I'm back.

Hi all!  As we were embarking on our short lived nomadic journey, I found it much easier to just post little bits and pieces on Facebook rather than creating a blog entry.  The issues I was running into should be fixed now so I can post more easily.  

At the end of 2015, we hit ice in the midwest, rolled our truck and fifth wheel, and lost pretty much all of our belongings.  Miraculously though, none of us were hurt!  It was another reminder that you never know when your day will come, so you should live with no regrets.  Live a life full of love, passion, and joy. 

I needed to step away from the Intentionally Wandering page for awhile, as I tried to overcome the emotional toll the wreck took.

Due to job changes, in addition to the wreck, we went back home to figure out what to do next, instead of continuing on the current path.  We stayed with family for a few weeks and then decided we'd take on a new adventure, though it wouldn't include being nomads.  We leased a gorgeous loft, downtown Kansas City, to seek out the urban lifestyle that we'd always been curious about.  It was fun, it was exciting, it made us fall in love with Kansas City unlike we had ever felt before.  Aaron was able to walk to his new job. The kids and I were able to visit the Aquarium, Lego Land, Science City, Union Station exhibits, Crown Center, Liberty Memorial, parks, restaurants, etc, often and very easily.  Through a homeschool group that I found while living downtown, we've met more people that are more attuned to our way of life than ever before!  While we knew our time downtown would not last forever, it was a big stepping stone on our journey.

Rather than Intentionally Wandering, we were Intentionally LIVING!  We grew as compassionate human beings, we continued to travel, though not as much, and we pushed ourselves to learn more truth about the world we live in.

Travel is still a huge priority to us.  We spent time exploring bits of Kansas, went to St. Louis to spend time with some of our nomad friends who were passing through, and went on another Christmas trip to Branson.

Aaron, being the amazing husband that he is, sent me to Washington D.C., to the Cherry Blossom Festival, all by myself.  Some people hate traveling by themselves, but I actually enjoy it.  I wouldn't want to do it all the time or anything, but it can be quite therapeutic.  Plus, with the amount of walking I did in 36 hours, it's best I didn't have anyone with me.  I did however get to spend some time with my wonderful friend and her kids, as well as had dinner with Aaron's Aunt, Uncle, and Cousin.

We backpacked through Rocky Mountain National Park as well as spent time being tourists in Estes Park....

We explored South Dakota and all the National Park Service Sites there including Mt. Rushmore, Wind Cave, Jewel Cave, Badlands, and even a Cold War bunker and missile at Minuteman Missile National Historic Site.  We went to Custer State Park and Wall Drug as well.  We also made a quick trip over to Wyoming to see Devil's Tower.  More on those later.

In addition to our travels, our horizons had been expanded by learning more about the food we eat, how it is produced, and how it affects our body.  I'll probably go into this more in another post.  We have since made our way to a plant-based, mostly organic, vegan diet.  Like all journey's in life, we're still learning more as we go.

We've also worked hard to focus on ourselves as human beings.  We've taken many steps forward in the realm of meditating, practicing patience, compassion, mindfulness, and philanthropy.  This too is always a work in progress, but isn't it for everyone?  Our journey has most definitely transformed itself from Intentionally Wandering, to Intentionally Living.

As the year progressed, we started thinking more about what was next for us.  There were many twists and turns, but we've actually found ourselves back in a fifth wheel camper!!  We won't be able to travel full-time for a bit due to job constraints, but hopefully that day will come again.  In the meantime, we are thoroughly enjoying having a tiny home again.  Our new rig is bigger and newer than the last, and didn't require us gutting and renovating the entire thing.  It's so cozy and comfy and just right for us!  We are all enjoying being out in nature again.  The city was fun, but this is what is right for us.

We're so excited for what this year has to offer.  We have a couple of trips planned so far, one of which will be next week and the other will be the longest road trip we've ever done. I'm so excited!

"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."

-Mahatma Gandhi

The Beginning of Our Nomadic Life

I received a call from my brother today.  I always love getting to talk to my brother, as we seem to think the same, and have a lot in common, even though it took us a long time to get there. His reason for calling made me laugh, even though I knew I had been slacking.  He said, "How do I word this so that you really get the message" ..... (Oh crap, what'd I do?!?)  ..... "I cannot live vicariously through you, unless you spill your guts."   Ok, I know I know, I haven't written a blog post since we've been out of our house.  I actually tried once a couple weeks ago, but I felt it was too wordy and never finished and published it.  The more it's been rolling around in my head that I really need to get something out there, the more I made my peace with the fact that I'm a wordy girl.  And if it is requested that I spill my guts, well then, it's just gonna have to be wordy.  So if I bore you, overwhelm you, overshare, etc. I apologize in advance. ;)  Well folks, we are now officially nomads.  :)  Today marks day 30 of our adventure.  Though we haven't actually left our regional area since we left our house, we do feel like we are so far removed from our previous life. We stayed the month at Lake Paradise, outside of Lone Jack, Mo. while I finished up some photography gigs.  Though this park has it's quirks, I've been most pleased with the people we've been getting to know.  We've spent time with other full-timers, weekenders, and even my parents stopped by for a night.  It's really cool to me how many different personalities we've gotten to know already, in just one campground in the middle of nowhere, Missouri.  We've found ourselves getting quite comfy with our surroundings out here.  We'll miss this place, but after a month, we're also ready to move on. (The kids enjoying the last days of summer at the pool with new full-timing friends)

(One day while on a walk with some other full-time friends, I ran into the campground laundry room to make sure our stuff wasn't in the way of another camper.  When I came back outside, I wasn't sure where the kids had run off too.  We figured it out by spotting the sticks and logs the kids set ever so neatly on the ground in front of the game room door.)

The kids are in HEAVEN.  I asked The Boy the other day what he thought about living in the camper full time.  His eyes got real big as he said, "I LOOOOOVE IT!"  They are surprisingly making a lot of friends, and have actually had more face to face time with other kids in the time we've been here than they did all summer in our house.   They are also adjusting well to homeschooling!  I don't know how many people who are reading this have known us for awhile, but this is not our first attempt at homeschooling.  I tried to home school The Boy his pre-k year, and needless to say, it did not go well.  At all.   This year however, he is now in first grade and The Girl is in pre-k.  The Boy has a year of public school under his belt, which he half-enjoyed.  I mean... I think he did enjoy it, but about halfway through the year he started asking to home school.  I do believe it is to my advantage that my more difficult child has some perspective, because I get much less resistance about doing school.  I would also like to believe that I'm quite a bit more "zen" than I was the first time around.  All in all, we are transitioning into our school life quite nicely.  I'm impressed daily on how quickly we get through our work, even if there is some whining involved some days.  The Boy is actually doing his phonics, spelling, and math at double speed.  The Girl is picking up on things pretty fast considering I was concerned with her letter and number recognition over the summer. (Just a little homeschooling outside!)

(Part of our homeschooling hours go toward LifeStyle Skills... I am LOVING that they are able to help us maintain our home now!!)

Our biggest hurdle so far has been getting strong internet up and running.  Not only is our section of the campground in some weird dead zone, but the wifi here is pretty touch and go as well.  It took about two weeks to get our internet situation solid.  (Isn't it interesting that internet is our biggest hurdle and not getting rid of so much and living in such tight quarters?) There are a couple things that take some getting used to.  Scratch that, there are a lot of things that are different than living in a sticks and bricks house, but there are only two things that have been a little more difficult for me to get used to.   1: Having to climb over Aaron to get to my clothes.  Look at this picture.  This is where Aaron works. We don't have a desk in our small space, so he works in our room.  It works great for him because he can close the door if he has a call that he has to talk on, and he's out of the way for our homeschooling at the kitchen table.  But.... see those cabinets behind him?  That's where the majority of my clothes are.  I have to literally climb over him to get my clothes for the day.  You'd think he wouldn't mind that too much (ahem), but it makes it a little difficult when he's trying to type.  It makes it really difficult for me to have to climb over things just to get dressed for the day.  

2:  It hasn't been a HUGE issue yet, but getting used to our small fridge and freezer has also been interesting.  We've been having to buy less, more often, and I often find myself playing a bit of Tetris in the fridge.  

(We may or may not need to defrost our fridge already)

It's interesting how this has changed our outlook on our family. There are things I am noticing about my children that I never had time to notice before.  There are added moments of tenderness that I just never had time for before.  In our house, there was always something to clean, something I needed to get done.... just something... always.  I know that I am wired that way.  To always be busy doing something, but I am working on sitting back and enjoying more.  For instance, a quiet whisper from The Girl the other night.  The two of us were off on our own fishing.  She turned around and looked up at me with her doe-eyes, and whispered, "I love you.  I love you so much.  And I'm never going to un-love you because you are the best Mom ever".  Melt my freaking heart!!  I'm so happy I'm now able to cherish these moments; while my kids still think I'm perfect, and truly appreciate our time together.

Right now, as I sit outside, enjoying the beautiful day, watching my kids throw rocks in the lake as the dogs and the huz watch, I'm so incredibly thankful that we have started this journey.  The kids still have their battles that siblings have, but as a whole, there is a lot more family togetherness.  Life is slower.  More peaceful.  And a million times more enjoyable.  

(The Boy has become the star fisherman.  He has caught more fish than all of us!  He just doesn't want to hold them, lol)

We'll be leaving for St. Louis this weekend.  Though we've been there a couple times before, we're excited to go back and spend a week exploring some more and visiting some sites we know and love.  From there we will start making our way south for the winter! Much Love!  

Exploring Kansas City - The Kansas City Library Central Branch

I admit it.  So far, I've been horrible at updating our adventures.  I know exactly why, and I'm hoping as we hit the road it'll get easier.... We have spent the summer exploring the Kansas City sites.  I figured, while we were waiting for the house to sell, we needed to take advantage of the situation and explore the places I've been wanting to see, but haven't in the four years that we've been living in (near) this beautiful city.  So one day, about a month ago, the kids and I headed downtown to explore the Kansas City Public Library's Central Branch.  

What fun to be a kid!

The building is BEAUTIFUL!!  Now, I didn't take the time to really document the architecture, as I was focused on the kids, but wow.  It really is something to see.  The staff, from the security guards to the librarians, were all so friendly and helpful.  I'll admit, I'm not an inner city girl, and when I walked in and saw all the security, it made me nervous.  I think it was because I didn't expect it, more than anything.  It ended up being a blessing though as we were leaving because I got a creeper vibe from someone walking out..... and then standing.... right behind us, so we hung out by the door for a few minutes since I knew there was security within 20-30 feet of us.  
Anyway, during our visit we took a trip to the children's floor.  The kids spent a little time exploring the computers, and then we sat down for our own private story time.

After we were finished reading, we went up to the roof for some life-sized chess!

Our winner!

While we were touring the library, we also learned about a program granted through Harvester's that provides free lunch for kids through the summer!  Now, I will admit, I felt really guilty letting my kids eat this lunch.  I think it is a fantastic program.  A safe place, in the inner city, filled with books and intrigue, that provides free food for kids!  FABULOUS!!  I felt guilty though because I didn't want my kids to take meals away from those kids who might not have the resources to have lunch every day.  The librarian was excited, my kids were excited, so I went with it.  I made sure we gave back though, because I truly do feel that it is a worthy cause.  If you'd like to donate your time or money to Harvester's, you can follow this link.

If you are interested in visiting this library, here is the link to their website.  If you do go, make sure to tell Clare, the children's librarian, that we sent you!

The New Home

Good morning!! I hope everyone has been enjoying America's Birthday!! We sure have!  We have our new home up and running, and took her out for the holiday weekend!  For those of you that don't know, because I'm bad about writing blogs and instead post random pictures on the Facebook page.... We bought our new home! It's a 2005 ForestRiver Wildcat.  She definitely needed some love, so we've been working tirelessly for the last 3-4 weeks (time is running together at this point so not exactly sure how long) to renovate her to be in usable condition.  These are definitely not professional quality images, because I refuse to take any until she's completely finished.  However, some have been asking for pictures so I whipped my phone out.

Also, we really need to name our new to us rig, but we're having trouble with inspiration.  I was trying to think of a name for something that was once old and yucky and has been given new life... But I got nothin'.  Any ideas are welcome!

The outside will be repainted, but we just aren't there yet.  The awning is new, and I almost broke my hand when we installed it.  (Important note:  hold REALLY tight to vice grips when working on the tension for the canopy.  It HURTS when it spins around and hits your hand a few times!)

There will be a dining table and chairs back there behind the boy, but they haven't arrived yet.

It's a lazy morning around these parts so the kids are watching a movie after playing outside for a bit.

My dutiful husband just did the breakfast dishes... So the kitchen isn't picked up, but you get the idea.  There is a countertop extension that fastens to the left side that I use when cooking.

Aaron will be building a nightstand on that left side.  When it was originally manufactured, it matched the right side, but the last owners had ripped it out and turned the bed sideways.  ...we didn't prefer it that way.

New toilet!!!! You don't know how excited I was about this!  The old one was naaaaaasty.

One thing that we love about this camper is all the cabinetry! This is a great feature for a fulltime-family!

The kids' room.  The boy's bunk and play area is up top and the girl's is layed out in the opposite direction on the bottom.

More fabulous cabinetry!!

So I guess to get the full scoop, here are the pictures from when we first got it.

 If you're still with me, I must say that I'm posting this from my phone, so I apologize for any grammatical/spelling mistakes.