Well... it's been quite a while since I last posted here, and much has changed. 

While staying in Virginia, we started to do some serious soul-searching, and ultimately decided that it was time to head for home... for good this time.  There are a lot of reasons, and it was a bittersweet decision.  We were sad to end our time on the road, but happy to be returning home. 

We've been home for several weeks now, and are still settling in and unpacking.   I've gone back to work at the hospital that I worked at before we started traveling.  We also got our dog back from the friends we had given her to...  they had not bonded with her, and when they found out we were staying home, they asked us to take her back.  We even got our old phone number back!  (Unheard of, according to the guy at the phone company!)  Now we just have to sell the truck & trailer!!

So, now we begin a new season... with a teenager, and three more to follow! (EEK!)  It will be exciting to see God's plan for our family as it unfolds. 

We learned a lot while we were on the road, and now we get to see how well we can apply what we've learned.  I'll share more about those life-lessons in later days... 

Well... I got out of taking David to his first appointment with the dentist (Mike took him, then the dentist called me and talked to me about what he was going to need done!)  But, I was not going to get out of it so easily when he had to go back to have the tooth pulled. 

Friday morning, we headed in to see the dentist.  In the pre-op area, they gave David some medication, which he took like a trooper, and then we sat and watched.  The medication they gave him, is one I've seen used before, on my patients.  It's great, in that it makes the patient completely forget what happened to them.  Well, they gave it about 20 minutes to work, then took him back to take out the tooth.  He was getting a little unsteady, but still moving under his own power, at this point. 

We sat in the waiting room with our laptops, and worked on whatever projects we happened to be researching at the moment.  (For me, the current thing is beginning to map out Jr. High & High School for my oldest son, and my daughter, who though  2-1/2 years younger, is so competitive, she's right behind him in all of her schoolwork, so it's likely I was searching out information on homeschooling curriculum.... (a favorite pastime for most of us homeschooling moms!)  For Mike, the current passion is backpacking.... more on that later.) 

They had told us to expect it to take 4 hours, but they came to get us in about 45 minutes.  He had done great, and was in recovery.  The tooth came out without a problem, and we could come back and sit with him while he went through the recovery period.  The dentist's only concern, was that the antibiotic she had put him on, hadn't seemed to help much with the swelling, and they'd had to make an incision to drain the abscess (ick).  So, a change in the antibiotics, not a big deal.

We met up with David in recovery, and he was so funny.  He was still under the effects of the medication they had given him, and he was sitting on a sofa, or trying to.  He kept losing his balance and tipping over.  We waited in the recovery room with him for about another hour, as we waited for the medicine to start to wear off.  He had never before experienced the numbing of his lip and mouth that goes along with dental work, and didn't seem to like that very much.  He tried to show me that he was ready to go home, that he could walk.  He got up and was trying to walk around the recovery room, but he kept running into things, and walking sideways.  It was hysterical!  I laughed so hard.  He also kept asking me if there were two children in the other chair.  There was one woman, and the woman who had come to give her a ride home, but he was determined that he saw two children.  I was concerned that he might be hallucinating from the medication, but after the woman was escorted out to her car, he dropped it, so he must have thought that she was a child.  

As the medicine began to wear off, he started to cry.  This child is one tough little boy, and unless he's overtired, it takes a LOT to make him cry.  He cried, and cried.  I carried him out to the van, and he cried.  I sat with him in the backseat, and he cried, and I cried.  He cried all the way back to my parent's home (about a 30 minute drive). 

We got him settled on the sofa, and gave him his Tylenol with Codeine, and still he cried.  He would only stop crying if I was sitting with him.  So I sat on the couch with him, so he'd stop crying.  At one point he looked at me and asked "why am I seeing two of everything?"  I could only assume that all the tears and the double vision were from the medication he had been given to prevent him from remembering the procedure.  He finally fell asleep, and slept for nearly 6 hours.

When he woke up, he was a little sore, but not at all weepy, and had no memory of any of the day's events!  I was VERY impressed with that!  I was pretty agressive with the pain medicine for the first 24 hours or so, then at that point he said it didn't hurt anymore, so now he's just on the remainder of the course of antibiotics. 

Of course, the tooth they removed wasn't supposed to come out for another 5 years, so when we get settled in the next place, we'll have to find a dentist who will make a spacer for him to wear to maintain the gap, so his 12-year molar will have a place to come in!  At this point, I'm just thankful that we had a tax return that was big enough to cover all these unexpected expenses!  I just have to keep reminding myself that God wasn't surprised by this, and probably timed our tax return so that we'd have it to cover this! 

We've decided that we are going to go home to Michigan for a while.  We haven't been in over a year and a half, and we can wait for the next job there, as easily as we can here.  It's been nice to visit with my parents, but it's time for us to move on.  We'll be leaving here at the end of the week, so I'll update again, when I can, but it probably won't be until we are back home.

Ahhh...  We're back now from our camping trip.  It was a bit more eventful than we'd planned, but still a pleasant trip, nonetheless. 

We drove up to Big Meadows Campground on Skyline Drive on Monday.  Spent the afternoon setting up camp and getting settled.  Our campsite was literally a few feet from the Appalachian Trail.  At 2160 miles, it is the longest foot path in the US.  It starts in Georgia and following the ridge of the Appalachian Mountains, continues all the way to Maine!  We met several "through-hikers" who were making the trek.  They had left Georgia with their backpacks in February, and were hoping to arrive in Maine sometime in July!

As we were setting up our camp, we were amazed to watch the deer walk through the campground, not at all afraid.  The kids watched them for about 10 minutes before they wandered off.  We built a nice little campfire.  Hot Dogs & Hot Cocoa for dinner, then clean up (in the dark... we really need to learn to do dinner earlier when we are camping!) 

We've made a few wardrobe and sleeping adjustments (ie hooded sweatshirts, hats and extra blankets) from our previous tenting adventure{!} and we were all quite comfortable, in spite of the chilly temperatures.  We woke Tuesday morning to the sounds of the birds, and a gorgeous sunrise over the mountains.  At this point, we're thinking, weather permitting, we'll hang out for a week or so.  However, there have been thundershowers in the forecast, but they seem to come and go...   It's okay to tent camp in the rain, but thunder and lightning mean it's time for this mom to head home!

A leisurely breakfast, and cleaning up the dishes, straightening up the tent, then we were ready for our adventures for the day.  Our plans included a visit to the visitors center, in time to attend an educational program led by one of the park rangers.  He led us into the meadow, and was showing us the different plants that grew there, and how they used prescribed burns to burn off the dead underbrush in 1/3 of the meadow early each spring, in order to help prevent wildfires.  It was fascinating, listening to him talk about the whole process.  Ever prepared, my kids had their water bottles and snacks.  David was munching on trail mix, and said "oh, my tooth hurts."  Sometimes you bite down on something like a raisin, that has a high concentration of sweetness, and it does give you a momentary toothache, so I really didn't think much of it at the moment. 

We stopped at the lodge, and checked messages on the cell-phone, since the ranger told us it was the only place in the park our cell phones would work well.  The kids enjoyed the playground at the lodge, and we got some great pictures.  Off in the distance, we could see fires burning on a distant mountain.  (Different mountains from where we were camped.  We were never in any danger from those fires!) 

Off and on throughout the evening, David continued to complain of his tooth hurting, so we gave him some pain medicine, which seemed to help.  I figured we'd have to find a dentist, when we were finished with our camping trip, and get him checked out.  The last time he was at the dentist, they told us he had a small cavity, but it was too small to fill, and nothing to do, just keep an eye on it. 

So, another campfire, a yummy dinner of Taco Soup (one of our family favorites, and it's as easy to make in a Dutch Oven as it is in the crockpot at home!), and we're off to bed for the second night.  Only, this night isn't as comfy and cozy.  David begins moaning and crying, and proceeded to moan and cry all night.  It rapidly became apparent that there wasn't going to be any putting off the trip to the dentist until we were done with our camping trip. 

We were up with the sun on Wednesday morning, David's cheek is swollen up like a little chimpmunk.  So, we headed back for my parent's.  Thankfully, they live right in the middle of the Shenandoah Valley, so we were less than an hour away.  The plan for the day was to find a dentist who would see him on an emergent basis, fill the cavity, so we could head back up to our campsite.  We were back to my parent's and on the phone by 10 am.  Thankfully, there was a pediatric dentist, who agreed to squeeze him into the schedule at 2:30 in the afternoon.  The dentist saw him, and said "Oh no, he doesn't just have a cavity, he has a HUGE abscess, and his cheek is so swollen that we can't take the tooth out today.  He'll have to be on antibiotics, for a couple of days, then come back in on Friday, and we'll sedate him and take the tooth out." 

Now, I have this totally irrational fear of dentists, and practically have anxiety attacks, when I have to take my kids in, even just for check ups.  Forget what I'm like when I have to go to the dentist...  So, now my 8 year old has to have this MAJOR dental thing.  What kind of a mother am I?  How could I let it get this bad??  The dentist was very reassuring, that as crowded as his teeth are in his little mouth, there was really no way to prevent what had happened, and no way for us to know it would happen when it did.  That made me feel only slightly less terrible a mom. 

We headed BACK up to our campsite, at about 6:00 that night.  We threw together a quick dinner of Chicken Quesadillas, and were they yummy!  By the time we cleaned up, we just wanted to go to bed, so no campfire that night.  David now has Tylenol with Codeine, so he's a happy camper.  AND he slept!  Between the medicine, and not sleeping the night before, he slept soundly, so we all slept better that night. 

Since he had to arrive for his dental appointment early Friday morning, we decided we'd do better to cut our camping trip short, and break camp on Thursday.  We were very disappointed.  Camping is a lot of fun, but it's also quite a bit of work to set up camp.  I love it when we can go for a week or more, but all that work of packing and setting up, when we can only stay for a few days, hardly seems worth it.  The other kids, though disappointed, were good sports about the whole thing, and helped us to break camp on Thursday morning, after breakfast.  We did promise ourselves that we would take the kids camping again at the very next possible chance.  We really enjoy it, and were disappointed to have our trip end so abruptly. 

I'll come back and add pictures when I can download them from the camera, so check back!

Okay, I'm all caught up now, and this is my first "real-time" entry:

We have our tents set up in my parent's yard, trying to get our camping gear all together, in preparation for a camping trip. The kids begged for us to sleep in the tents last night, so we agreed. After reading 8 chapters of The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo, and a cup of hot cocoa, we all settled into our sleeping bags.

Pretty soon, Daniel has to go potty. Katie was going to take him into the trailer, but he stood in the door of the tent and "watered the grass" (boys ) So, everybody settles back down, and goes to sleep. Then I wake up to Daniel and Katie, again, up to the bathroom. (Too much hot cocoa before bed!) I also notice that it's awfully chilly.

Pretty soon, Katie has to go to the bathroom. I told her to check the clock while she's in the trailer, so I have some idea how much longer this night is going to last... 2 am... sigh. At this point, Daniel has said "IT'S COLD, I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP OUT HERE ANYMORE!" So, Katie is zipping her sleeping bag together with Daniel's, and she snuggles him in, with her, which will help them keep warm. So, I'm WIDE AWAKE... I came in the house to find hats. Unfortunately, they are all packed away. So, in a moment of desperation, I grabbed four pair of David & Daniel's pajama pants, tied the legs together in a knot, and went out and stuck them on the kids heads, telling them "a hat will help keep you warm." David figures out pretty quick what I've done, and tosses his "hat" but the others are all asleep. They'll hate me in the morning.

I lay there freezing for another hour or so (realize that I'm sleeping layered in silky long johns & sweats, tucked inside a sleeping bag that is rated for 40 degrees) Oh, and the one thing I've failed to mention, is that living in the mountains in Virginia, there is no such thing as a flat spot, so my parent's yard is very sloped, and our tent is set up on a hill. Mike figured it would be okay, since our heads were higher than our feet. NOT! My back and neck are aching from the constant battle to keep from sliding down the hill. I've finally decided that I have a nice warm trailer 30 feet away. So, now I'm inside, wrapped in my comforter, sipping a cup of tea, with the heat on, while my family is sleeping out in the cold. (Oh, by they way, the official weather channel temperature for our location is 42 degrees right now.) Of course,our bed is buried with all the junk that was in the closet in front of the camping gear, so I can't sleep on the bed, so I'll "rough it" on the sofa the rest of the night!

When the contract in Texas was up in February, Mike & I were headed for a week-long conference in West Virginia.  While we were there, my mom was going to keep the kids.  Because of our traveling, my parent's hadn't seen the kids in nearly 18 months, and weren't  very happy about that situation!  So, when we finished up in Texas, it was time to pack up the trailer again, and head east. 

My parent's moved to the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia last fall.  So, they were in a new home, and a new neighborhood.  They invited us to park in their driveway, while Mike & I went to the conference in West Virginia, and to stay and visit a couple of weeks after...  

When we arrived, I pulled into the driveway in the van, looked at the driveway and the yard and said "There is NO WAY we are going to be able to get the RV in here!"  But, between Mike, my dad and my brother-in-law (and maybe some bacon grease and a shoe horn) they actually did manage to get us parked in my parent's driveway.  We take up the ENTIRE driveway, but there's lots of street parking available.  Good thing.

Mike & I went to our conference in West Virginia, while the kids stayed here with Grandma & Grandpa.  We ALL had a wonderful time.  Mike & I learned a lot, and the kids enjoyed spending time with their grandparents.  I left schoolwork for them to do, but came home to find that, although my mom had them DO their schoolwork, she hadn't bothered to look it over, or correct it.  Oh well! 

We find ourselves in another of those lulls in my specialty, and our couple of weeks has stretched into a couple of months.  I've been able to help my mom, by helping take care of my grandmother, who is now living with my parents.  Mike has been helping with a list of projects that needed to be done in the "new" house.  (Okay, new to them, it's an old farmhouse, which has LOTS of work, so we've been helping rip out carpet, clean up the yard, etc.  We know there will be another job, but the waiting gets to us after awhile.  Thank goodness we got our tax return back! 

One thing that has been fun, was we are close enough to visit some friend in North Carolina.  We drove down and spent a long weekend with them.  While we were there, we attended a Revolutionary War Reenactment, the Battle at Guilford Courthouse. 

Now, the guys in red are NOT British soldiers.  Apparently the musicians wore the opposite colors of the soldiers, so they could be found easily in the camp by the commanders, since they were the primary means of communication with the troops.

It was great fun, and the kids enjoyed walking through the camps after the battle was over, and visiting with the reenactors. 

Our friends have kids the same ages as each of ours, and the kids had a ball.  Hopefully we'll get to make another trip down to see them before we leave the area.  Right now, we are thinking about taking a "vacation" and going camping with the kids for a few days, maybe we'll be able to go camping near our friends, and get to visit with them again!.

Well, our time in California was winding down.  Then, one day at work, I slipped on a wet floor, and hurt my shoulder.  It was my last day of work for the week, so I went home, and felt okay, sort of.  It was easy to baby the shoulder for a few days.  When I went back to work the next week, though, my neck and shoulder started spasming, and my fingers got numb.  I probably would have put up with it, but the numbness & tingling in my fingers was a bit frightening.  So, off I went to employee health.  After spending most of the rest of the day at a clinic for x-rays and such, I was given muscle relaxants and told that I'd "strained my shoulder" when I fell.  The doctor placed me on a 10 lb. weight limit for lifting.  The nurse manager decided that since I was so close to the end of my contract, she didn't want to mess with trying to modify my work assignment to accomodate my 10 lb. limit, so she called my company and ended the contract early. 

Well, since we certainly couldn't afford to stay in California without income, we quickly packed up the trailer and headed for Texas.  We figured we could stay with family until we got the next assignment lined up.  Well, the next assignment turned out to be right in Fort Worth, so we were able to be with family through  Thanksgiving & Christmas.  What with physical therapy and doctors visits on every day off, we didn't get to do much in the way of "fun stuff," beyond spending time visiting with family.  But, it's good to have family you can lean on when times are tough.

So, during the last week of our contract, we found out that they had a need for me to stay in a different department.  Hmmm.... it was a beautiful day, we were relaxing in the pool, discussing the pros and cons, and somehow, in the magic of the moment, we broke with our policy of not extending contracts, and decided that we would stay through the summer... 

I finished up the last week of the contract, and scheduled it, so that I could take two weeks off, because we wanted to go CAMPING!   Of course, all of our friends laughed at us for wanting to go camping, since we live in an RV, and RV parks all of the time, but that's HOME, not camping.

Camping is an activity we've enjoyed since before our children were born, and they've all been camping, from the time they were tiny.  Depending on the time of year they were born, they were somewhere between a several weeks up to about 9 months old when they went on their first camping trip.  However, by the time the little boys were born, we had purchased our first camper, so they had never been tent camping. 

We collected our camping gear and loaded up the van, it was packed floor to ceiling, with stuff in a trunk on the back, and stuff tied on top.  We probably looked like the Beverly Hillbillies coming to town! 

Then we headed up the coast.  Our goal was originally to spend some time at Big Sur, and then some time at Yosemite, but the more research we did, the more we realized that Yosemite just wasn't practical for our family.  Due to the bear problems, you can't have any food in your car, it all has to be locked in the food lockers in the campsite.  The foodlockers would never hold enough food for six people for more than an overnight trip.  There are stories about bears even tearing the doors off a car to get to a french fry in a carseat.  Since we didn't have much hope of getting all the food smells cleaned out of our van, and didn't relish the idea of having our van destroyed, we decided that Yosemite would have to be a day trip, some other time. 

Big Sur was gorgeous.  It is one of those places where you just can't take a bad picture. 

We set up our campsite among the giant fir trees at Big Sur State Park.  We didn't know how risky our plan was.  We didn't have a reservation, so we had to show up at the ranger station each morning and pray that there would be an opening.  We were incredibly blessed to be able to stay for a full week!

Some days, we hung out at our campsite, playing, doing the dishes... just being a family.

Some days we went hiking and exploring...

One day, I was sure we'd discovered paradise:

Even our little Daniel was a good sport about all the hiking:

We were able to spend one day at Point Sur Lightstation.  It is in the process of being restored, and it was quite a hike up around the point to get to the lighthouse, but the views, once we were there were worth the trip.  From up on top, we could see kelp beds and seals playing in the water. 

As we were driving home, we traveled south along the coast, and we started seeing what appeared to be sea lions along the beach.  Finally we came to a place where there was a crowd, so we got out to see what it was all about.  We found that it was the time for the migration of the elephant seals, and this beach was a regular stopping place for the seals.  So, we stopped for a while and watched the seals.

We arrived back in Anaheim rested and ready to go back to work, but sad that our week of camping had come to an end.

We arrived in Orange County, California in early-March.  We found a lovely park in Anaheim called Canyon RV park.  It was carved out of a wilderness area, deep in a canyon, bordered by highways and city all around.  From the highway you couldn't even tell it was there.  There was lots of open space, and large trees, and while inside the park, you hardly even realized that you were in the middle of a VERY LARGE CITY!! 

We could see why people love California.  The mild temperatures in early March, and the sunshine were almost magical.  Though it was a bit of a culture shock for us.  As midwesterners, we have been amazed at the differences in culture as we travel this great country, and have come to the conclusion that we are truly midwesterners at heart.

While we were in California, I was kept very busy.  In addition to the four days of work each week, the hospital had additional requirements, for training and inservices, which I had to attend on my days off.  As we approached the end of our three month contract, we realized that we hadn't done the things we wanted to do while we were in California.  So, we got busy. 

We scheduled several days off together, and took the kids to Legoland. 

Our family LOVED Legoland.  It was a little early in the season, so the park wasn't terribly crowded, and though there were some rides, they weren't the main focus of the park.  In fact, thrillseekers would be very disappointed.  But, as Lego fans, we didn't go for the rides.  We went for the Legos, and we were NOT disappointed!  Legoland is something of a cross between a sculpture garden and a theme park.  They had lifesize sculptures of animals:

cityscapes:

We had to take a picture of the RV park inside the model of the racetrack at the Daytona 500:

Of course, we couldn't resist a picture of Jon with the bust of his hero:

And everything built from Legos!  It was truly amazing.  They even had classes for the kids, where the older kids could learn to program robotic Legos.  While we were at Legoland, we met a couple from Europe, who had some multi-park passes, that they weren't going to be able to finish using, as they were leaving the area, so they gave them to us.  Since they were only good for a couple of days, we decided to overload the kids, and take them to a second theme park that same weekend. 

We headed for SeaWorld.  The kids loved the rides, all except Daniel, who was too small for most of them.  One of the neatest things they had was a model of a tidepool, where the kids could actually handle the sea-animals.  The kids thought the starfish were very cool!

They also enjoyed seeing the HUGE fish in the aquarium:

Of course no trip to Sea World is complete without a visit to see the Whale & Dolphin shows.  A word of warning.  Don't take your camera if you insist on sitting in the "splash zone."  We got some great pictures, but we soaked our good digital camera.  So our picture taking was done for the day.

Thankfully the camera survived, and after it dried out, it worked just fine.

When we left Texas, we were headed for Southern California.  It was a long trip, as we headed across Texas, through Albequerque, back through Flagstaff, and into California.  One of the things that amazed us, was the trains!  Out in the desert, the trains are MILES long, and often stacked two containers high. 

We also crossed the Continental Divide.  Now, until we stopped there, I had NO idea what the continental divide was.  I'd heard of it, but didn't understand what it meant.  In a nutshell, the continental divide, is that place in the continent, where the rainfall splits.  To the east of this place, all of the rainfall eventually winds up in the Atlantic Ocean, to the west, in the Pacific Ocean.  Just a tidbit of trivia to pass along!  And, of course, we had to stop for pictures...

After Thanksgiving, we got a call for a hospital in St. Louis, which was desperate for NICU nurses.  It was another situation, where there was no place to park the RV, and the nearest suitable RV park was close to 40 miles away.  So, once again, the decision was made for Mike & the kids to stay in Texas, while I went off to St. Louis to work. 

The hospital was wonderful, and VERY desperate, they were short staffed, and then had a HUGE influx of babies.  I found myself working 6 or 7 days each week.  It was exhausting, but rewarding.  I had a few babies that I took care of every day.  The first group of babies that I "primaried" was a set of triplets.  They were just as cute as could be, and I just adored their parents and 3 year old sister.  After they were discharged, I took on two other primary babies, who I cared for the rest of the time I was there.  I fell in love with these babies, as well.  It's hard not to, when you care for them every day!  Caring for these babies helped, because I missed my own family desperately.  After 8 weeks, the hospital's staffing crisis had resolved, and I was able to rejoin my family in Texas.  We enjoyed some down-time, which I desperately needed, after working 8 crazy weeks, of 72 to 100+ hours!   We also decided, that it was too hard on the family to be separated like that, and that we would not accept any more assignments that we couldn't go to as a family.

One of the things I love about homeschooling my kids, is how creative they can be, and I get to experience that creativity.  One of the things that was sold off before we started traveling was the children's dress-up clothes.  There just wasn't room to bring along everything.  That hasn't stopped them!  One day, David decided he wanted to be Robin Hood, so Katie helped him fashion his costume from newspaper, complete with hat, vest, shoes and bow!

We left New Hampshire, and decided it was time to head for home.  It was hard to believe we'd been gone for a whole year already! 

So much had happened.  While we were gone, we'd had a lot of work done on our house, which we wanted to check out.  We missed friends, and wanted to just be home for a little while!  Since we had someone house-sitting for us, we decided to visit with friends, and just "visit" our house.  So we stayed on the farm of some good friends.

It was so good to spend time with them.  They have a lovely farm in Northern Michigan, about 15 miles from our home.  Their children are similar in age to ours, and the kids had a great time seeing their friends.  This city-born girl even helped with the farm chores.  I overcame my terror of chickens, and helped feed and water them.  I helped my friend repair the chicken pens, and build a place in the barn, where the chickens would be moved for the winter.  The horse who had to share the barn with the chickens wasn't sure he liked what we were doing at first, but he seemed to accept it, by the time we moved the chickens into the barn.  

We stayed several weeks, but as we approached Thanksgiving, we knew we were pushing the limits.  Northern Michigan gets VERY cold in the winter, and we'd already had several cold days, even a little snow.  So, we decided it was time to head south.  Reluctantly, we said "goodbye" to our friends, and headed to Texas, to spend Thanksgiving with family. 

We arrived in Concord, New Hampshire and found a wonderful woodsy/rustic campground.  We loved it here.  We were off in a back corner, with just a couple of other campers, except on the weekends. 

The campground we stayed at had a long history of families who returned year after year, for generations.  They had a dance each month. which the kids just loved.  It was in a building, which had one wall that opened completely, to make it sort of pavillion-ish.  One of the most popular activities at the evening dances was playing with the glowsticks outside the pavillion!

While we were in New Hampshire, we visited a place called the Flume.  It is an awesome little place up in the mountains, where a river cuts through the mountains.  It's been turned into a delightful park with a nice trail for walking. 

There were fascinating rock formations, and places where boulders had been deposited, seemingly randomly.  Several places, there were trees which took root in a little bit of organic matter on top of a boulder, and grew there, the roots stretching around the boulder, looking for water.  We couldn't resist taking a picture of our little Daniel curled up in the roots of this tree (notice the boulder behind him):

While we were in New Hampshire we visited the ocean, and the kids loved playing in the sand and the water.  We also took them to the Pittsfield balloon festival.  They loved seeing the hot air balloons being inflated.  After dark they did something they called an "afterglow" which was just beautiful!

We loved New Hampshire, and it was the first place in our travels that we would have considered making a home! 

We left Texas in a hurry.  Our truck was delayed due to problems with the weather delaying the paint job, but were able to pick it up just in time.  And for those who are wondering, yes, I have driven it.  I drove it about 2 miles on a country highway with NO traffic, in Texas, the day we picked it up.  I was incredibly uncomfortable driving it, and haven't driven it since.  Don't intend to, either!

We were headed for a family-reunion/Fourth of July party at my sister's home in Virginia.  She had arranged for us to stay in a local municipal park, which had newly set-up some RV sites.  We arrived in the dark, and the fog, and managed to park.  The next morning, we were shocked to find that where we were parked was on top of a mountain...  EEK!

We had a lovely picnic with my cousins and their children.  My sister and her husband bought my grandparent's home after they died, to use as a family "retreat."  It was fun for me to see my kids playing in the same places I'd played as a child. 

We spent the long weekend in Virginia, but because our location didn't have good cell phone coverage, we decided to head up to Northern Virginia.  At that point, we weren't certain if we were going to New England for the summer or to the Northwest.  We figured that by moving to Northern Virginia, we'd be near a major highway, and could head either direction, depending on which job we took.

We ended up accepting a job in New Hampshire, but had nearly 2 weeks before we needed to be there.  So, we decided to vacation along the way.

We had friends to visit in Vermont, so we packed up the rig, and headed for Vermont.  We visited with our friends, and spent a week in a lovely RV park in White River Junction, Vermont.  David decided he was ready to learn to ride without training wheels, so after a few runs with daddy helping him to balance, he was off and running on his two-wheeler!

after

Our patience was rewarded, and we picked up our new truck.  It is a customized Peterbilt.  The inside is like a custom van, with 4 captains chairs, and a bench across the back which folds down into a bed.  It has seatbelts for eight.  It has huge storage bays underneath on each side, and a bed designed for towing our fifth-wheel trailer.  It tows the trailer easily, even uphill.  There is a mounting bracket on the back up high, to mount the kid's bikes, as well as two large storage boxes.  There is also a receiver style hitch in the back, on which we mount a storage chest.  We're quite the sight going down the road. LOL!

While we were waiting for the truck to be built, I took a job in California.  It met NONE of my usual criteria for contracts that I take.  First it was 36 hours, second the pay was low, and finally it was night shift.  The only thing that contract had going for it, was that it was only 8 weeks, and would keep me working, while we waited in Texas for our truck.  My requirement of the hospital was that they would allow me to cluster my shifts, so that I would work 6 days on, and then have 8 days off. 

Since there is no sleeping in the RV during the day, it was decided that Mike and the kids would stay near his family, and I would commute to San Antonio.  It was a three-ish hour trip (once I learned how to avoid the rush hour around Austin!)  I stayed in a hotel, sleeping the days between my night shifts, and then would drive back to Mike & the kids for my week off.  It worked out well. 

Sometimes on my time off, Mike and the kids would come to San Antonio and stay in the hotel with me.  While we were in San Antonio, we saw SO many things.  In fact, I like San Antonio so much, I told my husband, if he'd ever brought me to San Antonio when we were first married, we might have moved there, rather than to Michigan! 

Our adventures included a trip to the San Antonio Zoo and aquarium. http://www.sazoo-aq.org/  which we thought would be better called the San Antonio Zoo and Aviary.  They had thousand of tropical birds.  They were truly the most unique part of that zoo experience.

San Antonio Zoo

We visited the Institute of Texan Culture http://www.texancultures.utsa.edu/public/index.htm  it is a fascinating museum and very child friendly.  There was an exhibit of early Native American life, as well as a chuck wagon, an adobe hut with a costumed interpreter grinding corn, and a sharecroppers cabin, to name a few. Most of the artifacts are actually reproductions, which the children are allowed to handle and use.  They even had period costumes for the children to try on. 

We also went to the Witte Museum http://www.wittemuseum.org/exhibits/hebtreehouse.html which has a hands-on science treehouse for children, with exhibits for the kids to explore.  The kids loved the water play area outside, and learned about gear ratios, magnets and more.

Of course, no trip to San Antonio would be complete without a trip to the Alamo and the Riverwalk. 

Being from the north, I had never really learned the story of the Alamo.  So, before we went, I studied up, and spent time with the kids explaining that this was different than most of the museums we went to, as it was a more of a memorial to the men who had died there.  I believe even they felt the solemnity of the place.  http://www.thealamo.org

After our time at the Alamo, (it took about a half day) we went to the RiverWalk.  It was a fun experience, and the older children related it to stories we'd read about Venice during our studies.  (The Papa Piccolo unit from Five in a Row. http://www.fiveinarow.com )  It wasn't a difficult leap to be able to imagine what Venice might be like.

One other place worth mentioning was the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park. 

http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/findadest/parks/lyndon_b_johnson/

They have a turn of the century working farm with costumed interpreters set up.  The day we were there, the gardens were growing, we saw the animals being tended, a blacksmith working, and a woman in the kitchen shared with us what life was like on a small farm in the hill country of Texas in the early 1900's. 

Living History experiences and events have always been my favorite way of teaching my children history.  It is so much more interesting than textbooks, and places which allow the children to actually put themselves into the mix are even better!

We ended up our time in San Antonio just in time to pick up the truck, and head for a family reunion for Independence Day weekend.

When we set out, we were towing the RV with our 3/4 ton pick-up truck.  It did the job, but Mike felt like we were really too heavy for the intended weight for the pick-up, so while I was in California, Mike was busy researching our next truck. 

He searched online for used trucks, and even visited a few.  He attended RV shows, and visited truck customizers.  He just about had one picked out, from a customizer just a few miles from his parent's home.  After I returned to Texas, he took me along, to show me the style of truck he wanted.  While we were there, the salesperson made the statement that the trucks were similar to the "Schwalbe Trucks."  Later, at another RV show, we again heard about the "Schwalbe trucks."  Time for more research.  This time, our research led us to Dennis Schwalbe.  It turned out he was just a couple hours from Mike's parents, so we visited his shop, and found that he could build exactly what we needed. 

We picked out our truck, worked with him to design it to fit the needs of our family, and then began the wait.  We waited, and we waited, and we waited....

                                               before                                                       

When we were nearing the end of the Phoenix assignment, we got the call for another job.  We'd have to move quickly, because it started soon, and was a short committment.  We decided that since it was only two weeks, that Mike and the kids would visit Mike's family in Texas, while I went to the assignment, and then I'd join them in Texas two weeks later.  Well, at the last minute that assignment fell through.  Since we already had plans to go to Texas, we decided to go, and look for the next assignment once we got to Texas.

Welcome to the world of travel nursing.  We had previously been unaware that in my specialty, there are often seasonal lulls...  early springtime is one of them.  We sat for nearly a month in Texas before a job came available.  There were some drawbacks.  It was in Long Beach, California, I would be working 60 hours/week, and there was no place to park the RV.  Since we were nearly in a panic, having eaten through a large part of our savings, we decided to take the job.  We figured the kids were enjoying spending the time with their cousins, which previously had only happened once every couple of years, when we could afford a trip to Texas.  So, I would go, and Mike & the kids would stay behind in Texas.  After all, it was only 8 weeks...

I had kind of been looking forward to a little break.  You know, uninterrupted time in the bathroom.  Nobody pounding on the door, while I was in the shower.  Nobody crawling into my bed in the middle of the night, and waking me up.  Sounded like heaven.  And it was, for about a week.

Once I was caught up on sleep, and had a luxurious bubble bath, I was bored and lonely.  I missed my family, terribly!  At this point, I decided that uninterrupted showers were overrated.  Since I was in a contract, I had to stick it out, but it wasn't nearly the fun I thought it would be.  Mike and his mom were good about taking lots of pictures and sending them to me.  This is one of my favorites. 

Grandma loves the Texas bluebonnets (or are they blue bells?  I can never keep them straight...) and every spring she takes pictures.

Mike's parents even agreed to keep the kids, and allowed Mike to fly out and visit me for a long weekend. That was fun, almost a second honeymoon, of sorts.  We rented a Chrysler Sebring Convertible, and explored around Los Angeles, and even drove down the coast to San Diego one afternoon for dinner.  It made the time away more bearable.  I was glad when THAT eight weeks was over, and I could return to Texas, to be with my family.

One of the hobbies we took up while we were in Phoenix was Geocaching.  For those who are unfamiliar with Geocaching, it is a game.  A treasure hunt of sorts.  The gist of it, is that people hide caches in public places, and then post the coordinates of the cache at the Geocaching website.  Others who wish to find the cache track down the location with a handheld GPS unit, and then the fun begins.  The GPS will only get you within several yards of the treasure.  So once you are there, you have to search for the cache. 

Caches come in all shapes and sizes.  We’ve found micro-caches, made from Altoids tins, stuck in place with a magnet, caches in Ammo boxes, Rubbermaid leftovers containers, Pringles cans and coffee cans.  There are virtual caches in some places, but we’ve never searched for any virtual caches yet.  Our children are young enough that that much of the appeal is in the treasure itself, not just in the hunt. 

The cache is typically filled with treasure.  The treasures are small, often something the size of a child’s meal prize.  Some are more valuable than others.  The idea is that you carry treasures with you, and when you find the cache, you swap out a treasure.  You take something and leave something, so that the next person who finds the cache has a treasure too!  (For safety, we always carry two way radios when we go geocaching, as well as a first aid kit.)

My oldest son has started a keychain collection, and to date has about 20 keychains in his collection, most of which he has found in geocaches. 

The caches are rated by the person who places them, as far as difficulty in getting to the cache, and difficulty in finding it, once you’ve arrived in the area.  Most of the caches we’ve found so far have been fairly medium in difficulty, though we’ve had more than one that we made more difficult in terrain, by not finding the easiest way to arrive at the cache!

This particular cache found myself and the three older children clambering up the rocky face of a mountain.  When we reached the top, and found the cache, we also found a trail, which led to a nearby park.  It would have been a much easier hike in, from the trail!  We walked back out the trail, and had my husband (who stayed in the car with the baby) meet us at the park entrance.  Our Geocaching adventures are documented at www.geocaching.com as the CedarCreek Gang. 

The first assignment in our Great Adventure was in Phoenix, Arizona.  I have to say, with our Midwestern backgrounds, the desert was quite a shock.  I had never been to the desert before and the lack of moisture ANYWHERE, including the air, was a completely new experience.  We were in Phoenix through the winter.  The desert landscape is hard to describe... if your only experience with the desert is television exposure, as mine had been, it is downright shocking.  No blowing sand, no sand dunes.  More like dry hard dirt and gravel everywhere.  Oh, and all the plants have thorns.  Prickly pear and cactus dominate the landscape as well as the local landscaping.  We did wander into a few neighborhoods that somehow managed to have grass, but I can't even imagine what their water bills must have been!  To me, the city felt, as a whole, unfinished... like a construction site, that hadn't been sodded or seeded with grass yet.   We never got to experience the desert "blooming" after a rainstorm, though I've heard it's lovely, and I've seen pictures taken by others who HAVE experienced it.  The sunsets, on the other hand were amazing.

The children loved being able to play outside in December and January, unlike at home, where subzero temperatures would have them staying indoors, through the winter months. 

We also, didn't find Phoenix to be a terribly child-friendly place.  Of the probably 200 RV parks that exist in Phoenix, only a handful allows children at all.  The first we stayed at, advertised itself as "family friendly," but after six weeks, we knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that while our money was welcome, our children were not.  Thankfully, we found a park on the north side of Phoenix, which was THRILLED to have families with children at the park.  So, if you are ever traveling through Phoenix with children, the place to stay is Desert's Edge RV Park! 

Some of the new things we experienced in Phoenix were:

Citrus Trees:  I knew citrus grew on trees, but the experience of picking an orange or a lemon off a tree and eating it... it's pretty amazing.  They've got so much more flavor than the fruit you can buy in the grocery store! 

Javelinas:  One night Mike heard something outside the trailer, and when he looked outside, he could see something moving around, but couldn't tell what it was.  He took out the digital camera, and snapped a few pictures of the darkness, without flash, and then downloaded them onto the computer.  When he lightened the pictures up, he realized our campsite had been visited by several large, very ugly critters.  When we asked the RV Park staff about them, they told us they were Javelinas, a sort of wild boar, which lived in the mountains nearby, and came up the wash, into the campground, scavenging for fruit that fell out of the orange trees.  They also warned us that they were mean critters, and to steer clear of them.  Thankfully, they were nocturnal, and even when we came and went late in the evening, we never saw them face to face. 

Cotton:  I'd never seen cotton growing in a field before, but with irrigation, it's one of the crops they manage to grow around Phoenix. (And one of the few green and growing things I saw while we were there!)

And, again, the lack of water or humidity.  There are washes all throughout the city.  My understanding is that they are to help direct the runoff that comes in the spring, when the snow in the mountains melts, and can actually cause flooding.  It was odd, because these washes were shown as rivers on the map, but we KNEW we'd been in some of these areas and hadn't seen any water!  We left Phoenix in January, so we never got to see the washes full of water. 

We also did a lot of exploring, and in our exploring, we discovered Old Town Scottsdale.  I believe it was one of the first settled areas in and around Phoenix (but it has been over 2 years, since we were there, so my details are a bit sketchy.)  Now it's a delightful little tourist town, in the middle of the big city of Phoenix!

One of the highlights of our time in Arizona, was a trip to the Grand Canyon, but I have enough to write about that, to make a new entry!