right in the national park and we couldn’t wait to get there.

Towing-into-Zion-National-Park

We pulled in early Monday afternoon and immediately knew we were going to love it here.

Deer-Outside-Zion-National-Park

We saw a small deer right before the campground entrance.

Zion-National-Park-Watchman-campground

Breathtaking views of the canyon – everywhere you looked.

[Read more…]

{ 1 Comment }

by Heather Filed Under: Destinations, Utah

Sand Hollow State Park and Hadley has surgery {St. George, Utah}

Jun 82016



Sand-Hollow-State-Park-St-George

Travel dates :: April 27 – May 2, 2016

After leaving Page, Arizona (see all the amazing things we did here) we headed north and then east to Sand Hollow State Park just 20 minutes outside St. George, Utah. This route was part of our original plan – but after Hadley broke her arm in Page our focus in St. George shifted from exploring the area to getting her the medical care she needed.

Sand-Hollow-State-Park-pull-thru

We arrived Wednesday night and had a great pull-thru full hook-up paved spot in Sand Hollow State Park. It had a covered picnic table, not shown.

Sand-Hollow-State-Park-Entrance

There are THREE campground areas at Sand Hollow – full-hook ups in the Westside campground (up on a hill, some spots have great views), the Sand Pit campground (partial hook-ups, campground geared toward off-road vehicles) and primitive camping on the beach near the Sand Hollow Reservoir (also geared toward off-road vehicles). If you don’t have an off-road vehicle (and don’t want to hear or be around them) try to get a spot in the Westside campground – this is where our initial spot was and we loved it!

UpAirstream-Sand-Hollow-State-Park

This is another spot in that Westside Campground – our friends @UpInTheAirstream got it as a walk-up spot and it had fantastic views of the mountains.

We had planned to take Hadley to an appointment on Friday with an orthopedic specialist in St. George – and we expected at this appointment to find out if Hadley needed surgery or not. But early Thursday afternoon I got a call from the orthopedic specialist and he said that after reviewing her x-rays (which had been sent to him by the hospital in Page), he recommended surgery. . .Friday morning. . . and could we come in for a consult in a couple hours!?! Gasp. This was a big surprise for us – but we wanted the best and most appropriate treatment for Hadley and we had two separate doctors recommend surgery that afternoon – the sooner the better, waiting through the weekend wasn’t advised because these breaks can start to heal if left untreated too long.

That Thursday afternoon, while I was busy calling our health insurance and coordinating the details of the surgery, Jeremy worked with the office at Sand Hollow State Park to move us to another spot that had availability through the weekend (we had originally planning to leave Saturday).

[Read more…]

{ 3 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Utah

Our top 3 things to do in Page, Arizona – Horseshoe Bend, Lower Antelope Canyon, Rafting the Colorado

Jun 72016



Page-Arizona-Things-to-Do

Travel dates :: April 24 – 28, 2016

I shared about camping at Lone Beach Rock Campground and how much I absolutely loved this primitive campground – now I wanted to tell you about ALL the things we did while we stayed here. This beautiful campsite is just 20-30 minutes away from some amazing places and experiences!

As I mentioned in my Lone Rock Beach post, the biggest thing you’ll need to pay attention to is the time zones. If you’re staying at Lone Beach Rock Campground then you’ll need to remember you’re in a different time zone than the tours over in Page, Arizona. Important if you have reservations and need to be somewhere at a specific time.

Horseshoe-Bend-walking-to-bend

As soon as we got settled we headed straight to Horseshoe Bend to try and catch the sunset (about a 20 minute drive from Lone Rock Beach). Located right off US 89, it’s about a 1.5 mile walk (round-trip) from the parking area to the overlook. A 1,000 foot drop down to the Colorado river, the view is amazing! We found the trail to the overlook was crowded – lots of “tourists” headed to and from the overlook – so be prepared for that.

Horseshoe-Bend-Gutsy-photos

We couldn’t believe how many people were sitting on the VERY EDGE of the overlook to get the perfect selfie or portrait. It was ridiculous, honestly.

Horseshoe-Bend-gutsy-selfies

I was anxious with my kids even being a full 10 – 20 feet from the edge, I can’t imagine the gutsy (or foolish) people balancing precariously on the ledge. To each his own, I suppose. It’s a free country and if free falling 1,000 feet into the Colorado River is your idea of a good time, who am I to judge?

Horseshoe-Bend-Family-Photo

We took some photos and headed back out before it got too dark. . .

[Read more…]

{ 3 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Arizona, Destinations, Utah

Beach camping at Lone Rock Beach campground – we loved this place! {Utah/Arizona}

May 312016



Lone-Rock-Beach-Camping-Review

Travel dates :: April 24 – 28, 2016

We left Flagstaff, Arizona on April 24 caravanning with @UpInTheAirstream north to Lone Rock Beach Primitive campground for four nights of beach camping! Honestly if we didn’t have our friends with us, I’m not sure we would have been brave enough to camp on the beach. I had some reviews of people getting stuck in the sand on the beach (and others who raved about the spot) and we are usually pretty cautious with our trailer and camper – so might have skipped it all together if we didn’t have company joining us.  I’m so glad we didn’t skip it – this place is incredible.

Lone-Rock-Beach-from-up-on-hill

Lone Rock Beach Primitive campground is part of Glen Canyon National Parks Recreational Area. Camping is just $14 and it’s completely primitive – no hook-ups, a few vault toilets, no assigned spots, just a beautiful beach on Wahweap Bay.

Welcome-To-Utah-Sign

It’s technically in Utah – but seriously right across the Arizona border, so the biggest challenge you might find is figuring out what TIME it is – since Arizona doesn’t honor daylight savings time, but Utah does. 🙂

UpAirstream-towing-Airstrema-Lone-Rock-Beach

As soon as you cross from Arizona to Utah, you’ll take a right onto the Lone Rock Beach road. It’s about a mile in and you’ll pay your $14 at the National Park station. Then you get to pick which road you want to take down to the beach – for us, there was only one obvious route without huge ruts or holes. We let @UpInTheAirstream lead the way and we found a sweet spot to park both our trailers on some harder gravel with beautiful views of the lake. We arrived Sunday afternoon and lots of people were packing up to head home from the weekend and we found it rather quiet the first night we were there.

Lone-Rock-Beach-panoramic-kids

You can clearly see the dark rock areas in the photo above. These are the areas you probably want to park on. At least have your tow vehicle or your motorhome wheels on the harder gravel areas to give you some traction when you go to leave. We have 4-wheel drive and didn’t have any issues – but we also were intentional about where we drove and parked on an area with more gravel. But we had heard lots of horror stories of people getting stuck here. I think the combination of a BIG rig, parking on soft sand and not having 4-wheel drive will get you stuck pretty easily here. In fact, the guys had to help a young lady in a sedan up to her frame in sand – she ended up having to be towed out.

I’m not trying to scare you away – it wasn’t that bad – you just need to be intentional and aware when you go to pick your spot. Really it’s worth it if you can be brave and find a spot fit for your rig.

Playing-Lone-Rock-Beach-Powell

The kids ran up and down the beach for hours. They played football, they built forts, they created sand castles and despite some pretty constant and swift winds, we couldn’t keep them inside. Too much fun. I imagine this place on a summer day would be complete bliss – sunshine, water, sand – if only the weather had been warmer the kids could have also swam in the lake. I also imagine this place is PACKED and a bit rowdy in the summer – so be prepared for crowds if the weather is more favorable.

[Read more…]

{ 2 Comments }

by Heather Filed Under: Arizona, Utah

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