Saying Goodbye

When Steve and I first started talking about taking a six month camping trip, I admit, I never really thought we would do it. It didn't take long, though, for discussions of a six month trip to turn into plans to sell our house and camp full time. All four of us love the adventures that travel brings. It's a great opportunity for the family and you only live once, right?

At first our conversations revolved around all the places we wanted to go. I'd like to take a trip across Canada but Steve prefers the warmer climates. I had to remind Steve that parking the camper in Key West for a year was not the "opportunity" for the family we had originally discussed. At first we thought we would stay close to the east coast. My family is in Virginia and no camping trip would be complete without an extended stay with family. Soon our plans veered further north and to the west. Our kids were open to any route as long as they didn't have to cross the border into "ichigan". 

Big Day...and some trip details!

Well...it's done.  We've officially upgraded to a fifth wheel.  We spent the morning doing our walk through at the Cocoa Camping World and signing the mandatory paperwork.  We even have the shiny keys to prove it!

Unfortunately, we didn't bring the ship home yet.  I won't have my hitch installed until next week after I get my spray-in bed liner done, so right now I'm kind of like a kid who peeked at the best Christmas present...you know what it is, but you can't enjoy it till the big day!  It's eating away at my soul!!

The End of the Beginning

So we just emptied out our old travel trailer for the last time.  Tomorrow we trade it in on the new fifth wheel.  I have to admit there is a bit of sadness in letting it go.

It was a year and a half ago that we purchased that camper for way more than we should have, but ultimately I think it was worth every penny.  I learned so much with it.  We learned how to tow and that we probably shouldn't tow with a Durango!  We replaced the defective toilet (what a pain).  I built a rack for my fishing poles.  We took the kids on their first fishing trip.  Aaron and I installed multi-color LED lights.  Steph even had her 11th birthday slumber party in it.  I could go on and on.

Timeline game review

This game is great! It is like a history test for all ages! The box suggests for ages 8+ but anyone who can read can play.

It comes in a little tin box. There are different kinds like historical events and inventions. You don't need a lot of room for this game, maybe two feet. We play on a small table. The cards are very small. They are good for little hands but my dad has big hands and wishes they were bigger. 

You start with 5 cards. The first one to have no cards wins.You have to take turns putting the cards in historical order.

  

A Typical Day

I've been asked a few times about what our typical homeschool day looks like. First, I would say there isn't much that's "typical" about our family. I don't have a label for what we do either. When I first started this homeschooling journey I had some negative preconceived notions. The funny thing

Why we homeschool?

Steve and I met in our 30s. We both had steady jobs and were working our way up the corporate ladder. Life was good for us. We had a daughter, three dogs, a nice house, two cars, two 401ks...living the American Dream. We were financially comfortable. Steve worked to pay the bills and I worked to cover private school tuition. 

A new ship to sail...

As I've mentioned elsewhere, we took a month long trip up the east coast last year in our 26TBUD travel trailer.  It was a blast, but it was a tight fit and we came away with a list of things that would make our lives easier.
That list included things like:

• Two bathrooms
• More counter space in the kitchen
• Washer/dryer

Aaron's Skylanders Trap Team Review

I bought Skylanders trap team with my own money. It's a little like the other Skylanders games but there are challenges that you can unlock like Kaos' doom challenge. You can still use the old Skylanders figures.

I love it. And I very highly recommend it. I give it 4 1/2 Buckeyes out of 5!  The goal of the game is to find all the bad guys and trap them in traps. You have to buy traps. They are small, plastic pieces. There are fire, water, magic, air, undead, light, dark, earth, life, tech and kaos traps. I am trying to collect a trap for each bad guy. That's a lot of traps! I think about 48.

This game can be played as a single player but is way more fun as a multiplayer. I play with my pop and my sister. 

Traps are $6.99.

The starter pack is $64.99.

Trap masters are about $16.99.

Others are about $6.99.

Sometimes you can get them on sale. At first I bought the starter pack for $64.99 but then my mom saw it on sale for $39.99. So I took the receipt back to the store and they gave me money back. I used that extra money to buy traps. 

April fools jokes

April fools is coming up and I have a couple pranks for you today. The first is sure to gross out mom.

Welcome to Our Rear View!

Hello world!  We are the Church family.  A family of 4 with 2 dogs.  Let me tell you a little bit about why we are here.  We are currently planning to hit the road for an extended period of time...