We’ve been meeting all sorts of new people and enjoying reconnecting with “old” friends. The number of families here has at least doubled or possibly even tripled in the last two years.

The more the merrier!

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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But simple “backyard” moments built from driftwood, salty air, laughter, and the smell of bbq are the moments that send my soul soaring. I wouldn’t trade these sort of days for a trip to see the Taj Mahal.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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We landed in Newport, Washington where we took a few days to regroup after our days exploring in Glacier. Other than watching fireworks over the Pend Oreille River, we did little else besides catch up on things like work, school, and laundry. As mundane as it may sound, I actually enjoy our regrouping days. It gives me a chance to feel like an ordinary mom instead of the wandering gypsy mama I am.

Many people ask us if we travel with a plan. My answer is, we travel with a “flexible plan”. For instance, the morning we left Newport we planned on going to a campground in Quincy for a few more days of regrouping before heading to the coast. But then someone that morning told us about Leavenworth and we had a change of plans.

Leavenworth is a Bavarian styled village situated in the Cascade mountain range less than a half days drive from Seattle. It sounded like a perfect place for a few more days of regrouping and to get some Spätzle. And it was.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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I want to remember…

Each campsite we call home for a few days or weeks.

Reading around a morning campfire before we go to George Washington Birthplace National Monument.

The sweet faces of these five (and Meow Cow whose not allowed out.)

The smell of campfire and the sound of young voices in harmony which is not often enough.

Our little neighbors.

My backyard gyms.

I even want to remember the mundane like laundry.

And amazing soft serve from random ice cream stands in small towns.

I especially want to remember Brent bustin’ a move at the Saturday campground shindig.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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We saw the wild horse of Assateague Island but mostly we just lived and explored our backyard.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Forest Lake Campground in Advance, North Carolina, was wonderful. We only stayed here for four days. Four days that were full of simple pleasures like walking through the woods, fishing, and exploration.

We could see the lake from our campsite where Thing Two spent hours fishing.

Dinner. Seriously.

One afternoon the boys and I decided to explore the nearby small town of Lexington, North Carolina.

Our first stop was The Candy Factory where I had to say no more than yes.

We found a great antique/vintage shop complete with a military room. Thing Two could have stayed in there all afternoon.

Another afternoon, the boys and I drove to Hiddenite Gems for some prospecting.

Sluicing.

We left the sluiceway for some “creeking”.

Thing Two was in his element. (Pun intended.)

He could have searched for gems all day.

Thing One put on a happy face and posed for some shots for me.

In reality, he thought creeking was about as exciting as trimming toenails. He prefers the finer things in like visiting mansions.

But after I told him to “at least act happy” I got this.

And this “Do I look Like I’m Having Fun Now?” smile.

“Is this happy enough for you, mom?”

We also made some little friends.

Pictures like this make me forget that “mom” is synonymous with “referee”.

Finally a real smile. On our way to the car.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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So we waited because we are clueless we thought it would be cozy and (much to my amazement) it was. It was also cold, really cold, but that didn’t stop us from having little adventures.

Arrowheads and coins in a red handkerchief. So simple, so little boy, so sweet that it almost makes me cry. And stop time. Please God.

I think it’s time for these guys and us to start flying south.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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We had our first overnight guests!

Jeff, my brother, and his son drove down with us from Indiana. I can’t tell you how wonderful it was to have them with us for the night and to share with them the mystery of Mammoth Cave. My brother is a very special person to me. Although we are not twins we share the same birthday and have matching tattoos. He has one of the biggest hearts you will ever meet. My nephew, Jensen, is a living testament to the grace of God. Jensen was born with a congenital heart defect and had open heart surgery at only a few weeks old. Almost three years later, Jensen is one of the sweetest happiest little fellows you will ever meet and you would never know that this little guy came into the world a warrior fighting for his life! We love them so much!

Years ago, my parents had taken us to Mammoth Cave National Park and while I don’t remember much of it I do remember the rooms being…well..mammoth. We opted to take the Historic Tour. It was a 2 mile and 2 hour long journey that focuses on what it was like for prehistoric people up to present day tours. We also learned how the the cave provided saltpeter, used to make gunpowder, during the war of 1812. You can still see the wooden pipes used today. One of the more interesting facts we learned was during the 1840’s a doctor by the name of Dr. Croghan, believed there would be medical benefits from the cave air for tuberculosis sufferers. He invited several tuberculosis patients to live into the cave (can you imagine!) and unfortunately several of them died in the cave.

In November, we visited Carlsbad Caverns National Park. Based on the tours we chose I would describe Carlsbad as a “visual” experience with it’s unusual and beautiful formations while Mammoth Cave is more a “physical” experience with it’s large rooms, deep pits, and tight passageways. Of course, each tour I’m sure offers a different experience. Later that evening, we looked at the weather forecast and saw a snow storm was on it’s way the next day. Should we wait it out or leave early in the morning?

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

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Almost.

First we had to find some Texas Longhorn cattle.

You see the other day Thing 2 and I decided we wanted to see some Texas Longhorn cattle close up. So I went online to look for nearby ranches.  We started calling around asking if the ranches allowed visitors. One phone call (from Brent) went like this.

“Hi. My family and I are from California and we are looking some longhorn cattle. Do you have any that we could come and visit with?”

Pause.

“You don’t do anything like that? Oh okay. Well thanks.”

Mistake #1 – “from California”, i.e., weirdos

Mistake #2 – “visit with“, i.e., WEIRDOS

Who visits with cows? Weird Californians who live in a RV that’s who. He might as well asked if we could have tea time with the Longhorns. ” Oh but it’s organic green tea full of antioxidants.”

However, as it turned out, there was a quaint Longhorn ranch right next to our campground. It was a bed and breakfast, Front 30 Ranch Guest House, run by the friendliest retired couple. They even smiled politely when I asked if they minded if I did a workout with the Longhorns because working out with longhorns is much more acceptable than visiting with longhorns. Very gracious folks indeed. They walked us out to the pasture while the boys made friends with their dog, Abbey. We didn’t get to pet the Longhorns (Abbey made them nervous) but we got closer than we had ever been and had a nice “visit”. We also enjoyed visiting with the owners who shared how they had built and cultivated the ranch themselves.

Front 30 Ranch is lovely, almost as lovely as the couple who runs it. Large rolling meadows stretch into the surrounding cedar forests. The guest house with its inviting porch overlooks the serene pastures of the Texas Longhorns. It almost makes me wish we didn’t have our RV. This would be the perfect place to come and relax at Lake Texoma. Our boys would have happily stayed all day and so would have we had we not had to get on the road to Oklahoma.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

The post Day 54: “Visiting with” Longhorns appeared first on Newschool Nomads.

My dreams didn’t include family photos in front of Mt. Rushmore or touring the Smithsonian. Although we plan to go to both places.

My dreams were made up of far more simpler things. Things that have filled the last three long rainy days here at Lake Texoma.

I imagined…

…cozy days in the car

…school days on the couch

…that turned to naps

…I guess “working with sentences” isn’t very interesting

I imagined…

…wonder

…friendship

…cat naps

…and playing footsie with my love under the table.

(Okay so I really didn’t imagine footsie but I sure do like it.)

I wish I could just hold my breath and with it these moments. These not-so-small-anymore-hands grow as I hold them in mine. I’m all to aware that these days are limited. I do my best to stuff as many of these moments as I can into my soul. My soul is infinite but these moments are not.

Love and Laughter,
Jenn

The post Days 51-53: Stuffing My Soul appeared first on Newschool Nomads.