Thursday, September 10, 2015

A final catch up before we leave....


To say the last 10 days have been absolute whirlwind is a severe understatement! But the insanity is over...the RV is ours, the kids are with us and we are finally starting this much anticipated adventure! I have been horrible about my blog and promise to get better but I have been so crazy-busy I had to let it go for a few days. Here is a recap...

Things we have learned in the first 4 days:
-Little boys peeing while we drive makes for a very decorated bathroom!!!
-The door handle MUST be held when opening from inside or the hydrolic air spring attached will break off and end up sitting on your kitchen counter leaving your door to permanently flap in the wind!
-The washing machine makes the bed vibrate...no joke! It's like a coin operated bed in a seedy hotel! (If you discover this for the first time at 2am after many days of very little sleep, it is extremely funny!)
-Cream colored leather is a really stupid color in an RV designed with kids in mind!
-Coffee, Gatorade and soda will all spill if not in cupholders while driving!
-If the refrigerator doors are not strapped correctly, they will open when you a hit a bump and things will come flying out!
-Trying to charge 5 laptops, 5 phones & 3 tablets while running two a/c's, two tv's and a microwave WILL blow a fuse if you are driving and running off your generator!
-This GIANT RV is actually capable of making a u-turn on a two lane road...lots of baby steps going backwards and forwards! (See story below)
-We have a master light switch rather than turning on/off each light manually! (No joke...this took us 3 days to discover!)
-Having a built in ladder leading to the roof is very enticing to little boys!

These are just some of the lessons in our new reality that we have dealt with and we have literally not even gone anywhere yet!!! Thankfully Craig and I are taking it all with humor and laughing or we would seriously go crazy!

This past Saturday the RV officially became ours. Craig and I spent all day at "RV School" learning how to work this completely foreign thing. By the time they left us to spend the night at their park in it learning to use it, it was dark and getting late. We felt "schooled" enough to leave and go sleep in our hotel. Clearly we belong in the dummy class. We made it as far as the exit gate and realized we both had forgotten to call the insurance company! YEP...we are the responsible ones taking 3 kids on a nationwide adventure!! After a 40 minute phone call, we were tired, not wanting to make the 30 minute drive and decided to just stay. Well....we learned 2 things...the RV can NOT go in reverse when the Jeep is attached to the back and making a u-turn on a two lane road in the dark is easier said than done! 30 minutes later we were back in our bay (backed in I might add!) and all hooked up. I decide at 10 pm to venture out to get us dinner and make it back to the gate and have no gate opener! At this point, security (off duty police officer) has come to see why I am back at a gate I was just at and AGAIN NOT LEAVING! My trying to explain all of this only made me look even more crazy :) About 11:30, we have now eaten, caught up on checklists for RV and  like the two "scholars we are" we realized we had zero bedding, blankets, etc.!!! Y'all I kid you not...after all this we left the RV where it was and drove ourselves to the hotel :)

Monday we finally drove off in our new home on wheels! Houston was our destination to finally pick up our guys and show them their new house! My sister, brother-in-law and their 4 kids were waiting with my kids and parents for us to pull in. Seeing the smiles on our guys faces made the whole exhausting whirlwind of a week all worth it! We got to show off our new digs and take all the kiddos for a ride before we had to say our goodbyes :) Tuesday my brother & sister-in-law brought their 2 kids over and we got to spend time with them before we left as well. My parents came over for the final send off (but not before we put my Dad to work fixing things for us and my Mom filling our freezer!) and we left Houston full of emotions...sad to not actually see our family for a year, grateful for new age technology where we can see each other all the time, excited for the unknown lying ahead of us, terrified for the unknown lying ahead of us, blessed to be able to have this opportunity to do this crazy adventure and so dang happy to have our boys back!

Today we have literally made a full circle in just over a week (no joke, Austin-Dallas-Houston-Austin!) We are back in Austin for one night (to unload the Jeep that is overflowing with all of the stuff I overpacked, a quick last minute Dr. appt and seeing some of our dearest friends one last time before we head out! The RV is as full as it can get, the kids are chomping at the bit to get going and this is my last post "at home", the town I know and love...tomorrow we are officially on our way! Let the adventure begin!!!


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