Jumping Back In

We spent a day swimming at Lake Shannon.  The views were insane and so was the drive out to this location!  Eek!

Bloggy McBloggerson

I recently heard someone say that reading a blog post "is like having a conversation that you never wanted to have with somebody."  Which made me laugh because it can feel that way when you're reading on and on about something you don't care about.  

Then I thought well, not really.  Nobody is forcing you to read it, so if you're not interested in having that conversation, then don't.  Right?  Just something that I have been thinking about as I considered starting this blog back up, now that we're traveling fulltime again.  As much as I love having this written record of our travels, there was this underlying feeling of, "Why do you assume that other people want to hear about your family?"  It can feel a little pretentious if you are seeing it in the wrong light.

I put together a photo scavenger hunt while we were in Seaside.  One of the things they had to do (and take a picture of) was to make a human pyramid.  Ha ha.

My first blog, back in 2009, was about homeschooling.  I posted about our activities and different curriculum, and I even reviewed books for a publishing company.  Then we moved back to Brookings and I got weird about real life friends reading my blog.  It made me self-conscious so I just scrapped the whole thing.  But I always thought of having a blog as an online scrapbook that others could join in on.  (Remember when scrapbooking was the favorite activity of every American mom?  Now blogging is the cliché that gets joked about all the time.  Ha.)

How precious is this?  I love having this blog archive to look back on and remember the sweet and funny details that I have forgotten.

Waiting for sushi in Bend.

This blog started in 2016 when we began our travels and wanted to figure out a way to bring friends and family into the experiences with us.   It has also proven to be a cool way to consolidate all the pictures, stories, and lists of awesome things.  I can't count the number of times we have referenced this blog to refresh our memory or settle a playful dispute about some place we have been.  It's been an awesome tool for us!  

The kids were so happy to be back at the ocean for the first time in 9 months.  Jeff and I have become desert rats, I think.  The humidity and allergies kill me.  Now that we're used to drier climates, humidity feels like wearing a mask all the time.  I don't know how I would handle actually wearing a mask in a humid climate.

Jumping Back In

We took a year off to live in a house, to be near my Dad and brother.  Then we decided to move back into the RV.  Then a pandemic hit and people asked, "So, does this change anything for you guys?"  Thankfully, mercifully (and I really do mean that), we had been given clear instruction from the Lord and were able to continue on with our plans without worry.  We've been back in the RV since the end of April.  From the first morning that we woke up and sat together over coffee in the living room, the five of us have been breathing easy and feeling so grateful to be allowed to have this experience again.  What freedom I feel in this lifestyle!  Undeniably there are challenges, and I know that some of them are deal-breakers for a lot of people, but our family really digs this travel life.  Black tanks and small spaces and mosquitoes and all.  

We stopped by the jailhouse from "Goonies" when we were in Astoria.  We're all Goonie-geeks so it was fun to see the location in person.

Our Plans

Though we've said it many times before, I feel like I have to post a disclaimer every time I write about our plans.  

"The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps."  Proverbs 16:9

Isn't that the truth.  (Period, not question mark.)

We spent April doing repairs and upgrades on the RV which felt amazing.  We all agreed that there were a few things that we could improve to make our living situation more pleasant and smooth, so we made a list and started checking things off.  We got a bigger, better AC unit and installed it (which turned out to be 1000% easier than I thought it was going to be), installed a new convection oven, ripped out the leaky shower stall and installed a rod instead, replaced the seal in the toilet, upgraded the TV and got new tires, among other things.  I'm so happy that we took the time to do all of that!  

Our first real river day of the summer!  It felt so good!

Jeff and I usually head out once a week to have a date night and sample a local restaurant.  The fish and chips here were awesome.

Then we booked a bunch of reservations in Oregon and Washington through summer, returning to home base every 6-8 weeks to have Jackson's teeth cranked on by the orthodontist.  We're about half-way through the summer and have enjoyed ourselves very much while still following all the Covid guidelines and obeying the laws.  We have definitely missed out on a lot because of the pandemic, but have been trying every day to focus on what we can do instead of what we can't.

I can't tell you how much I've missed the changing landscapes outside the window during my morning quiet time.  It's one of the aspects of travel life that thrills me!

So far we have been able to re-visit a few places that we loved and explore two new regions of Washington as well.  I haven't quite gotten back into the swing of things with remembering to bring my camera with me when we go out exploring, but I put some of the pics from our summer here in this post.

Meg snapped this during our hike at Rockport State Park.

Big (Bigger, Best) Picture

The only other thing I can think to say is that we're so grateful to God for His care throughout the past three years, and are excited to see what the next three will bring.  It is surreal to look back at the older posts here and think about how our highest highs and most mind blowing experiences have been met with the absolute lowest of lows.  You can be living a dream that you never even dared to dream and then be hit by a cannon ball in the chest.  Somehow you keep moving and stumble upon another of God's miracles and you are awe-struck once again.  And that cycle keeps on going, I guess.  We've just felt it more acutely over the past few years, with more dramatic highs and devastating lows than before.  But through it all, God has been faithful and present with us.  He has taught me much about being still and about walking in the Spirit, in the past year and a half especially.  I don't think I would have received those teachings if I hadn't been brought to the end of what I could cope with.  So again I say:  I am so grateful to God!  

We are already looking forward to
our next day in Leavenworth!

Instead of me (Sarah) writing all of the posts as before, the kids decided that they want to do a post here and there.  I am looking forward to reading their perspectives!  I'm sure their posts will be entertaining if not informative.  Ha ha.

Goodbye for now and so much love to everyone!

One week along the Columbia River was not enough!  We hope to go back later this summer.