Sorry, sorry, sorry! I know! It’s been ages since we last POSTED!! Lots of things going on, some changes and some not… This post is just to catch up, we aren’t traveling until next month so no new areas to cover. This is really a glorified Christmas Card, once we start traveling again I’ll get back to the “nomadic” posts! 

     In December we arrived in Casa Grande, AZ with the intent to stay until the first week of January. (We are still here! It’s mid March! We have two pools, a hot tub, a library, gym, restaurant, free waffle breakfast each day and good Internet. This park is AWESOME!) We spent Christmas with Alan’s Mom, Debbie and Pappa Bob. They went WAY out of their way to make us comfortable especially as they spent so much of that time at the hospital! Pappa wasn’t feeling well and was in and out the whole time.  Despite it all they made it a Christmas to remember! The boys were in heaven!

     We were enjoying the time with Nanna and Papa so much we decided to stay through January (and then a few more months as well!) Our friends, the Travaglino’s, came to stay at the park for a week, and then two and then three! We got to visit with the Perry family as they came through. We were joined by Kristi and Matt Smith and their son Stanten as well as the Savory family. Before we knew it, mid February had arrived! In March the Allen family joined us here at the Park and Jane and Terry Owen are in the area as well! Lots of friends all around!

Organstop Pizza with an amazing
Wurlitzer performance

Jane and Terry with the Boys

     In mid January Aiden decided he wanted to go to the local elementary school.  At first we were stymied, he certainly isn’t lacking social opportunities as we have been surrounded by kids almost every day. But as the weeks went on we came to see that Aiden really likes the structures of a school day. He likes going through the line at lunch, likes sitting in a desk, likes the traditions of a school setting. While he wasn’t really going there for the academic part, he was fine with it. He was frustrated at having to slow down and not being allowed to read at a higher level. He was frustrated that when he didn’t get part of the math they moved ahead without him. It provided a good opportunity to talk with both kids about the pluses and minuses to a system that is forced to work with so many kids at any given time. With Aiden gone during the day, Jacob and I decided to pursue some intensive programs to work on his dyslexia. We are doing some cross body and brain/ body programs. He made huge strides in his reading abilities but more important than that, we are seeing “our Jacob” coming back in the academic realm. His self esteem has returned, he is more engaged in academic areas, he is excited about new academic challenges and even making his own path in areas like engineering and programming. (He has taken apart his bike, our old Xbox and our old popcorn popper!) His Grandfather sent him a book this week that is really challenging for him but instead of shrinking from it, he is diving in. We are very proud of him.

     He has started a dog walking business here at the park and taken it upon himself to make cards and attach them to dog treats, then taking them to the dog park and giving them out. He has met outstanding people, as we always seem to. Last week he dog sat for two HUGE golden retrievers, who, not surprisingly, spent the whole time cuddling with us at our house. When the “parents” picked up the dogs they gave him extra money and are sending him a set of Walkie Talkies from their home when they get back to Colorado! He is also walking a dog twice a day for a woman I met here while working out. He is loving it! He meets the greatest people and we are so proud of his interactions with them.

     I have been working with Jacob but also tutoring privately online and with an online tutoring company. I am also chugging along with Learning Pathfinder, adding new content as I can. I am starting to open it up to the high-school end of the spectrum and hoping to speak with a few home school groups in Utah next month. I am partnering with a College prep group and we are working creating on a project that will hopefully be mutually beneficial. In addition I am working with Fulltime Families to implement a “scouting” type program for full-time kids. We have created over 30 badges at three different age levels. We have monthly meetings online and kids do their requirements, post the evidence to our private facebook page and then get badges and lanyards and the whole shebang. It’s been great fun, I love connecting with the families this way and hope to meet many of them at the fall roadschool conference in MO. Fulltime Family Explorers is our name. 

     Alan has been doing phone and Skype interviews all over the country. He is actively looking to leave his current remote position even though the reality of that means we will need to pick a place to hold still. The company he is contracted through randomly cuts hours between full and part time with no notice and it’s just too much stress. So, we are spending the next few months looking for places to settle that are relatively near tech hubs, but also with a low cost of living.

     That being said, we’ve made some tough choices recently. After weeks of debate and agonizing, we have decided that instead of going back and teaching full-time I’ll continue to tutor, work with fulltime families and do Learningpathfinder workshops. This will give me time to work with Jacob another year and see if we can’t get him even further along in reading. He has made great progress and putting him back in a system with 28-1 ratio in a district that has cut all their learning aides, makes no sense when we can do it differently right now. Not everyone has the opportunity to work one on one with their kids, but if we can make the sacrifices and do it now, we believe in the payoff for him down the road. We are actively looking for tech or STEM stick and brick high schools or online academies for him in the next few years.

     So, the plan is to move west, and north ending up in MT by July 4^th  to see family. By then we will choose a place to stop so that Alan can stop working nights. I have loved working with the homeschool community and am looking forward to getting in with a great homeschool group or starting a home school co-op in a community that may not have one. While none of us really want to stop traveling, the rig DOES! So we’ll “pause” until the time is right again. Until we find a place to rest, happy travels to you!