NEW Truck!!!

We got a new truck today!!  We really did it!!  Now we really have to buy an RV because pulling something heavy is what this truck was designed to do!  Check it out!!

2014 Chevy Silverado 

We have spent many days researching them online.  A big resource was actual RV forums where you can post questions and other RVers will answer your questions.  We wanted personal experience stories about what works best for everyone when pulling their RVs.  Time and time again people recommended 'Duallys' and 'Diesel' for what we will be pulling.  We thought we would go the used route, but man...these heavy duty trucks are hard to come by.  So this beauty is brand spankin' new.  We spent 2 days visiting dealerships and also called around to several just searching for one.  Henry also has a friend in Florida who works at a dealership.  He was trying to work us a deal down there, but couldn't beat the deal here in Ohio.  So no point to drive all the way down to Florida.  Two (or was it 3) trucks were sold before we could even test drive them.  March is 'Truck Month' here (which means lots of good rebates on them), and wow...they were really flying off the lots since it was the end of the month.  We traded in Henry's Prius for this gas guzzling diesel truck.

Henry saying his final goodbye to his Prius.  

The boys were thrilled that we FINALLY picked one, 

and that their days in car dealerships were over for a long while.  

It's ours!  (And the credit union's!)  

Black truck with black leather...in Florida...awesome!

The boy's love it!  For it being a diesel truck, 

it is actually really quiet while driving

...at least while you are in the truck.  

I don't really know what this means, 

but I'm told it's pretty important.

It's a Dually! 

 (For you newbies, that means there 

are 2 wheels in the back on each side).

So what do I think about it?  I love it!!

White is the new Orange

Once upon a time, I wanted an orange kitchen.  And boy, did I get an orange kitchen.

Painting in progress...

Not shortly after painting it orange, I no longer wanted it orange.  It just wasn't the 'right' orange...not the orange I had envisioned.  We painted it orange about 4 years ago.  Now that we are moving and having to 'neutralize' our house, we finally painted it again.  However, white was not what I wanted either.  I was struggling with the paint choice.  I had the paint swatches up on the kitchen cabinet for a couple of weeks trying to decide on the most perfect color.  My MIL came to visit, she picked a color within seconds, and solved my indecisive dilemma just like that.  The color is called 'Pearl', and I swear it isn't 'white' on the swatch, but man, on the wall....it is white.  We stuck with the brand we like which is 'Olympic One'...paint and primer in one.  We were ready to have to paint 3 coats of this super light color over the orange, but guess what!?  It only took 1 coat!

Finished product!

It took us 1 day to paint it all (we also had to paint an orange beam in the living room).  Then it took me 1 whole day to scrub it from ceiling to floor with a bleach/water solution.  It was disgusting.  You can now eat off the floor, or the stove, or the cabinets, or off the baseboards, but actually....no eating or breathing is allowed in here for 2 months.  I don't want to have to clean it again.   

Bye Bye Bunk Beds

Sage had a set of bunk beds in his bedroom.  They are gone.  We sold them.  You might ask, "Where is he going to sleep?"  Exactly where he always has...in the king size bed in the master bedroom.  (We're not a normal family, nor have we ever pretended to be).  His room looks so bare now...even with all the stuff still in it.

Oh, and see that lamp in the picture.  This lamp is ancient.  I'll never forget getting this lamp as a Christmas present from my great-grandma when I was about 8-years-old.  There were 2 huge boxes...one for me and one for my sister.  We were so excited because what was inside those huge boxes had to be awesome because the boxes were so big!  You can imagine our disappointment when we opened them to find a lamp shade in one box and the lamp base in the other box.  BUT look!  I still have the lamp!!  It is about 29-years-old!  The lamp shade bit the dust a few years ago just because it's been moved soooo many times so that shade in the picture is kinda new.  BUT the actual lamp is ancient.

And no...I am not selling it.  Some things are just irreplaceable.

Mini-Van for Sale

We are taking a major step towards our goal of living in an RV.  We are selling our very much loved mini-van.

I remember the day we bought it clearly.  It was 4th of July 2009.  I had just given birth to Scott 3 weeks earlier on June 12th.  I was still recovering from my c-section.  Car shopping was not what I wanted to be doing...at all.  I had a newborn who wanted to nurse non-stop, and I was just able to stand and hold him at the same time.  (It took me 3 months to recover from my c-section!  So just 3 weeks from giving birth, I was still struggling).  We went to the car lot thinking they would be closed since it was a holiday.  We just wanted to look without being pounced on.  Well, they were open, and after sitting there for 3 hours, we drove home in our new mini-van.

We have now had it for almost 5 years, and I love it.  It has been good to us.  It has never left us stranded anywhere.  We have lots of memories in it.  We have taken many trips in it...including West Virginia, Florida, Texas, New York, Pennsylvania, Alabama, Connecticut.

We had it detailed today, and the guy did amazing job making it look like we don't have kids.  If you are local and need your vehicle detailed, call Matt Richardson at 614-309-4386.  

If you know someone who is looking for a great, reliable mini-van, let us know!  It's a 2005 Honda Odyssey Touring Edition.  We have it priced at $9,999.

Silence is Over!

Whew...it's hard for me to keep silent (not blog), but the past couple of weeks we have been sick and busy busy!

Last week, Henry flew to Texas for training for his new job.  (I don't broadcast to the world when he is out of town).  He learned lots and feels like this is a great job fit for him.  Yay!

While he was away in Texas, his momma and sister came and stayed with the boys and me.  We just hung out, did our normal routine, and added in a mall shopping trip and dinner at Red Robin. Yum!  (LOVE that Red Robin is safe for our peanut / tree-nut allergic son!)

They left Friday morning, and Henry flew home Friday night.  We then got in the van early Saturday morning and drove to Connecticut.  (I also don't broadcast to the world when we are all out of town).  It's a short 10-hour drive from our house.  I say 'short' because we are used to 17-18 hour drives to Texas and Florida.  It was pretty awesome to eat breakfast in our home in Ohio, then eat dinner in Henry's uncle's home in Connecticut...in the same day!

The reason for our trip to Connecticut was to celebrate Henrys' brother's birthday.  He would have turned 44 on Sunday (March 23rd).  You can see the post about his death here  BIL's Death
His final resting place is in New York, a short drive from Connecticut.  Family from Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, Florida, and Ohio were all there to celebrate his life.  We all miss him like crazy.  We all met at the masoleum (30 of us!), then headed to Outback Steakhouse for lunch.

(Super happy that Outback Steakhouse

 is also safe for our peanut / tree nut allergic son!)  

The boys had to take a dip in the hotel pool.

Thank goodness for a husband who doesn't mind 

getting in the pool with them!!  

Indoor heated pools are always still too cold for me!

We got to eat pho twice!  

The boys love pho!

  It is the only soup that Scott will eat!

On Monday, we went to an Italian restaurant

 for lunch to celebrate Henrys' cousin's birthday.  

It was soooo good! 

 (And yep, it was safe for our peanut / tree nut allergic son too!)

Birthday girl!

We got there Saturday around 6:30 pm and left Monday around 1:30 pm...so it was a super quick trip, but we packed in lots of visiting and.....lots of eating!!  Our boys did.not.want.to.leave.

Now we are home and tackling our to-do list.  Will our move date ever get here?!?!

Great Finds

When we decided to try out this 'living in an RV full-time' thing, I was amazed to learn how many people actually do it already.  I realized it's kinda like anything else in life...if it doesn't pertain to you directly, then you just don't really know about it.  That's how homeschooling is too.  If you're not in the 'homeschooling world', and then you enter it, you will be amazed at how it truly is this 'secret world'.

While researching this RVing lifestyle, I have came across many blogs, websites, and facebook pages put out there by families who are living in an RV.  There are two sites, though, that can be your 'one-stop shop' websites on the internet.

The first being Fulltime Families which is about...you guessed it...families who live on the road full-time.  It also has a lot about roadschooling on the site as well.

The second website is Technomadia.  This site isn't geared towards just families, but to anyone and everyone who currently lives in an RV or is interested to learn more about doing it.

There is a great link on this site to some couple blogs, family blogs, and solo blogs...all by people who are not retired...(which means they are all working and living in an RV :-). I thought only retired *folks owned and traveled in RVs.  Nope.  Not anymore.   Non-retired Rver Blogs

Technomadia also just released a new way for RVers to connect with one another called RVillage.  This site allows you to meet and connect with other RVers who are staying right in your RV park.  So if you are in XYZ Travel Park, you can go on the site and see if anyone else has signed in as being there and who they are...single adult, family with kids, retired folks.  You can 'meet' and 'chat' online first and then schedule a time to get together in person.  This is really great for introverts.  I'm not really an introvert, but it will be nice to instantly see if anyone on the site is also at the same travel park we are at that have kids.

*I'm not sure why I decided to start using the word 'folks' during this blog post.  It is not in my normal vocabulary.

I'm a beast...

Half-bath is now painted too!  Have a mentioned how much I do not like to paint!?  I have painted 3 bathrooms in 8 days....that is impressive to me!  We (I) still have lots to paint including master bedroom, 2 stairways, kitchen, and laundry room....and probably master closet too.  Little by little, things are getting checked off the to-do list before we can move into an RV.

Same 'Parchment Paper' by Olympic One was used

 in this bathroom 

like the other bathrooms.