What's next?

Things are starting to fall into place as we prepare for July 24th...our Independance Day!  Most of the easy things are done and now I'm down to a hand full of decisions I need to make and things I need to do.  I'm going to try to make a list here, and if anyone has thoughts or feedback this would be a great time!

Words of wisdom from Violet

My humans call me Violet except for one dumb human who calls be ViVi. I am fluffy and I like to chase chickens. I am dumb. I like cookies a lot! Especially peanut butter ones. Did I mention I like peanut butter cookies. I know a  lot of tricks.

We set a date!

Things are coming together nicely and plans are falling into place. The house is cleared of most of the things will be taking with us and I am beginning to pack up things I can make a decision about later...no pressure!

Strange Day...again..

Warning...this is a bit sappy...and not camping or homeschooling or anything like that.  Proceed at your own risk!

This is one of those days that seems to sneak up on me every year.  The first time...the hardest time...was in 2013.  On a morning like any other I got a notification on Facebook about the birthday of a good pal of mine, Doug Arthur.

The Driver....

This is exactly right...

Long week...

Sorry for the lack of posts recently...last week was a tough week for work, then Stephanie had her twirling competition over the weekend (she did great by the way, I bet she'll have a post on that pretty soon), and I took an extra day to catch my breath.  Karen and the kids have been purging things we don't need, and moving the others out to their new home.  I had a couple minutes free tonight though, so let me catch you guys up on a few tidbits we were able to add to the camper.

The bunkhouse

We finally got the new camper. It is 41 feet long. Our old camper was 29 feet so this is a big upgrade. The bunkhouse is about 7 feet by 7 feet not including the beds. I am so glad it's home!

The bunkhouse has a LOT of cabinets( a whole wall ) and two couches! And we have our own bathroom! That will come in handy a lot. The beds fold down over the couches. 

I will be sharing the room with my brother. We have our own TV. Aaron already knows where the Wii U

and the Xbox will be. Our favorite game on the Xbox is Minecraft. 

I plan to sew a curtain for each bed for privacy and to practice sewing. I have a bunch of grumpy cat stickers that I am going to put in my bunk. I am bringing beanbags for me and Aaron. I am funny about dirt so no shoes in the room.

I'm very excited to do this trip but we have to find a new home for the chickens and I'm very picky about where they go. It has to be non kill, I have to know they will be loved and have no danger like dogs that might try to eat them. 

I'm also super sad that I am moving away from my friends. I'm sure I will find new friends along the way. Plus I have lots of ways to keep in touch with my Florida friends!

Cool stuff

We got a new camper. It is 41 feet long. It has a lot of cool stuff in it.

What I really like is the automatic leveling system. This will make it easier for everybody when we get to the campgrounds.  To make it work you just have to push a button. 

I don't know why there is a ceiling fan inside of a camper. That's just weird.

I couldn't have said it better myself...

I sure love Abe Lincoln quotes...the consistent simplicity and depth is hard to find.  And...I usually agree with him too which is nice!

Reality has set in...

The reality has set in. The fifth wheel is in the driveway and we have started making modifications to make it feel like home. The kids have hung pictures in the bunkhouse and designated space for their belongings. The dogs have even started testing out their favorite places to take naps.

The New "House"

Ok...so here it is!

Not quite sure if you can tell, but this thing is damn near as big as our house. It's a Montana Mountaineer 350QBQ by Keystone.

LineX Bed Liner

Just wanted to drop a note about the Folks at Truck-FX.  They did the spray-in bedliner for me so I could get the fifth wheel hitch installed.  Jennifer was totally helpful from the time I asked for a quote until I picked it up.  Actually everyone was extremely nice and professional.  Take a look at the job they did...excellent work!

It's home!

Finally we were able to get the new fifth wheel home.  It took a ridiculously long chain of events to make it occur (including an extra set of someone else's camper keys and a last minute upside down install of our license plate) but we did it.  It was late by the time we stopped parading neighbors through it, so the home pics and more details will come tomorrow...but we made it!

Special kudos to Rob Alvarez for riding with me today.  Totally appreciated!

Here's a pic of the rig before departing for home.  Pardon the shopping cart, we were using whatever we could find to keep people from parking there.