Life as a Yowler

We are on our way to Sioux Falls, South Dakota with Brandon for a buisness meeting. We have a couple stops along the way. This is just a short motor home trip. We wanted to take the motor home out to test and make sure everything is working before the big trip in a couple weeks. Smart move. Thing number one not working….windshield wipers. This is somewhat of a huge deal for obvious reasons. Our amazing shop mechanics went above and beyond for us and fixed them. This was no easy job and it took them a long time. For awhile, there was question if we would be able to go at all. Brandon was thinking he might have to drive the truck without us all with him. The kids did not handle the disappointment well. Thankfully all ended well. The wipers are fixed, making the motor home drivable. They were being used like crazy. We drove through rain all the way until Indiana.

I have been working for a couple weeks now organizing and packing the RV. Last RV season I was basically just surviving, since I had a baby. Not a lot of organization of planning went into it. I wanted to do it different this time and plan ahead. I tried to utilize all the space this RV has. I packed as many clothes as I could possibly fit. I learned from last year, we didn’t have nearly enough. I also packed more shoes. I put the extra pairs that didn’t fit in the RV, down below the in a storage tote. I am working on trying to make some food ahead of time and plan out meals better.

My kids don’t watch a lot of TV at home, but it’s a necessity in the RV while we are driving. One of the hardest things about traveling is keeping all the movies organized. DVD cases fly everywhere and movies don’t get put away when the kids are done watching them. I end up getting frustrated at the kids and have a mess to clean up at the end of the day. This time I wanted to be smarter. I ordered CD cases, one for each of the oldest kids. I stuffed them with each of their favorite DVD’s and left the movie cases at home. It’s working so much better. This RV has so many DVD players. Each bunk bed has a TV and DVD player at the end of it. The back bedroom and living room also have TV’s and DVD players. You can imagine how easy it is to get a little crazy.

I tried to pack a lot of educational movies, so they are at least learning something while watching.

Joah made a point of reminding me to remember our autograph books we started last year. We are hoping to get some more signatures when we head to Florida.

At home, my kids always listen to odyssey falling asleep. I wanted to try to keep their routine as close to the same as I can. I ordered a new set of Odyssey CD’s, that the kids are excited to listen to at night. We even brought the CD player. I know I’m old school, but we still prefer CD’s.

Brielle got this as a birthday gift from uncle Trent and aunt Kiersten.  We’ve been waiting to use it until we RV. We shouldn’t have a problem finding all the lisence plates.

I also was reminded to bring the kids cameras. The three oldest have V-tech cameras, which they all love. They love to take their own pictures of the sites they see. It’s fun for me to see what they choose to photograph. Different kids like different things. The oldest two kids also now have Polaroid cameras thanks to Christmas and birthday. Hopefully they are wise with how they use their film, because I’ve explained to them once it’s gone it’s gone.

We are towing the van behind the RV. We bought my parents old van as a traveling vehicle. That way we can save the life of the suburban.

The kids could hardly wait to leave.

Joah can now put together LEGO sets on his own. This is a huge milestone and a huge relief to me. Lego’s aren’t my favorite. Plus they entertain him and give him something educational to do. I saved this set from Christmas. He didn’t even remember he got it, so he was very excited today when I gave it to him.

I also saved a play doh set from christmas.

I had Brielle practice writing some letters.

Caed has really grown up since our last trip. He is getting WAY too big. I know he will now start remembering experiences

Joah loves his bunk bed. He sets it up as his “bedroom” and arranges all his animals, toys, books, and camera. It’s nice he has his own little space. Also note the cup full of carrots he’s eating. At home he’s not allowed to eat in his room, so this is extra exciting to him.

Isla has been a huge stinker, but it comes with the age. Eighteen months is a tough age to travel with. Snacks, wiggles, and books are keeping her going.

We made it just passed Chicago. This is the good half way point for us. We are going to relax and enjoy this campground tonight.

It’s beautiful here. It’s 60 degrees. Not too hot and not too cold.

Catching worms after the rain. Gross!

Caed was a little disoriented after catching a nap on the ride.

HE doesn’t care how big he is. He still prefers the baby swing.

We are going to keep playing outside for awhile. Then we will eat dinner and make a campfire and settle down for the night. We love our home away from home. It has three slide outs, so it’s pretty big when we’re parked at campgrounds. It sleeps 10 and has 2 full bathrooms. We love it much more than hotel rooms. We can eat healthier, because we aren’t eating out all the time. And we all get good sleep making for much happier people.