I Really am Blonde Even Though my Hair is Getting Darker....

I know that if I am driving the van, it is my responsibility to know how to take care of it and what to do
in certain emergencies. Shae does all of the oil and maintenance, so I just rely on him for most things
to do with our vehicles. I rarely even put in gas. When I am out driving around, I have to purposely
look at the gas level, because sometimes I just forget to; I have gotten so used to Shae just filling it!

I don’t believe in blame or excuses, so I take total responsibility for what I am about to tell you. We
knew our van had an overheating problem. This was going to be my first big mountain pass to drive
over. I was hauling the flatbed with all of our toys on it. I should have researched overheating.

BUT I DID NOT

I DID NOT RESEARCH ANYTHING

Well, I know you know where this is going...

We began going up Hwy 16, from Buffalo to Ten Sleep, over Powder River Pass, in Wyoming. I hadn’t been climbing the mountain long when I noticed my water heat gauge rising. It was just a little at first. I tried to slow down a little, but that didn’t help.

I called Shae on the walkie talkie and he said to slow down
and .....what?

Oh no! We lost signal.

I hurried and tried him on the cell phone....

Oh No! No signal!

I really didn’t know what to do. I had Hanna dial Shae’s number over and over, but no answer.

The gauge kept rising.

I knew I needed to pull over. I found a spot and got off the road. My father passed away in 04’, so I
couldn’t call him,

WHO ELSE?

I tried my father-in-law. He said to turn off the air.

BIG OOPS ON MY PART!

Never turn on the air if your vehicle is over heating. My mother-in-law shouted from the background...”I just read in a travel book to turn your heat on high if you are overheating!” So, I cranked the heat.
After a few minutes, the temperature began to go down. I got back on the road and drove ahead to
where Shae had finally found a spot to pull over. He couldn’t believe I had the air on. It was pretty
dumb of me. I should have known better.

I did learn a lot that day...

•First, be prepared for what situation I am in. Shae may not be there to help me.

•Second, do not turn on the air when we are driving up a mountain.

•Third, my mother-in-law knows random facts that she doesn’t need to know living in flat Florida.

Our tow vehicle 2007 Dodge Ram 3500 Mega Cab 4 x 4 dually

To read more on our tow vehicle, go to our on line magazine!

http://thelemonadedigest.com/issue/the-lemonade-digest/article/2007-dodge-ram-3500-mega-cab-4x4-dually

Sorting the camper and taking a break

Thank goodness the worst is over.  I can't believe how much stuff we had crammed in 42 feet.  Bad news is that we filled our storage trailer.  We have had to stuff boxes in my mom's attic.  She has been so great to let us do that.

Traveling full time can get exhausting.  We have hardly gone anywhere the last five weeks.  It is nice to just park it for a while. 

We have decided to wait to buy some land for a home base.  We do want to keep traveling, but would like a piece of property to come back to.  But, at this time, we decided it is not right for us.  My husband told me he is concerned about his job.  His company is very successful, but might have to lay some people off this fall if a few things don't change.  He has had two job offers recently and turned them down, so I hope that if he does get layed off, there will still be some opportunity there for him.

Of course, he would love to write about ATVs and ride them for a living.   Cody is doing great with his writing for the ATV Magazine Blog.  We are so proud of him and hope some doors open up there.

We still don't have a clue where we are going next.  We have narrowed it down to North, South, or West. 
Guess that is still pretty vague...ha ha ha

One of the reasons we did this trip was because we felt that our possessions were holding us back from doing the things we needed to.  But, I feel like we may have missed out on visiting some dear people while back in Missouri because we had to sort out so much stuff.  Of course, it takes extra long to do anything with six kids and one being a baby!  After all of this work, we are going to go have some serious fun and do some visiting.

Maybe we'll come see you next!

Almost done sorting....where do we go next?

It is hard to believe it has taken me so long to sort all of this.  I spent last Saturday digging through the front part of our storage trailer.  I had to move a few boxes and then slide my body on top of all of the others to the middle of the camper.  I was looking for some dolls Naomi wanted, our collection of GA Henty books, dinosaur catcher cars, and a box of my christian cds that had been accidentally packed two yrs ago.  Well, I found a lot of things and didn't find others. 

Shae moved the storage trailer to a new parking spot, not in our friend's cow pasture anymore.  He had a bugger of a time getting it around the corner.  He made it, but put a hole in our trailer and ripped part of a gutter in the process.  Now, if you know my husband, you know that he is a motor guy and can drive any vehicle anywhere.  So, I know he did an amazing job getting it in that tight spot.  He fixed the hole and the gutter easily, too.  We are so thankful to park it where we did, it will be much easier to get to.

I have great news, the VA accepted me for health care!  I will have to make a co payment probably, but that is alright.  I'm thankful to have that available to me.

Now, we are not sure where we are going next.  It is always hard to decide.  We have to think pretty long term.  With six kids we tend to travel very short distances and only on the weekends.  Shae has to work during the week on his laptop, so we try to move only on Saturday or Sunday.

We are watching the temperatures and realize our camper only has one air conditioner, so it is really hard to keep cool in blistering heat.  We may have to head north soon, but we'll see.  I don't want to go to far out of Missouri.  I need to slow down our trip a lot.  We need to move less and stay places longer for a while.  I think we are all a little wore out.

I better get to bed.

Sheri

Too Much Stuff!

We had a great winter in Arizona and NM. It just semed like we accumulated so much stuff. Now, there are 8 of us in our camper, so that is easy to do. It is my husband and I and six kids. Some days I don't know how we do it and other days I can't imagine not doing this.


But, things have gotten to a new level of crammed. I know I could not shove another thing in another hole anywhere in here. I really got to be quite stressful as we constantly cleaned and picked up things before sweet baby would shove them in his beautiful mouth. He is one year old on Thursday and every bit of curious. So, I know I have to baby proof the best I can. Also, my five and eight year old have grown so much that they have to hunch over in the back room, where we have bunk beds that come out of the ceiling. I don't want my children to be hunchbacks, so I knew I had to change things in here, A LOT!

So, we decided to skip southern NM and TX (boo hoo) and head back to MO to get out as much stuff as possible.

That is where I am now. I am parked in my mom's yard with our big, ugly storage trailer up and out of our old neighbor's cow pasture and sitting in it's future location, my mom's woods. It has been hard to do a lot outside since it has rained so much, but I have managed to get a ton done. Today I actually finished our bedroom/bathroom/office and almost finished the living room/kitchen/school area/foyer/pantry/loft bed area. Tomorrow I was going to run errands but instead I may have to finish the back room. I'm not sure what I will do.

It sure is hard work. I have been at it for two weeks now and am still not done. I know it takes me longer because I have so many little ones to tend to. My older three sure help a lot, but they take a lot of time also.

We haven't visited with hardly any friends. A close lady friend of mine and her two daughters that are my kids dear friends came over the other night. We had dinner, which ended up being a total disaster. I don't know why I try to cook for others in this camper. It is a long story, so I will not share all the details, but I will tell you the night ended with my 5 yr old walking around farting on my leg, then his two sister's legs! Now, I know we live in a camper, but do we have to act like wild animals!!!! Who taught him to do that anyways??? I won't blame anyone, but you can probably guess who. And it IS NOT me.

I have had such a wonderful time with my mother. She has been great. This has been or best visit with her ever. Her fiance, Tom, is just great, too.

All the kiddos are in bed and sweet husband is snoring loudly. I am enjoying a few minutes to myself before I climb in bed in my newly organized bedroom.

Please think of us as you accumulate junk. I know how it feels. I read Tom Smythe's blog entry about it a couple weeks ago. It made me feel a lot better knowing that everyone accumulates too much stuff and we just need to go home and unload what we want to keep and give away the rest.

Sweet dreams,

sheri

Followers

I just want to thank my "Followers" for becoming Followers.  I appreciate your interest in my life, my family, and our trip.  I hope that we can cheer up your day with our wild stories and maybe help you learn about our unique and crazy life style.  I encourage you to leave comments on our blog and ask any questions.

Have a great day.

Sheri

Out of the Desert

I have learned that I am not a desert girl.  I think it is beautiful, but have I missed trees! 

Trees
Sparkling rivers
Green grass
No mountain lions
Few poisoness snakes
Humidity

I have missed these things.  Well, maybe not the humidity.  My kids were screaming today as they saw trees and green grass. 

Naomi said, "Is it real? Or is it that fake stuff?"

I can't wait to feel the grass between my toes tomorrow....

Why don't you go barefoot for a while, too?

Changes on a Daily Basis

We have gotten used to changes in our life.  Weather dictates where we go a lot, so sometimes we think we may be leaving an area and then have to stay.  We only planned on staying in Glendale, AZ for a month and a half but stayed there for four months. We stayed at Shae's grandparents for 8 weeks last year but had only planned on staying a few weeks.  We were thankful we did, his grandfather passed away a couple of months after we left.

Sometimes the changes are easier and sometimes harder.  Today was one of those days. 

We have planned on being to Missouri by May for a long time.  We have paperwork to do, drivers licenses, vehicle tags, take some stuff out, etc.  It just seems like we have been moving like molasses.  Which, honestly, has been nice.  I think we need to slow down on our trip.  It gets too hard when we go go go go.  We have been planning on going to Texas for a couple of months, but it has gotten so late in the year, that we just can't do it.  We feel we need to get back to Missouri and get our stuff done.  Once it is done, we will enjoy our trip more.  The bad part is that we might miss seeing Shae's grandmother and mother.  They are going to be in Texas, and I don't think we will be back down there in time before they head home.

It was a tough decision.  Shae and I prayed about it a lot.  We talked about it a lot.  I know deep in my heart that going back to Missouri is the right thing.  Yet, I have looked forward to going to Texas for a long time.  I am hoping to find some land there to buy as a home base.  We are going to look in KY, MO, KS, OK, and TX.  We just want somewhere to go back to, not our permanent home.

I have learned to be flexible.  We never know from day to day where we will go or how we will get there.  Today I only knew that we had to head towards I-40 and then east.  I had no idea how far we would get or where we would stay.

I like it that way, though.  It gives us freedom to stop or go, linger or run, explore or nap.  There are so many options it can be difficult but a blessing.

Gilbert Ray Campground, Sonoran Desert Museum, Saguaro National Park, and who broke our door?

Driving to Gilbert Ray Campground northwest of Tucson was quite a ride. 

Read my earlier post about getting lost and then add this story to it! 

We came in from the north.  We took W Avre Valley Rd from I-10.  Went west on it and then turned south on Sandario Road.  That goes for 10 miles or so until it reaches Mile Wide Road where we turned left.  That brought us past the Sonora Desert Museum and to the second entrance to the McCain Loop Rd where we went right to get to Gilbert Ray Campground. 

Let me go back to Sandario Rd.  It is so full of dips!  I was following Shae who was driving the truck pulling the camper.  I saw our things flinging up and down as he traveled somewhat slowly down the long road.  I just prayed the Lord would put angels to hold our things in place.  One of the hard things about traveling full time is that we got rid of most of what we owned.  We either gave it away or sold it.  I still have some in a storage trailer in our friend's cow pasture but not much.  I was always reminding myself that "I can't take it to heaven".  There were days that were more difficult than others as I saw things that I liked leave my home.  It was very character changing for me.  So, as I saw our things getting tossed around in the camper driving down the awful road, I had to keep reminding myself that it is just stuff.  I can't stress about it or worry.  It is a constant choice to keep things in perspective.  Yet, I know that we are to be good stewards of what God has given us.  Shae works hard to make the money that pay for everything we own.  So, I pray for God to protect our things from breaking, yet know that if I do lose something it is not the end of the world.

Shae was the first to go into the camper.  Things weren't terrible in the front.  The back was a mess.  Stuff had been tossed everywhere, but thankfully nothing was broken.  After about an hour of cleanup, the camper was back to normal.

There was a nice concrete pad at our site.

My teens do sword fighting for exercise in our campsite at Gilbert Ray Campground.

Gilbert Ray Campground is very nice.  I didn't ask if they had a shower house, I just assumed they did since they didn't have full hook ups.  I won't make that mistake again.  There is no shower house.  We planned on taking showers the day we arrived, so instead, we continued to stink.  Sink baths only last so long, so we did eventually take turns having showers outside.  I washed the girls hair with the outdoor shower.  One night, I went out after dark and started my shower.  The wind was so cold and I kept screaming quietly when the air would blow on me.  I found out there was a star gazing group just through the bushes.  I am sure they had a good laugh as they heard me freezing. 

The cactus were in bloom, so hikes were beautiful.  The bad part is that the rattle snakes were coming out and being found all over the campground.  That makes it hard with the kids running everywhere.  I had to be watching out all of the time.  There are also a lot of mountain lions in Arizona, so we had to watch the kids on any hikes we went on.  It makes it difficult with so many little ones.  I don't know how many times Gabriel almost fell into a cactus.  The spines on those things are huge!

We stayed in campsite C1, which is the biggest site in the campground.  They gave it to us since we had so two vehicles and two trailers.  It was nice to have some privacy.  It used to be the camp host site.

Of course, we loved the Sonora Desert Museum.  We bought a family year pass, so went 4 times in a week.  Josie loved all of the bronze animal sculptures.  She kissed them over and over.

There is so much to do there for everyone. 

The Saguaro National Park was just a few miles down the road.  It is amazing to drive through so many stunning cactus.  They have a great Junior Ranger Program there.  We always have Josie do the programs, even though she is a little young, at 3 yrs old.  But, it would be hard on her if Gabriel and Naomi always got badges as she didn't.  So, Shae took her and read her the questions and helped her find the answers.  When we went back inside to get their badges for completing the book, the Ranger at the counter looked unsure about a 3 yr old actually completing the older kids booklet.  She took Josie's book and began to ask her the questions to see if she could really do such a difficult book.  Josie answered every question correctly!  The Ranger told me, "I was sceptical that a 3 yr old could actually do this program, but I was wrong!  She did great!" 

We went for the drive around the scenic loop.  Shae stopped the van so we could look at the holes made in the ground by animals.  I opened the side door so the kids could see them.  As I went to close it, Shae told me he would do it by driving forward and then putting on the brakes.  Then, the door would slide forward and shut.  This is something he and I have done for years with different vehicles.  So, I sat back as he pulled forward, but he slammed on the brakes!  Wow!  We flew forward, thankfully in our seat belts.  The door rushed forward and smashed into the lock.  Well, it closed, but we were all a little surprised at the force of it.  He just cringed and kept going.  We enjoyed the rest of the drive down the terribly bumpy dirt road.  We were almost out of gas and I had read the map wrong.  I thought the scenic drive was a lot shorter than it really was.  So, when we arrived back at the visitor's center, we were very low on gas and now our sliding door wouldn't open!  The door jammed when Shae put on the brakes too hard!  The kids and I went back inside and left Shae alone to fix it.  I have learned over the years to leave him be when something like that happens.  We try not to bother him when he is fixing broken items.

He did fix it, though.  I was not surprised, he can do just about anything.  That is what is nice, if he can break it, he sure can fix it!

All in all, we had a wonderful time in that area.  We shopped at a grocery store that made me feel like we were in Mexico.  It was fun to try to figure out what to do with all the different foods they sold there.  We left the area ready to get to a new state and maybe some trees!

Discipline gone wrong...

I believe in creative parenting.  We must out smart the we ones or there might be mutiny!  I try to do strange punishments sometimes just to get their attention and help them remember.

I always say that living in a camper exposes everyone's "uglies".  There is no going to a bedroom to stew about something.  We cannot hide it or disguise it.  Every attitude is out there for everyone to see.

I came up with the idea this morning that every time that someone talks in a negative, disrespectful way they would get vinegar in their mouth.  Cody hates vinegar, so I knew it would be really effective on him!  I poured it in a small bowl for everyone to see and smell.

So far this morning I did not have to put it on anyone's tongue.

I just got done making some noodles for lunch.  I dished up the little one's bowls.  As I got ready to hand Naomi her noodles, I took a bite.  WOW, those aren't regular noodles!

I accidently put her noodles in the vinegar bowl!  I am eating them.  It is not so terrible.  Naomi tried it and couldn't stand the taste. 

I guess my mouth will be the nice one today!

Love and giggles,
Sheri