Woohoo, two days down, 363 days left to go on this life altering adventure!

       

     So I was sitting here with my family and the room turned yellow, I went outside and the sky turned a wondrous orange. All I could think about was how beautiful it is here in the Taylor canyon. Laura says I don't need to post something every day but I think someone from this family should post something so our friends and family can see whats going on, Ill let you all yell at her for that.

PLEASE NOTE>>>>>

WAHOO! 

     I think I have PART of the adsense thing figured out! But I need all of you to do me a favor...
We want advertisers to put their ads on our site but right now, when you get the update from blogspot, it doesn't count as a hit. So, if you would just drop me a line at fulltimenomads@gmail.com then I can email you when we have an update with a link that will take you straight to the site. It would really help us to generate a larger following and hence, more business on Adsense! And THAT my friends, reduces our need to email you begging for quarters for the laundry mat.
Yes! Put me on the update mail list!
fulltimenomads@gmail.com
Thanks so much!
Laura

1st Full Day

     So the First full day on the road is at an end sadly but I am sure there will be many more great days like this. We are starting our Journey in Gunnison or Almont Colorado with my dad and Cyndi so we can all get some fishing in before the big Full Time Families Rally in Montrose on July 3rd. We Drove up from Franktown yesterday and Today we were able to get some great fishing in on the Taylor River as well as spending time at Taylor Reservoir. We started our day with a fun photo before we set off to fish just down from the 5th Wheel.

     As you can see we are quite ready to begin although I think Jacob has been drinking already. Next you see Jacob and Aiden with their fish, They reeled them in While dad and I did the hard work of getting them to take a fly.

     After a few fish here we moved out to Taylor Reservoir up the canyon about 45 minutes and let the dogs run wild. I have to say I was a little hesitant to bring the dogs along even though they are part of the family but all three proved they are up for the adventure. Getting them to go to the bathroom on command before bed is a pain in the rear but we will get it figured out.

     The day was amazing and this adventure is going to be a once in a life time for the boys. If the first days photo gallery is any indication how this year is going to go, I am going to need a bigger storage drive just for photos since Laura 135 and 4 videos. Everyone knows she hates birds yet she decided to take several pictures of one crow.

                                   Nice crow Laura!!! maybe it will fly in your hair next time!

     So for everyone wondering about the plan for the first leg of this voyage this is the plan. We leave Almont on Friday, head to Taylor Reservoir for 3 days then on to a campground on Blue Mesa Reservoir just down the road and on to Montrose. From there we head to Utah, Idaho and in to Missoula Montana to visit Laura's Parents. We leave Missoula on July 16th and make a big push for Minnesota staying in Walmart and Cabela's parking lots along the way. After a few days in Minnesota, we head on into Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana over to New York and land in Massachusetts for a bit to work at a KOA. We will keep you all posted and update the plan as we figure it out.

Alan

Almost There

     After a month in the trailer,  I believe we can do this for a year, the kids have perfected their ability to drive us crazy in a small space in just three weeks! We are leaving on the 25th of June and I still have a ton to do but I still cant get this darn blog to make us money with add-sense and some other add ons. I am going to have to get help at the Fulltime Family Rally on this one. For all of our friends, I wanted to say thank you for your support on our journey and I hope you all enjoy watching us fumble through this year. When we get started we will all be posting something daily along with pictures so be prepared for one crazy year.

Alan

Great News!

BEST NEWS EVER!!!!
     Mommy's anxiety meds will be available on the road! Yep, major load off for everyone! We'd much rather you hear about us this way than "Mom goes insane and finds out husband really can pierce the side of a fifth wheel with own head". 300 square feet is a REALLY small space to go nutso in! So, once again, our super team at Three Oaks Family medicine comes through. Love Dr. Temple and Wonder Val!
     Lots of you have been asking about how the boys are coping, and while they have the occasional second thought they are really ready to get on the road. I have posted some pictures below of their bunk areas. Keep in mind, as Aiden loves to point out, if the curtains are closed, we CAN'T HEAR YOU!!!!
     
                                               

     Being able to spend a month living in here, working out the kinks but still being at the ranch has been invaluable. It kept the kids calm, we knew there was a house if we needed it while we worked out kinks, (like the whole shower issue!) and it's been fantastic to spend time with the family before going out.  We've had fabulous opportunities to say goodbye to friends in town and just enough time to fill the last cavities, see the doc and repack the storage unit. But, as every good gypsy knows, it's time to GO! So we are bumping up the date, (Come on, you had to see that coming!) and we are heading up to Gunnison for a few days of fishing with Al and Cyndi, Alan's Dad and step-mom. We don't have to be in Montrose for the Full Time Family Rally until the 1st so we are going to try and get out of the non-stop wind down here and head up to the mountains a bit early. 

     So here is the plan so far.... Gunnison for a few days, to Montrose, then up through Idaho for about a week on the way to Montana to see my folks for two days before heading out on a mind-blowing, Walmart sleeping, sprint halfway across the country. We'll land in Minnesota, stopping at Cabelas along the way. (Did you know you can camp there and they have dog kennels, dumpsites and fudge!!! I don't care for fudge but a free sump site sets my heart aflutter. What more could a girl want?)

Keep up people, we are on the move!

Hurry Up and Wait!

You can't stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.

A. A. Milne

     Well Winnie, we are doing our best! Waiting, waiting, waiting, our lives have been consumed with the hurry up and wait-s! Standing here at the starting line is becoming tedious and mildly painful, sort of like a sprinter with jock itch!

     Currently wild fires are burning all throughout Colorado. The nearest is 15 miles south of us. The air is acrid and hot. The particulate count is high which means Jacob, with his asthma, is pretty much sequestered to the trailer, not easy given that we have no air conditioning. Each time we plug it in the circuit breaker pops and the brief 3 minutes of cool hangs enticingly in the air until it’s swallowed whole by the heat. There is a certain relief in knowing that if the fires get closer we can hook up and pull out of the area and all we need is with us.

      The Full-Time Family rally in Montrose starts the 1^st so we are just kicking around waiting, waiting, waiting! Dentist and Doctor appointments, meeting with the PT, one final pedicure, a dog grooming…Maybe we’ll take off a little early, kick around the Gunnison area with our in-laws. They have patiently put up with us moving in for hot water, then out. In due to leaky roofs, then out, in from smoke and heat, then out… (I do have hot water now, AND clean hair!)

     So, like it or not, we are all learning about flexibility. Since school let out, it has been MUCH less stressful for us all, easier without a million places to be. We are starting to settle in to the routine of having no set routine. Things still catch us off guard at times. Last night before Aiden fell asleep he said with a tiny pout… “I am just not USED to sleeping with a bunk ladder right by my head! This is a small space!” But by morning, he loved his bunk once again, all is well. Keep your fingers crossed that the fires turn and are controlled, that ad-sense works soon and the blog gets some advertising and that the heat subsides or we find some free space and move to cooler waters soon!

L.

Bon Voyage Party= SUCCESS!

     Our Bon Voyage Party was a BLAST! Our friends, and Framily were there in force! It was an amazing reminder of just how fortunate we are to have a loving and supportive community to come home to next year. Everyone has been so supportive during the whole process, we are truly blessed. We put the big map up on the side of the rig and everyone circled all the places we should go.

   And then we left a book out for suggestions and addresses so we can start sending out postcards a couple times a month. People came out and walked through the "house" and it seemed to ease any fears anyone had about us living on top of each other, ultimately creating a situation in which one or all of us snap simultaneously! (There were lots of comments too about the brillance of my demands that we had a SOLID door between ourselves and the kids!)
     People brought foods from their native areas which was really fun, and educational! Our friend Amy and Ben brought Moose Drool and Keystone from Missoula! We are both from there and both ended up at Meadow View, small world! It was Fab!
   

     Nikki brought her New Orleans red beans and rice and King's Cake for us to make! Jane and Terry brought Mosticelli, Carol brought the fixings for Chicago style hot dogs and the Chavira clan introduced us to a new dinner I can see us eating on the road all the time, "Taco's in a bag!"

      There was tons more. Sadly, shortly after that, Andrea brought a few bottles of her homemade wine, which is to DIE FOR and I have forgotten the food beyond that! We are still translating the map and all the great ideas into our itinerary but I'll post the first four weeks here by the end of today. It was a wonderful send off, we truly felt loved. I know many of you drove a long way to see us, took time out of your busy lives just to pop by, it meant the world. I wish there had been five of me so that I could give everyone the time they deserved. And, to the person who left the lovely guardian angel pin for us by our bed, it is a reminder each morning when I open my eyes to be thankful for all we have and live in gratitude. Thank you, to all of you. We love you and feel so supported. Can't wait to come home to you all.