Two years on the road

This month marks two years since our road trip began. I cried when we were pulling out of our home for the very last time. Knowing the trip we were embarking on was meaningful, exciting and adventures were to be had, but feeling sad because of all the memories we made in our home over the past 11 years.

This home was where I met my husband, literally! He was hired as my home inspector when I was purchasing the home as a single woman. A little less than two years later we were married. 

This was the home where I birthed my two oldest children. I had a midwife who came to our home for their deliveries. This was the home where all three of my children spent their early years (months, for our youngest). We had poured our love, time and money into completely re-doing every room. We left behind blueberry bushes that were from Josh’s parents (his mother had already passed away), a beautiful white rose bush which was a birthday gift from my deceased parents, a garden that we planted yearly, except for the year we left. We only had huge unripe pumpkins (that the kids begged to take with us) as well as rhubarb that we had for years and had blessed friends and family with starts from over the years. Our garden was one of our favorite parts of our home and we looked forward to all the veggies we grew yearly.

This was also the home where we rescued our two beloved dogs, years before we had kids, who are also with us on this trip. They are part of our family and when we were making plans to go, we considered them in the RV planning and purchase. We know their days are numbered as elderly dogs with pain and joint issues, but we are blessed they have been able to experience life with us.

Though I never ‘loved’ this home, it was our home where we felt comfortable and had built 11 years of memories. Although for years we felt a strong urge to sell it and move on. Yet we didn’t know where we wanted to buy another home.  

I had wanted to travel and since we weren’t tied to any one place and our business could be run from anywhere, I felt it was the perfect time to up and GO! I wanted the boys to learn through experiences and not just from textbooks. The rich history in our country, the beautiful states, national parks and hidden treasures all around us is endless.

We had initially decided to set out on a road trip a year prior. We were already making plans to sell our house when I found out, SURPRISE, baby boy # 3 would be joining us soon. So we shelved the idea. I truly thought we wouldn’t travel and figured it would be too rough to do with 3 young boys and 2 big dogs. But I was sooo wrong!

When we decided to take the leap it was the end of May. Rowen, our youngest, was 6 months old, Brycen was 2 and Caden was 5. We set a date to leave our home by September 1st. That gave us 3 months to clear out our entire home, sell nearly everything, figure out what kind of RV we wanted to purchase, purchase it, sell both of our vehicles, buy a truck to pull our RV, oh and sell our home. Eeek! Talk about a crazy time in our life. The emotions were raw. While we were excited to travel and ecstatic to be free of the home and life in Washington. I remember tears, stress, anxiety and feeling completely overwhelmed trying to get everything done, while taking care of three very young children AND still running a business.

Somehow we did it! We finished clearing out our home, took this last photo and then drove away for the last time. As Josh drove, I cried. All the emotions of the past three long months of hard work flooded me all at once. 

Our first destination was Salt Lake City where we had a week long reservation. We planned to drive there in 2 days. More than 400 miles each day. We had no idea what we were doing. I vividly remember Brycen, who had just turned three, ask to go home many times that first month. As we left our home and drove away he would ask to go home. Just as he always did. He hated being in the car. He had no idea that our home was being pulled behind us and that we had sold our other home and wouldn’t return. He was such a homebody and still is two years later. 

The first few months were rough. We read a lot from other families who RV full time. They say, give yourself a month to get everything figured out. HA! I say, give yourself 3 months. It was crazy to get things organized how we wanted, figure out everything with our new RV, get the kids settled, figure out what we desired in RV parks. It was a steep learning curve, but now we’ve got it down.

That first year of traveling we went from the Pacific Ocean to the Atlantic. Then down to the Gulf Coast and back to WA. We have visited 25 different states and then started back again. We found a small town in Utah where we have stayed this year. We love the community and the scenery is killer! However, we are getting the itch to go visit new places again and we may do so soon.

Our family is closer than ever. Though at times the small space can drive us a tad crazy, we all love it! It is our home. We are free to go wherever we want, whenever we want.

I love our crazy travelin’ life!