Milestones and Hot Air Balloons

February 16:

Well, today was a wonderful day! First off, BRENNER READ HIS FIRST BOOK! His little face was so full of excitement and joy as he sounded out words and realized he could do it! YAY, BRENNER! He has been wanting this for a long time, and I am so happy for him! I'll try to post pics of him reading soon... :)

Next, we went exploring. We found a place called Erwin Park--a huge place full of open fields and hiking/biking trails and creeks and ponds, tons of picnic and bonfire options, and a few swing sets scattered around for good measure. As we were hiking around and searching for the perfect walking sticks, the kids saw a truck drive by with a hot air balloon basket in the back. They all ran down the trail to see where it would go, and we got to watch the whole process! Fun! We had just read a story about hot air balloons, so their interest was already piqued. Here are some pics from our experience there:

Can you spot the hot air balloon way off in the distance in that last photo? :)

Our First TX Lesson

Just a side note...

In all the adventure so far, the first thing we have learned about Texas is that Texas REALLY likes Texas! It's everywhere! My kids learned to recognize the state flag the first day we were here, and other reminders of this great state are literally everywhere you go. Sort-of amusing at times, actually... :)

Family Fun Day

Sunday, February 12:

We have decided to declare Sundays as Family Fun and Exploration Days while we're traveling! There are many sights to see, and the kids and I will experience some things during the week, such as playgrounds and the library and such. But we want Daddy to be able to see the best sight with us!

Our first Sunday was actually not that exciting since we had to do laundry and figure out water leaks and heating issues in the RV, but we did go out to breakfast AND dinner, which is a rarity, so that was fun. :) For breakfast we headed to Spoons Cafe in the historic downtown district of McKinney. It was good times and a unique atmosphere. For dinner, we all wanted Thai food. I'm really very excited that all members of our family love Thai food! That is truly great! :) After our day of eating out, we finally made it to Super Target to get some groceries so we wouldn't go broke on food!

We have so far enjoyed our cozy family worships in the evenings, and are having fun on our new adventure! Looking forward to continuing to organize and adjust to the RV, and exploring our new town! :)

On the road pics...

This picture was supposed to be a picture of the RV driving past the Welcome to Texas sign, but I think I snapped the pic a second too soon. Oh well. :)

Meeting New Friends

Our first Sabbath in Texas...

Well, I better start at the beginning... We ran out of propane in the night, or so we thought, and we FROZE! Found another water leak--this is number 3 now, but who's counting, and still have no hot water, so we took showers in the bathhouse of the RV park.

We went to Richardson SDA Church to check it out and ended up staying all day! Had potluck, ran and got a heater for the RV because it was supposed to 20 degrees that night (!), went back to the church so Aile and Brenner could join a new Adventurers club, ran back to the RV to turn on the new heater to give it time to heat up the place before bedtime, and went back to the church for a Valentines banquet! Wow! What a day! The banquet was very fun, and Aile was grateful to make a couple new friends. We were thankful for good food, nice people, and some adult time while the kids played! Yay! And now back to the RV...

So when we turned on the new heater, it was 49 degrees in the RV. When we came back 4 hours later, tired and looking for warm beds, it was even colder! 48 this time! We wore 2 or 3 layers plus 4 blankets to sleep, but we made it! We will figure out this RV yet!

First Day in Texas

Found an RV store to get supplies--toilet paper and sewer hose!-- and I took the kids to a park in Plano while Sean got the mandatory chicken pox vaccine for this job. (I thought that was an odd requirement for a 40 year old!) We also found a much closer RV park with lots of amenities, so we moved!

The Journey Begins

We have become the Griswalds... Or Robin Williams' family in RV... or maybe we're just our crazy selves... Whatever the reasoning, we have embarked on a new and life-changing adventure. Full time RVing. Traveling to a new location every 13 weeks as Sean does travel therapy. Sounds like the Ultimate Homeschool Field Trip to me... We shall see!

So, here's the start of it all... We pack it all up (well, not ALL--we sell a lot, toss a lot, give a lot--it's time to learn to live simply!), and head on out:

February 8, 3pm: Okay, Chattanooga, we're out of here, but we will miss you! TEXAS, here we come!

Mile 18: We stop at 3 different truck stops before finding one where we can air up truck tires. The CD player in the van breaks.

Mile 114: Somewhere in Alabama. Due to aforementioned CD player error, we've been listening to Aile's iPod. So if anyone in the Behold the Lamb of God cast needs an understudy, Aile and I are now well equipped! Asking when we will be done driving began at mile 89.

Mile 155: The kids start yelling, "There's the Statue of Liberty!" I'm thinking I know I didn't make a wrong turn that big, are they crazy?! But no, there it was, a small scale replica, fire torch blazing... Good old' Boy Scouts of America...

Mile 238: We almost run out of diesel fuel in the truck because apparently not all diesel stations are properly marked on Sean's nifty gas app. Gotta love "smart" phones! Meanwhile, we eat at a Subway in a gas station because it's the ONLY place in town to eat! Yikes!

Mile 304: Stopped for the night in Meridian, Mississippi. Night night for now! We'll be on the road again tomorrow for the next 500 miles! (We stayed in the parking lot of the Wal-Mart, which was interesting. Conveniently, though, there was a McDonalds inside, so we could get an easy breakfast. The boys were enamored by the life-sized Ronald McDonald sitting on the bench in the store entryway.)

Mile 567: Cops!!! Saw 10 cops in a span of about 20 miles! Yikes! These guys in Louisiana ae serious!

Mile 602: Taco Bell in Shreveport, Louisiana. I asked Caelum what he has been doing in daddy's truck, and he looked at me incredulously-- "Going down the highway!"

Mile 629: Entered Texas! Saw 6 or 7 more cops pulling people over as they crossed the state line from Texas to Louisiana! Wow!

Mile 708: Almost there! Last stop in Lindale, Texas. We are off the interstate now. Now we get to choose which RV park we like best!

Mile 806: We have landed in McKinney! Sean has had his crash course in backing up a behemoth RV, we've had our first water leak debacle, we've finally figured out how to turn all of the lights on, and now we're going to get some sleep! We'll explore Texas on the morning! :)