Our first Full-time family rally

First off, you may have heard me mention the term "full-time family" before. It does sound rather silly, I admit but basically refers to families who live full-time in a travel trailer, fifth wheel, or motor home. Some travel and others are stationary at one place for years. Full-timers have a lingo of their own. You may hear us say things like FtF (full-time family), boondock (park in a place with no hook-ups), s&b (sticks and bricks, meaning a "real" house) and other strange things. Just ask if you want to know :). 

Back to the subject at hand, earlier this year as we were making our summer plans to be in Colorado for the summer, I nearly swooned when we realized there would be a full-time family rally in Montrose, Colorado. Yes, there is a large group of us crazies who have ditched suburbia and are living life our own way. And we get together in person and learn things from each other as well as offer advice and criticism in Facebook groups! We determined right away to do our best to attend this 4 day event held at the Jellystone of the Black Canyon. 

Things kept coming up against us, first Eldon's job was 3 hours away instead of 1 like we hoped, his schedule didn't allow the whole weekend off and other things. A few days before things suddenly fell into place and we were able to go! Unfortunately, we couldn't be there nearly the whole time but we had such a great time. It didn't seem wise to pull the camper over 2 mountains for 1 night either so we opted to get a cabin at the campground. Except the cabins were all booked so we stayed at a fantastic motel in town, Briarwood Inn. Cheap but super clean and friendly owners. 

The rally officially kicked off Thursday morning and we showed up Friday afternoon.The campground has a small but very nice playground that our children would have been happy to play on all day.

This slide was crazy slick and had a bump big enough that Ethan caught air every time but he kept hollering for :more bump!"

Peek-a-boo!

I've always thought it would be fun to tie-dye so when I saw it on the schedule as a craft I was one happy mama! There wasn't enough dye to do shirts for the adults but the children's turned out great.

We loved seeing how the children all interacted together, no matter the age. The teens were so sweet and helped the little ones often in activities. 

Friday evening was a pot-luck of soup and salad. So much yumminess!

Makayla said she was sad that she didn't eat our soup because she couldn't find it among all the matching instant pots :)

Lots of chatting in the "barn" where it was somewhat cool.

At 7:30 the campground offered a hayride. Our children loved it so much that the girls snuck on the second time too. I went the first time and left Ethan with Eldon and he cried the whole time! We left soon after this since our children were low on sleep and Ethan decided to keep right on howling after I got back. 

Saturday morning the kids woke up happy and refreshed (thankfully!) so we headed back to the campground for the pet parade. The theme for the weekend was super hero's and anyone who knows me, knows that I am not into super hero's :). But we had fun with it and decorated capes and masks as well as dressed up some stuffed animals so the children could take them in the parade.

Yogi bear even showed his face several times, much to Michael's delight!

This darling dog and her owner won first prize ( I think, don't quote me)

"Fat Cat" was my personal favorite of all the pets. He wasn't completely impressed with the whole idea.

And our 3 darlings. They had an elephant, Tigger, and bear.

Ethan even had a cape and mask but it didn't last long.

The parade consisted of a mass of children and pets, walking through the campground, mostly following Fat Cat.

Saturday turned out to be extremely warm so we stayed inside as much as the children allowed us too. We so enjoyed getting to know the other families. It really was amazing how easily we connected considering that we had only met one family before. 

Someone had brought face paint and the kids went wild. Makayla painted anyone she possible could! She fancies herself an artist.......

Michael wanted to be a tiger, but he did NOT want Makayla painting on him :)

Another activity was home tours. This is where we got to walk through people's rigs and ooooh and aaaaah. I loved this so much! We split into 2 groups, men and women and the women were done first, surprise, surprise. Eldon and I both picked up some great tips from others.

This is definitely the coolest towing vehicle ever!

The guys had to inspect things like sewer hoses as well as the inside. 

 This next picture isn't mine but I included it because it's so typical! Several times a person had a flat tire or other problem and there was usually at least 2, if not more guys jumping in to help get it fixed.

I was in love with all the cool decals some of these rigs had.

While the adults did the home tour, the teens helped the kids decorate their bikes with all manners of streamers and then they did a bike parade. I don't know whose idea it was but it was fantastic and totally wore them out!

They tried so hard to keep up!

My little tiger

And tiger number 2

Saturday night was the pizza party and dance. We had to leave around 6 because we had a 3 hour drive back to Cortez so we missed a lot of fun. Everyone was supposed to dress as super hero's and they did a great job! Except us, we just skipped that part :) .

This fun lady and family were from Holland and had the most delightful dutch accents! 

And this family has property within an hour of where we used to live!

Group picture!

And a crazy one too!

It was hard to leave but so much better since we could say "see you down the road" instead of "good-bye". If you are living on the road or considering it, I highly recommend that you connect with a great community like we've found and attend a rally if possible. We learned a lot from these seasoned travelers!

Our 3 hour drive was beautiful, except for Ethan crying/whining half the way. They took turns sleeping but when we got home I could barely get Michael out of his car seat he was so out. A few minutes later I found this in the camper :) . A sign of a good time is exhausted children!

Our list of 6

Today marks 6 months since we moved into our 31 foot home on wheels. 6 months since we pulled out of the "normal" American dream to own your house and accumulate nice things. 6 months of growing in patience and love for each other. 6 months of learning more about each other then we ever thought was possible. 6 months of being together nearly every single minute.

So on this day, our 6 month nomadversary, I bring to you a list of 6 things we love about full-timing and a list of 6 things we don't love about this life.

6 things that we love about living on the road.

         (In no particular order)

 1. How active we've become.

 When you live in a small house and stay at amazing places with lots of hiking trails near, well, it's hard not to go exploring! Lately we've been hiking around 4-10 miles a week. We also find ourselves doing more swimming and even just walking. The children use their bikes an awful lot as well.

2. How much closer we've become as a family.

While we realize that our children are still very young, we have seen a significant change in their attitude towards each other and us as parents. It's been good for us as marriage partners too. If an issue comes up, with us or the children, it has to be dealt with right away.

3. Lack of work.

Just being honest here. It's SO nice to not have a several bathrooms and bedrooms to keep up plus all the outside work of maintaining your own property. Not having much "stuff" has cut down on more stress, both physical and emotional, then we ever realized it would.

4. Time to smell the roses.

Not having so much stuff to maintain has given us many extra hours each week. It is amazing to go, as a family, to town and dawdle around for hours at the library and grocery store just because we can. We can (mostly) take the time to answer our children's questions instead of giving a hurried answer. We can sit outside or play with the children in the evening instead of rushing off to an activity or working until dark. Basically, it feels like we can devote time to what's most important, our relationship with God and raising our children for him.

5. Meeting new people and exploring new places.

It is exhilarating to go to a new area and learn as much as we can about it. We love to check out library's, parks, and farmer's markets. With Eldon working at a local hospital, he gets awesome tips about local places. Learning the history of an area has become a family favorite. Living in campgrounds has given many opportunity's to meet people from all walks of life. An added bonus to this lifestyle is that our children make new friends super fast-with children of all ages!

6. Less drama.

It's pretty self explanatory, but when you're only in an area for several months you can easily remove yourself from the drama in the workplace, community, family, and church.

6 things that we don't love about being a full-time family.

1. Lack of involvement.

While we don't miss the drama, we do miss being involved in a local church and community. There's just nothing like walking into a church Sunday morning and knowing all the members and knowing they know your history as well.

2. Not owning property.

We do actually own our house but are hoping it sells soon. It's a vulnerable feeling to have everything that matters to you driving down the road and knowing that it wouldn't take much at all to destroy it.

3. Not having animals.

The children and Eldon miss this most. We could have a dog or cat but it would also be a pain with as many day trips we take away from the camper.

4. Not having a yard.

Most places it's perfectly fine but some days I just want to send the children out to play alone. Ethan especially is at a hard age since he loves to roam and cannot be trusted for 30 seconds.

5. Travel days.

It's a love/hate relationship with them. As soon as Ethan is a little older it will be wonderful but for now it's just hard. It takes longer to get anywhere when we tow and it gets depressing when the gps adds time.

6. The "Where are you from?" question.

It's funny really, for a few months we'd stutter around and Eldon would say Arkansas and I would say Texas. Or we would explain our whole long speel and then realize they didn't even care. Lately we've just been answering Arkansas and if the need comes up for more we say that Eldon is a travel nurse and we live in our RV and move for work.

Whew, that was much harder then we thought, especially finding 6 things that we don't love! It's definitely not all roses though and I don't want to portray it like it is.We want to say a huge thank-you to our family and friends who have prayed for us and accepted us making this decision even though you think we're a little crazy :) . Thanks to for taking the time to read our blog and keep up with us. 

Lower Blue Lake

Wednesday evening my brother-in-law Brian texted Eldon and asked him if we wanted to hike to the Lower Blue Lake with them. It's 3 miles and not steep, he said. Later we also found out that he never dreamed we would go, but just asked for the fun of it. Since we were planning a hike near Cortez anyhow, we thought we may as well go with them. 

We had over 2 hours to the trail head so we left our camper before 7 Thursday morning. It was a beautiful day. Sunny, but not hot, and perfect for a lovely hike. Brian's even saw a bear as we were driving to the trail head. We finally got all situated and started off with spirits and energy high. Brian and Michelle have 3 children, Logan (11), Katelyn (9), and Nakita (5) and we have 4 (Makayla (7), Michael (almost 5), Emily (3), and Ethan (1). Between us we had 3 decent size backpacks with lunch and water, plus our camelbak full of water. We also had 2 carriers, one for Ethan who weighs in at 25 pounds and one just in case Emily couldn't make it. She is close to 40 so we really hoped to not carry her to much. 

Logan wanted to eat lunch almost as soon as we started :).

My darling niece

Emily says that Michelle is her favorite person.

She loves to imitate her and is always asking when we can please, please, please, go to Brian's again :). When we were hiking Michelle told her that she reminds her of me when I was little. Emily thought it was hilarious and now Eldon thinks he can imagine me being like Emily too :) .

I started off with him but we switched eventually. Sadly, the backpack was just as heavy as him so I was no better off. I know, this is probably not considered a safe carry but it kept him from howling!

We had read online that the first mile was the steepest. It was steep. And a really long mile too. But we plugged along and rested often. The children did fabulous. I was shocked at how the 3 youngest just went on and on and on!

We had also read online that this stream is the halfway point. Notice how we are carefully trying to cross without getting wet feet. We laughed and assured ourselves that we had gone at least 2 miles so we should be there before long.

The mountains were just huge. And gorgeous. Thankfully there was no major drop-offs but Michelle and I still had plenty of anxiety as it was pretty steep at some places. Then we got into snow. Just here and there. The children were getting tired and Ethan was sick of being in the carrier but we kept going. A few hikers came down and they told us that it's not much farther!

Eventually Eldon and I could not keep up anymore so we fell back with Emily and Ethan. We took our time and finally Ethan would not stop fussing so I told Eldon I'm out. By this time it was all snow covered and while the trail was mostly packed it was easy to fall through. I had full intentions to sit by the trail until they came back. He took the carrier and all our food and water in the back pack and went on with Emily. They weren't gone 2 min and Ethan took off after them. Of course, it was snowy and muddy so I carried him a little ways then stopped. We did this so long enough that I started thinking we HAD to almost be there. I mean, how long can 3 miles be??? Meanwhile the others reached the lake and ate their lunch. Eldon and Emily also stopped and ate since he was feeling lightheaded. Ethan and I met at least 3 groups of hikers and they all assured me that I am almost there. So I would pick up the poor child and go plunging through the snow again. By this time I was roaring hungry and had no food or water but was 99% sure that we were almost there. Sure enough, one snowy meadow, a few trees and finally the lake.

Lower Blue Lake

It was beautiful!

Wonderful people right here!

There was still ice on the lake!

Absolutely amazing.

My favorite people in the world.

Michael, all ready to head down. Him and Makayla did a great job of carrying our water backpack. Katelyn took her turn plenty often too.

 After a short rest and quickly eating we started down again. Brian put Ethan on his back and Emily on his shoulders and took off so for a glorious mile I was completely empty.

The worst snowbank we had to cross. It was SO slick by the time we started down. I fell more then I care to admit :). 

Waterfalll

Cuties, Michael and Nakita. They did SO good. Brian had Nakita on his shoulders a few times for a little bit but for the most part they walked the whole way up and down!

Emily taking it easy.

We made excellent time going down until we suddenly didn't:). We weren't even halfway and Emily was just done. Totally, completely done. I wasn't even sure she would stop crying. Eldon put her on his back and I took the backpack. We took her shoes and socks off, which were soaked from all the snow and eventually she settled down and had a lovely ride the rest of the way down. Poor Eldon though, she is a heavy little chunk! Soon after that we slogged through the stream, our feet were all soaked anyhow. Ethan was sick and tired of Brian so I gave him my backpack and wore Ethan facing out. It kept him mostly happy but it made it hard to see where I was going! We went down and down and down. The farther we went the more amazed we were at what we had come up! Michael and I fell behind and I felt so sorry for him. He was on the verge of tears more then once. He was worried that we were on the wrong trail and wanted to take a shorter one. He slipped and fell several times and tears had just started leaking out when we rounded the corner and found everyone waiting for us. We all agreed that is was the longest 3.3 miles in history and were shocked at what we had come up, especially the little children. 

This story down end happily. We all made it back to the trail head alive. Eldon and I, along with our 3 youngest (2 of which we were carrying) were waaaay last. At that point each step required huge effort.

Would we do it again? At this point, I would have to say no. Possibly if the snow was all melted. It was just to hard for the children. And myself! It's a beautiful hike though and if you are in shape I highly encourage you to do it. Just remember that 3 miles uphill is a long ways!

We chose to bring the long way home and came through Norwood and Dove Creek. A cow elk and calf crossed the road right in front of us so that was pretty cool. It was intriguing to us how the land on that side of Sleeping Ute Mountain was beautiful farmland. On our side it's all dessert but it's also the Ute Reservation.

 It was 8 until we got into Cortez so we stopped for half-price milkshakes at Sonic. That was our supper and we were all showered and in bed soon after 9. What a day!