Utah was my promised land. No, we aren’t Mormon but I had seen enough pictures of red rock arches and sheer cut canyons to know I would love it. And I did.

Moab was crazy beautiful.

Our home for the week was a desolate spot on BLM land. This may be my favorite “backyard” yet.

We spent a few days exploring Arches National Park. Arches National Park is known…well…for its arches. There are more than 2000 in the park.

Thing One wasn’t that into standing under arches after seeing the movie at the visitor’s center. He kept saying matter of factly, “You saw how that thing was formed. That (pieces of rock falling) could still happen.” It was just an excuse to not have to walk so much. Nice try, buddy.

He was, however, into trying to shove me into a mud puddle. Anything to avoid hiking I suppose.

We did hike to Delicate Arch, the most famous arch in the park. We couldn’t let the Utah license plate be our only view of the arch.

While in Moab, we also spend a day in Canyonlands National Park with full time RVing friends, Rachel and Spencer, who we met in Breckenridge.  Canyonlands is divided into four districts most of which are not easily accessible by car. Just another reason to come back, next time with a 4-wheel drive.

It was nice to not have to ask strangers for family photos.

We tried mountain biking on Slick Rock Trail but decided it was out of our league after about…100 feet.

It was fun to watch the jeeps though. And another reason to come back.

We did find some easier trails to bike.

Nothing beats a red desert sunset.

Except for maybe a red desert Mother’s Day followed by lunch at an authentic Mexican dive with my two favorite kids.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Colorado is my favorite state so far.

I know it’s not nice to play favorites but, purple mountain majesty, she is beautiful!

That might explain why we were there for five months.

Yes, we’ve moved on.

But we didn’t go without Colorado giving us a glorious goodbye.

Before crossing the state line to Utah, which very well be my second favorite state, we spent a day at the Colorado National Monument.

What a wonderful farewell!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Perhaps you’ve imagined yourself standing at the edge of the high dive or kneeling in the starting blocks with an empty track stretched out before you.

I don’t want to speak for the boys (Dream big fellows!) but it’s probably safe to say that visiting the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs is the closest Brent and I will ever get to being in the Olympics. Even if I can throw a pretty solid side kick.

No doubt, the best part of our day was getting to see the Martin family again. We met the Martins last Fourth of July when I tweeted them after parking next to their truck on our way to the Boston Pops.

Maybe you have never dreamt of being an Olympic Athlete but I bet you wanted to fly a jet after seeing Top Gun?

Yeah, me too.

Our second must-see-spot in Colorado Springs was the Airforce Academy where we learned about the daily life of the cadets. While the visitor center was cool, we’d all agree that the chapel was the best part. That is if you don’t count the falconry club.

Then two days before we left Colorado Springs I got a text from our dear friends, the O’Dells!!!

Over the winter they had stayed with us in our RV in Breckenridge proving what I already knew: they are, indeed, kindred spirits.

Now they were on their way back home to Minnesota but wanted to stop and see us en route.

We hung out. We hiked. Three of the boys slept outside in tent.

. 

And much too soon we had to say another goodbye.

And then another when we spent our last night (unfortunately we didn’t get a picture) with our longtime friends, the Fields.

Such is a life on wheels.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Especially when you are an about-to-be-a-teenager and your birthday comes around. Especially when you are an about-to-be-teenager who is used to having birthday parties with lots of friends and family.

Last year, we spent Thing One’s birthday at the Biltmore Mansion.

This year, he was going to be 13 so we wanted to try and make it special.

Thing One is a family guy. He asked if we could go back to Indiana to celebrate his birthday with my family so he didn’t have to be with “just us” this year.  I said, “Sorry but we just can’t do that right now.”

Little did he know I was plotting.

For a month and a half, I hid in the bathroom to text or slipped away to the campground clubhouse to make calls for the surprise birthday I was planning.

It worked.

Thing One and Two were a bit confused when we asked them if they would like to go to Denny’s for ice cream at 10 pm. (I’m not sure if they were more surprised that we said Denny’s or that it was 10 pm.)

Regardless, they were even more surprised when we drove up and saw a couple that looked like GG and TT (my grandparents) walking into the restaurant. Oh no!!! However, much to my relief, they were distracted by ice cream and didn’t think it was really them. I mean GG and TT were in Indiana not Colorado. Right?

Wrong!

They were in Colorado Springs for his birthday!

Saying he was happy is an understatement.

The birthday week kept getting better.

Two days later on our way up to GG and TT’s hotel room, I suggested we check out the conference rooms as a potential place to celebrate his birthday. He reluctantly agreed.

When we got to the conference room, we discovered it was locked. Like crazy woman I started jerking on the handle. The caterer opened the door and told me there was a party going on. She didn’t realize it was our party.

Uh oh.

So I stubbornly politely threatened said, “Well we might want to have a party here so we’ll just take a quick peek at the room.”

Thing One was mortified as I pushed past the caterer and told him to take a look. That was until he saw Weewah and Papaw (my mom and dad), GG and TT, and our very good friends waiting for him.

He was shocked to tears.

Elated!

Later, he told me it was one of the best birthdays ever. I think it was even better than the time I made the dilapidated limo cake.

Thing One wasn’t the only one we managed to surprise. Earlier in the day, I had dropped Thing Two off at the hotel for some alone time with GG and TT and he was shocked to see Weewah and Papaw had joined us!

It was a special weekend, indeed!

We ate in an airplane.

We all crammed into an elevator shaft and went 1000 feet under ground at the Mollie Kathleen Mine.

On our way home from the mine, we stumbled upon a delicious little bakery run by German immigrants in a town of just 300 people and ate the most delicious food.

Mostly, we spent time just being together and then, much too soon, the weekend was over.

And it was time to say goodbye.

So sad but so thankful they came to spend time with us and make the birthday of a teenager so special.

Thirteen.

We can’t believe our baby is thirteen.

This just seems like yesterday.

Time is turbo charged and shows no mercy.

It makes us that much more grateful for our life on the road together.

Even if it means living in a small space with a teenager.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Hello spring!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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And we made Breck our home for four and half months.

But.

Breckenridge wouldn’t have been the same without all the people.

The people, with each of their unique gifts, filled this winter with even more beauty.

Our time in Colorado began with a stay with longtime friends from Ventura who moved to Colorado Springs four years ago.

I remember going over to their apartment when they had their firstborn with his little mohawk hair. Now here we are in the middle of the country with our not-so-little littles.

Words are not enough to express how much this family means to us. You will meet none more thoughtful, creative, and devoted.

I met up with fitness friends who I had only known online for a number of years.

 We met up with, fellow RVers, Jason and Nikki Wynn. Nikki and Jason are an adorable and creative couple with enough energy to fuel their RV.

(You must check out their site, Gone with the Wynns. So fun!)

There was Rick, my favorite snowboarding instructor, who help me go from falling down the bunny slopes to falling down black diamonds.

And spunky Helen from Australia, who I met in my snowboard class.

Helen and I spent a day together exploring Keystone and A-Basin.

Early March, the O’Dells came for a visit.

We met the O’Dells on a walk through a campground in Savannah Georgia last April. Then in the fall, we stayed five days at their house in Minnesota.

When they got to Breckenridge they learned that their RV didn’t meet the “length requirement” for the campground.

So…..

So they stayed with us in our RV.

It was tight. It was crazy. It was wonderful.

Nothing tests “compatibility” more than staying in an RV together for four nights.

They are truly kindred spirits.

Last but certainly not least is “The Village”.

John and his kind caring spirit.

Jema and her thoughtful questions.

Pieter and his generosity.

Clementine and her free “happy-go-lucky” sense of adventure.

Matt and his wicked clever sense of humor.

Wendy and her mad cooking skills.

I could go on but each one of our fellow gypsy friends are brave, unique, caring, and people we feel blessed to call friends.

Of course, there are the kids. Kids who are sweet, kind, and bright. They are missed.

 These are the people I have photos of but there were others who regularly, though unwittingly, made Breck meaningful. Debbie at the front desk, Spencer and Rachel, Casey and Marshall, many ski and snowboard instructors, librarians, friends I met at the fitness center, and even clerks at the grocery store (Can you imagine if I whipped out a camera at the grocery check out line and said, “I know this is weird but I write this blog and you make me smile so do you mind becauseI want to remember you.) all brought a sense of community and familiarity, something that is sometimes missing when you are moving from place to place.

As we travel and live a life full of change, there is one thing that stays the same.

It’s the people who bring this journey to life.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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It’s amazing how fast the snow goes when it gets warm.

Kinda like life.

It just seems like last week we drove up to our home in the mountains.

 We were uncertain and nervous of how we would handle wintering in the RV, would our California boys like snowboarding, and can we stay put for three months?

Then, like the receding snow, the months passed, three became four, and we said a bittersweet goodbye to Breckenridge.

 And left behind a spot we called home for four and a half months.

A spot that will be filled with others who will make their own memories.

We came to the mountains to snowboard but left with so much more.

We celebrated our first Christmas away from family and we survived by decorating the RV, making cookies and snowflakes,and visiting longtime dear friends.

We were away the day our heater broke and had a scare with Virginia. We came home stone cold and frozen stiff little turtle. Thing Two (Virgina is his turtle.) and I sat on the couch sobbing hysterically crying trying to warm her little shell in our hands. I may or may not have prayed for her to come back to life. I mean if Jesus brought Lazarus back to life he can certainly revive a frozen box turtle.  ;-) A few hours later she moved her legs. Shortly after that she said, “Enough already!” and went back into hiberation for a good 3 months. A few weeks ago she “woke up” and we’ve been enjoying her every day since.

In January, we enjoyed the International Snow Sculpture by day and night.

There was plenty of fun for the kids in the snow.

The Colorado Trail ran nearby our campground where we could find a deeper solitude and an even more stunning view than the one out our window.

Thing One got his first job walking a sweet dog named Jezebel. He referred to her owners as his “clients”.

And a million other moments of ordinary beauty and togetherness.

To top off an incredible winter God sent the powder fairy on our last day at the mountain.

We came. We survived. We thrived.

(even in -20 degree weather) 

And now we are moving on to the next adventure.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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I tried snowboarding when I was about 16. It was something I always wanted to do. Unfortunately, my single snowboarding lesson didn’t go too well. I ended up riding the board like a sled down the mountain with tears freezing to my cheeks.

Being a believer in the power of positive thinking, I prepared my kids for the worst before we headed out to Colorado for the winter.

I told them that snowboarding was super SUPER hard and they would probable hate it for the first month.

Parenting at it’s finest.

We were wrong.

At best I thought one of them would love it. Never, NEVER, would I have imagined that both boys would ask to go to lessons and come home happy. Most of the time.

This was their last weekend of snowboard lessons. The season ended on a high note. They rode with one of their favorite instructors and were filmed going down double black diamonds for a Breck website promo.

Thing Two said, “It was Epic.”

Yes, little man this winter was most definitely “epic” and we have the pictures to remember it.

Our first day on the mountain heading to lessons.

First lesson.

They went from this…

 …to this.

Brent got his groove back after 15 years off the slopes.

Even mama learned to jump.

We are thankful for the Breck Ski and Ride school. The teachers and staff are amazing. They cared for and challenged the boys with enthusiasm.

Not only did our boys have a blast learning to snowboard at the ski and ride school…

…their lessons gave Brent and I the chance to play by ourselves

…and time to just chill.

In March, the boys and I decided to snowboard for 6 days in a row. Some of the days were only a few hours long but we managed to get all our gear on (no small feat) and head to the mountain Monday through Saturday. In our homeschool, we used it as a lesson in “short term goal setting”.

Their commitment paid off and I could no longer keep up with them.  Just weeks before, I was riding slowly behind them offering words of encouragement and suddenly I was speeding along trying to keep them in sight.

Four months at the mountain also gave us plenty of time to spend some quality one on one time with each of the boys.

Dear Thing One and Thing Two,

We have had so much fun watching you go from the bunny hill to black diamonds. While we are so proud of your shredding skills, we are most proud of your willingness to try something new and the courage, patience, and perserverance it took to learn these new skills. Those thing are much more important than any spin or jump. We know at times the winter felt really long, the weather really cold and the rv really small but you guys stuck it out with (mostly) good attitudes. It’s been super fun riding with you and we hope this is only the first of many seasons we get to spend on the mountain together! You both are epic.

Love,
Mommy and Daddy

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Not only is it one of the oldest inland towns, it is also home to one the largest Amish populations of the United States.

It was the Amish community that intrigued us the most.

The Amish is a people group known for their simple living.

Driving around, the reluctance to use modern conveniences was evident.

There were horses and plows, bicycles without peddles, buggies at the stoplights, straw hats, bonnets, and elaborate clothes lines strung from pulley systems marking the Amish homes.

You can’t see him but there was a boy not much older than 10 driving these 6 draft horses.

We took a buggy ride to get an up close look at an Amish Farm.

We were surprised to see cows lined up to milking machines! They were diesel but still we were confused not to see people squatting on stools next to cows with buckets.

 After further research (and according to our understanding) we learned that the community decides to adopt or reject certain conveniences based upon a literal interpretation of the Bible and its (the convenience in question) affect upon relationships. For instance, electricity is rejected, not only because of its connection to the outside world (and the can of worms that would open), but because it doesn’t encourage closer family relationships. In other words as we understand it, if there is only one central light source in the evening then the family will most likely gather together instead of going off to do their own thing in other parts of the hous

Admittedly, there is something appealing about the Amish life besides shoofly pie.

While the the stiff rejection of worldly ideals like cars and eletricty may sound crazy to most, it seems like a type of freedom to leave the distractions of modern life for a life focused on God and family.

However, there is chocolate and we were lured from our dreams of a simple pious life by a quick whiff of sugar.

After all, we would need an awfully big team of horses to pull our RV.

The old Hershey factory and more importantly Chocolate World is in nearby Hershey.

It’s like a real life Wonka Factory, minus the creep factor, with chocolate bars the size of your head.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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The next best thing to owning a farm is staying at a farm especially a farm with full RV hookups.

I think this has been my favorite campground. It’s right up there there Bahai Honda. (You know you’re crazy when it’s a toss up between white sand beaches and baby goats.)

The baby goats were the stars of the show but there were also horses, llamas (one spit on Thing Two), cows, ducks, and chickens.

The whole place was just…perfect. Yes, my idea of heaven has leaping goats and magical sunsets.

Not only were there animals but we connected with some friends who we had met in Florida and the kids had a blast!

So much to be thankful for…

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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