Christmas in the Trailer

Santa snuck up on us in the hotel lobby

  Well, if you're keeping tabs on us, we still haven't been able to move back to Golden. The creek is as high as ever and surprisingly not melted yet! This put a little hitch in our plans this weekend because we had family visiting. We plan on spending this Christmas here in Colorado so our East Coast grandparents came to us and boy did we start the Holiday Festivities with a bang!




We brought them up to see Buffalo Bills Grave
 

The Grandparents took the boys ice skating
 

 

Breakfast in town

We made sugar cookies. This was an all day event!

We finished the evening by stringing popcorn and cranberries. We felt  old school, hope the kids enjoyed it

Go RVing!

      Go RVing! It's a sticker on the back of our friends trailer. We say it whenever things get way too complicated with our fifth wheel. Sometimes people thing we're on a never ending vacation and we say this phrase to ourselves because it makes us laugh. You have to keep your sense of humor when you live on the road...otherwise you'll probably end up in tears in a straight jacket. This was one of those weeks. You turn on the news and they say something like "Good news, it's not negative today." Well yee haw. You know you're insane when you cheer for weather in the teens! Let me back up...
        We knew the temperature was going to drop and that there would be snow. Up to this point, this season, the snow has been minimal and has melted pretty fast. On Sunday, Ian tried to gather some supplies and skirt the trailer for extra insulation. We've had heat tape on our water hose for a while so we were ready enough. I stocked up on groceries because I do not like to drive in the snow. I'm actually a bit afraid of being stranded on the road with three children in a ditch with no family around, so my motto is "it's not worth it." When I woke up on Wednesday morning, the water in the kitchen and the kids bathroom was frozen in the pipes. I was just grateful for the water in our bathroom working. Hooray for hot showers! I did dishes in the bathroom and overall I didn't get my feathers too ruffled. This stuff happens. It would have helped if our whole trailer was skirted, but Ian's been working overtime and well, this stuff just happens. The next day, all of the water was frozen. This was starting to get old. Ian asked me to go to the store and pick up supplies so he could insulate some more when he got home. Keep in mind the weather is negative this whole time. I did not go get the supplies because I was terrified to drive on these roads . So he insulated until bedtime hours and we tried to thaw things out as best we could. By the time our heads hit the pillow we had water in one bathroom. This was a huge success. Lets get some details here. Remember what it's like to go camping ? When you brush your teeth without water. How about using the toilet? You kind of need water for that. We used water bottles and at one time I shoveled snow into the toilet and waited for that to melt. Cooking is challenging without water. You can't wash your hands, dishes are piling up and we only have so many in these tight living conditions....So you can see the tension rising right?
     The next day was Friday. Still only have water in one bathroom, which I'm grateful for but still frustrated about. That's when I started to notice the creek behind the trailer. At first the way the snow accumulated was beautiful. It looked like we were above the clouds, then it started to melt in some areas. It appeared that it was partially frozen so when the water started to thaw it was looking for a path around the "iceberg" the path it chose was covering the sidewalk and creeping closer to the trailers. I was getting a little panicked but the water would rise and then freeze again. When Ian got home that night, he finished insulating and by that night we had water! Success! I made dinner and did dinner in the kitchen, we really lived it up!

This I what it looked like when the snow first fell, like beautiful puffy clouds!

    The next day, everyone was looking at the creek and getting antsy. It was definitely rising but then it would freeze into a slushy like substance. I mean how much can it thaw in 3 degree weather? We went out for frozen yogurt that night because, well we're crazy. We were siting on the couch singing duets while Ian played on the guitar...oh what a perfect life we live....then our neighbor knocked on the door. The water was rising. That was the end of our peaceful night. Ian started helping some of the neighbors that were already getting water creeping up on their rigs. Some people moved forward a few feet, some people didn't and this is what happened  to their trailer.

The jacks were covered in ice. The fire department came, at one point they said evacuate, then they said we were on pre evacuation status. We were told there would be cots for us waiting at the rec center. I did not find this comforting at all. All of my children were asleep. It all happened between 9:30 and midnight. It was one of those should we stay or should we go moments. At one point we were near the creek and we could hear the ice breaking and water flowing. It was so creepy. I packed a few days worth of clothes in my car along with the laptops and school stuff. Grabbed my insurance papers and declared I was leaving. Ian  tried calming me down and we decided to sleep in our clothes and wait for the fire department to come knocking on our door to evacuate us.
    We woke up and were surprised to see no water under our trailer. Again it was that decision, do we wait it out? Will it really happen? It's not super easy packing everything up. It's possible but it's definitely a hassle. Kids bikes and nerf guns are everywhere and we just put the skirting up on the bottom. You also risk all of your pipes freezing up in transport, and we just got our precious water back. So we waited for something to happen until my mommy hormones kicked in again and I declared we were leaving. I just can't wait for something bad to happen , you know? So my husband didn't protest, he packed up everything and we got to a new park. The whole time Ian was helping older couples get their stuff all packed up and moving people rigs for them. He's quite a stud muffin my man. So it's no surprise that Fox news wanted to interview him. He told us about it but we didn't think the clip would be so classic. I don't know if it's because I love pictures so much, or it's my husbands love for facial hair or if it's just that my knight in shining armor got me out of there. I got such a kick of the interview and I'm so proud of my man. Here's the YouTube complete with family commentary in the background. Enjoy.

This was Friday morning when the water started to thaw. Who knows how this weeks weather will affect it.

I admit I'm horrible at this!

I have to tell you, I have such blogger guilt. There are so many times when I'm taking out the trash or folding laundry and I write up a post in  my head. The thing is I never sit down in front of my computer anymore. Our little guy doesn't take 2 naps anymore so that has cut down on my free time. The other thing is our oldest boy uses this computer for school. He's reading right now so I am bringing you an update in the 15 minutes that I have! We're getting ready to spend Christmas in the trailer. Last year we went to see family on the East Coast but this year we plan on staying put. Can't wait to see how that goes. We had a really fun November, Here are some of our highlights...

Halloween! Okay it wasn't November but I love this picture , so I'm including it. It was so cold and windy Halloween. We trick or treated from 6 to 7:30. Everyone looked at us like we were  loony because we were the first ones out in the neighborhood but it was so flipping cold that I'm glad we started early! The boys mocked me for bringing gloves but soon they each had one of my gloves on each hand...So silly these Californians!

Then we had a visit from our California Grandparents! It was so fun to have family visit us and show them how we do things in the trailerhood. We went to red rocks amphitheater and explored and of course we had to take them to our favorite ice cream spot. We didn't realize how much we missed home until they brought a little bit of home to us.

I took the boys to Garden of the Gods. I would love to spend more time there. It really wasn't what I expected. If you didn't know, it is an amazing free National Natural Landmark. It was free because at one time it was owned by a private citizen and he gifted it to Colorado Springs on a condition that it would remain a free park. How cool is that. We took a picnic and did a little exploring. It was amazing to be looking up a crazy narrow red rock jutting out of the earth and then realize there's a person rock climbing up at the top. It gave my boys wild ideas.

This would bring us to Thanksgiving. We decided to smoke a turkey on our Weber. Ian did and amazing job. It was a huge turkey and not a small task. He spent hours outside basting it with butter. In the end it had an amazing smokey flavor and we had enough food to feed a small army. Which we did. WE had our friends over which meant 6 kids and 4 adults in our trailer. It worked out perfectly , it was a memory I will always treasure. Oh yeah! Also, the day before Thanksgiving I got my act together and we cut out hand prints and wrote down things we were grateful for and made a Thankful Tree. I'm keeping it up for a while. We're working on teaching our kids to be grateful for what we have. It's probably going to take us their whole childhood to drive in that point, but with Christmas coming, its worth trying to reiterate it. Also, I really like our thankful tree.

Okay I know this was short and sweet, but that's a bit more practical for me. I'm going to try to work on a home school resources page. I would love to get that going. Our homeschooling takes up most of my time these days. Its a lot of work but it's also very rewarding. Hope all is well in your hood. P.S We are getting tons of snow today.

We also made snowflakes out of coffee filters, so it's snowing outside and inside.

Accidental Home Schooling Momma

    

     Hey all ! I know I've been MIA for a while. It's hard to keep anything routine when we are constantly making changes ourselves. That and having a toddler keeps me with minimal if any free time. One of the changes we made was moving to a new park. That in itself is quite a story, but since I have so much to tell you and so little time to write, I'll just say that there were only 20 or so spots for the winter and in order to secure one of them I found myself and the children on the front porch of the RV park office at 5 am on a Wednesday. So to make that long story short, we are now in Golden Colorado. It's a quaint town with a really cool downtown area that is in walking distance of our park. There is also a park , rec center  and library down the street. We are on Clear Creek so there is a walking path right behind u. Which is cool, unless Ian's barbecuing, in that case we have many people trying to invite themselves to dinner , which annoys Ian, but oh well. A small price to pay for the comforts of this beautiful little town. It feels good to be further away from the big city too.
     
    At the same time as our move, I was starting to have some problems with our school situation. You may or may not know that I have been using a charter school through California. It was completely online which I felt comfortable with. It was a great transition for us last year. I was able to see how my kids classes were organized and I felt they would be in sync with the California school system if we were to go back suddenly. Remember we had struck out on the road as a trial. We knew Ian would have to be on the road for a few more years and we didn't want him to miss out on our youngest first year of life. Once we got the hang of it, we felt it wasn't as much of a sacrifice to be on the road as it would be to be a family split up across the country. So we finished our first school year but I had noticed some hiccups along the way. Last year my first grader finished his school day in record time and while he was doing well at school I thought maybe he needed to be more challenged. Another issue I had was that he did not do as much writing as I thought he should, so I supplemented his writing and practiced on his form which I thought needed MUCH improvement.  Last year went fairly smooth for my 5th grader but 6th grade was a whole new beast. If you have an organized teacher online, everything is fairly smooth. Dropboxes are in place to submit your work, worksheets are where they are suppose to be. In 6th grade we had five different teachers, some of them new to the online program themselves. Throw in some technical difficulties and I felt like we were spending most of our times trying to find the work or get on the correct web page or email the teacher to see where the dropboxes were. I was getting very frustrated while  emailing 3 to 4 teachers a day. Then there was the art projects. Those were enough for me to pull my hair out. I like art and I think it's a great way to let creativity bloom but these art projects were tied to history and I often found myself trying to make an impossible project like constructing a castle out of cardboard boxes, which is near impossible when you have the space limitation of  a fifth wheel and I thought it was unfair that we should lose points or have our grade effected for something like that.
     So all of this really pushed me to thinking  that maybe I could find a curriculum that would  work better for us. I never in a million years thought of being a homeschool mom. To be honest I've been quite the opposite. I am terrified that my kids will be behind or lacking in a certain are and it will be all my fault. This is a serious issue for me, but with that kind of thinking I have been very critical of other programs and I have seen what my kids have and haven't learned and who knows more about what skills my kids are lacking other than me? So I have been researching curriculum's and methods of teaching. I plan on adding a section to this blog for homeschooling information, so I can pass along the things I have found. You never know what will help someone else who might find themselves in a situation like ours. Of course I realize that what works for one child or family for that matter doesn't always work for another, but it seems like the thing one home school mom says to another "you just have to do your research." Well, I will post for you what I have looked into and my thoughts on it.
      I would like to conclude from this post that I am NOT in any way an over achiever. You may remember my amazing idea to keep my toddler occupied, while we do school, from my last post. Yeah, that has really fell by the wayside. My boxes are all mixed together, we have a puzzle here and an instrument there. I haven't purchased any special snacks for him and he is currently watching Sesame Street. We are going to the library in a bit so I don't feel too terrible about it. I would also like to urge my friends to not be too concerned about me, although it might appear that I've lost my mind, I assure you I will not start telling you to pull your kids out of school, start wearing flowing skirts and  tye dyes or stop wearing make up. In fact I felt like after talking to a friend yesterday I had to wear a cheetah print sweater just so I knew I was anything but a stereo typical homeschooling momma. Not that there's a darn thing wrong with the pioneers of homeschooling , I sure have a lot to learn. It's just I feel like such an unlikely candidate. In fact I'm quite an accidental home schooling momma.

Disclaimer--I am quite aware that there are many run on sentences in my blogs. I assure you I do know how to write a proper sentence, however I read somewhere that you should blog as if you were talking to a good friend. Apparently, it makes a much more interesting reading experience. So there you have it, never fear, my kids are in good hands! ~Kristina

Home EC and Homeschool tricks

   Hello, from Denver! I'm so sorry I haven't written. I had such a great summer. The boys and I went to visit family that we hadn't seen in a while and that took us to North Carolina, Maryland and a few states in between! We came back refreshed and ready to take on the school year. I also did a lot of reading this summer. I have been totally sucked into the Voyager series by Diana Gabaldon and I'm still trying to extract myself. So that's where I've been in my free time. Last week we started kicking our butts in gear, getting ready for school . I was trying to organize myself for weeks in order to make our home schooling go as smooth as possible. So when I asked the boys to tidy up their room last week, they obliged me by throwing everything into the closet and then I exploded. In my haste, I grounded them from all electronics for the rest of the day. I don't know where you are but here in Denver it has been in the 90's and all of the public pools, mini golf's etc are closed down because Denver has already started school. So I had to think of something to keep them busy.
    This led to our day of cooking. We started off making meatballs. This was a big deal because I have a child who doesn't like to get his hands dirty. I made these boys chop garlic, measure oregano, cracking eggs, crumbling crackers (we ran out of breadcrumbs.) I admit, this day was much more hands on for me then I had anticipated, but we went with it. I had to make dinner anyways. After I made my children slave over the stove ...OK I fried them up, but they did roll the balls, we threw our meatballs into the crock pot and I let them choose a dessert to make. My oldest chose a chocolate pie out of our family's favorite Hershey cookbook. This was extremely exciting for them. Our toddler especially. One of the boys showed him how to pull up his chair to the counter. I am really regretting that they did this. He helps with dinner every night now, but the pie making was great fun. He took every task very seriously. I was trying to sneak him chocolate and he kept putting it  in the bowl. He was in a rare mood. Around 4 in the afternoon , we started the laborious task of making home made noodles. I tried this out with my mom this summer and we loved it. It took forever to make but fresh noodles are the best.

     If you didn't know, I am an extreme Master Chef fan. It is my favorite show. The boys watch it with me every week and they had an episode where they made noodles in the wilderness with nothing but egg , flour and a rock. Very impressive, so we were convinced we could manage. If you didn't know, Master Chef is coming out with a kid version of it's show in September and we are really excited for it. I'm grooming my children to become chefs. I feel confident that I can get at least one to cook professionally. My personal goal is to have them duel it out in the kitchen over the holidays and I can reap the rewards of their labors. Of course this is a long term plan....ANYWAYS!
    They were so impressed with themselves. I was equally impressed by how many dishes we dirtied and how exhausted I was afterwards. I think it took me a week to recover. I went back to reading, it was much less tiring, but I kept thinking of back in the day, when there was settlers in the colonies and parents taught their kids everything and every one was so self sufficient. Can you imagine teaching your child to survive in a world without so many conveniences? There's a pin on pinterest, that haunts me. It has ages that your child should have learned tasks by different ages. It overwhelms me, thinking of the things they still haven't mastered. Maybe not the best frame of mind to start home schooling but maybe it is. I don't know.

 
 I remember starting home school last year and after the first week, I drove by the public schools in the area to see what my other options were. I was so overwhelmed but I feel pretty strongly that having my kids switch schools several times during a school year is unfair to them. I have no way of telling when or how often we move. So homeschooling works for us. I am happy to say that this week has gone very smoothly. The programs with our online school are very familiar to us and I planned crock pot meals this week so I wouldn't have to juggle it all. My biggest concern was what Waylon was going to do, while my attention was on the older boys. Last year he was crawling on the ground attempting to get at the computer wires. Now a toddler, I didn't think he would care for all of us ignoring him all day. I received a brilliant idea from a friend. I do not take credit in any way for this but am so excited about it. She instructed me to come up with several different boxes of activities to occupy his time. I came up with three. These items are not to be brought out until it is school time. They are put away after school and I give him each item one at a time. So he doesn't get a box of new stuff in the morning, I dole out a new toy which is expected to keep him busy for about 15 minutes. So in essence I have my own little preschool boxes for him and it trains him to be in the mind set of school when we are. I have things like a puzzle, a special school snack, a new book, a tambourine, play food, an educational DVD, a hammer and foam board or Crayola's color wonder pages and markers and a cool superhero costume. On a side note I scored a slew of incredibly cool Halloween costumes at a second hand store! This approach has really helped keep him busy. Yes he still is coming up to me every 15 minutes or so when he is bored of whatever he's got, but I feel like he's staying active and at least I have something to give him instead of sitting him in front of PBS until nap time. Which, on occasion,  I've totally done, who hasn't? So day three of homeschooling has gone quite well, I'll keep you posted.
    

Summertime!

Rocky Mountain National Park

  Summer is in full swing over here in Denver! I've thought about sitting down and writing many times, but thinking about sitting down is as far as that thought got. We've been keeping busy with all the usual summer fun , summer reading programs, Vacation Bible School, swimming and of course ear infections. It's been super busy, but I wanted to catch you up on some of our adventures before they stack up anymore than they already have.
     We've had the pleasure of hosting some company in our trailer this summer. It started out with a couple that we met on the road, staying the night with us. It was so fun to catch up. We hadn't seen them since our stay last year in Salt Lake City. Monica and I are cut from the same cloth and found ourselves reading each others minds all weekend. I think finding a friendship like that on the road is pretty rare and I cherish it. Only another linewife can laugh it off when she hears a big boom come from underneath your trailer, which results in her doing dishes in my bathroom the rest of the day. Yes a true friend indeed. Ian did end up fixing the big boom, at least for now. It turned out the grey tank that holds dishwater and such had fallen off the trailer. Oh the joys! Next we were surprised to find out some friends from California were on a road trip and passing through Denver. They stayed for a night and we barbecued and got a chance to catch up and let the kids play. The next day we went to the water park together and had a blast. We've never had much company in our trailer before and it has been so much fun sharing our home with friends. Definitely some classic memories!
      We've hit the water park, Pirates Cove, a few times this summer. It's an extension of the city's Rec Center so it's really affordable and a great way to cool down. Even Waylon charges the water rides.


A California Reindeer, otherwise known as Elk

    Well , if you recall , when we first got to Denver we weren't really excited about our RV park. We were practically neighbors with the freeway so we've been scouting out a new trailer park and taking in the sights as we go. We found ourselves one weekend up in Estes Park. Ian and I had visited Estes  Park in the winter a few years ago when we came out to Colorado to interview for this job. It was fun taking the kids and getting to see it in the Summer. Of course, shortly after we got there we were caught in the rain and took shelter in a Chicago style pizza joint that was really yummy and a great way to wait out the storm. We drove by the Stanley hotel, which was the inspiration for "The Shining." I thought it would be neat to stay the night but my family thought otherwise, so did our pocketbook. It was really pricey , you even had to pay just to park and walk around. So we drove on. Ian pointed out where we saw Elk on our last trip and sure enough there were three Elk there again. We Californians thought they might be reindeer, but we took pictures and later on were informed that they were indeed Elk!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       HAHA! So we drove on and up to Rocky Mountain National Park. We were hoping to see more

wildlife but what we saw were some of the most beautiful sights I've come across this far. There were green meadows and waterfalls. We drove up the mountains and Ian and Houston hiked up past the treeline. Houston found an awesome walking stick and we all walked up to the "alluvial fan." It was such a beautiful day and it was just the break we needed from the bustling city of Denver.

         Houston brought his walking stick home and started sanding it down for two days straight. I looked
over from a conversation with a friend and saw tape on the ground, his stick and Houston in tears. I can only assume he was testing it's strength, whacking it against, who knows what, when it broke. We vowed to find another one which set us on another hiking adventure. This time we went west to Echo Lake Park. It was pretty and the perfect little jaunt for the family trying to get out of the city. We found a walking stick and again got caught in the rain and took shelter in a pizza joint. We went to Beau Joe's which is a must if you have one near you. They are known for their "mile high " pizza which you order by the pound. The crust is a huge braided like bread stick all the way around and of course in Colorado fashion, they leave honey at your table, which is to put on the crust for desert! Can you say CARB HEAVEN !
    At some point, the fourth of July happened. Ian only had that day off, so we decided to stay home. We barbecued which we have done a lot lately. Ian and I have been debating on charcoal vs gas grills . He wanted a charcoal grill , which I thought was way too bulky, for our on-the-go lifestyle and it takes too long to make dinner. He thinks the gas grills are dumb and burn everything. So our first year of travel we had a full size gas grill, Ian thought it was too bulky and we left it in Nevada. Recently, we purchased a very large charcoal grill and although I still don't like throwing dinner on it because it does take way longer, Ian has made some amazing dinners for us on it. He's cooked whole chickens, homemade pizza, ribs, and lamb for home made gyros. We have been eating very well this summer. Which is exactly what we did on our fourth of July. Ian made pork and beef ribs and they were delicious! We saw an amazing firework show in the Park with our friends. Waylon really enjoyed it. He went from one lap to another. I don't think he knew who was who because his eyes were on the sky the whole time. It was really sweet.
      Our latest adventure was with our friend Tarah. We met up with her and her kiddos in Colorado Springs at Focus on the Family's  headquarters. They had really fun things for the kids to do and they were all so happy to see each other. They went down a three story slide and finished the day with ice cream. I'm so grateful that we've met great people on our travels that we get to meet up with again and again. It's not as common as it sounds, I'm very fortunate for these people that understand my world and laugh and cry with me over this life on the road.
     It's been a lot of fun so far but we've had our moments. This week Waylon came down with a really high fever and he's been so fussy. What we thought was an ear infection that we've been treating with an antibiotic, is actually a virus that comes with a cold and a high fever. The boys have been trying to help me keep him comfortable. We've spent the last few days indoors watching movies. The night before last, I had them help me give him a bath while I made dinner. The next day our water was turned off. Just what I need with a sick baby. I forgot to tell you, we were finally able to move within our park farther from the freeway. Unfortunately the water in our new spot hasn't been working properly, so I was expecting it to be turned off and fixed at some point. After three hours and not seeing any workmen,  I went to the office to complain. Then off to Target to get more baby Tylenol. When I came back they told me it was on my side not theres, which sucks because I really wanted a shower, it was already 2 in the afternoon. So, I was determined to fix it. So I'm checking all the nozzles and such , until I realized that we do have water, everywhere but the shower ! Then I realize my helpful boys turned the water saver on the shower head off . NICE! at least I figured it out and got my shower in. So we're off to meet more families this weekend at a get together in Colorado and then off to Grandma's house next week, as summer rolls on. If you stayed with me this long, thank you, I know the update was long. If you read it all, you really must've been wondering what happened to me! I'm still here and we're having fun. Enjoy your summer

Homeschoolin' Momma

   

Last art project of the school year!

     Must blog... having a hard time finding the time....There's a lot of things I can tell you about Denver, but we're going to save those for another day, because today is our last day of school. So I'm finding time to write you this while the chicken nuggets are in the oven and the kids are kicked outside.
      I cannot believe that I made it through one year of homeschooling! I told my husband this morning " Can you believe I made it through without losing my mind?" He said that this was questionable. I agree, we've had some ups and downs on our journey. If you didn't know, we home school through an online program which means, I have teachers to report to and I facilitate the assignments they give the boys. Most days this works pretty well.  I feel confident that the kids are not behind in their studies and will be neck in neck with their peers when they return to school someday. I'm comforted by the fact that they're not in Kristina's school of hard knocks. If there's anything I want most,  it's for my kids to have a happy, normal childhood.  Normal seems to be questionable these days. Sometimes I wonder if I'm doing the right thing but in the end,  I think keeping our family together is the best decision for us.
        You can't imagine how ecstatic I am to get through one year of homeschooling and still have my children like me.   Friends, you may think I'm a patient person, I am not. I get flustered at the end of the day when I think we're almost done and I'm ready to do a happy dance and realize we have an art project to do. I sympathize with my first grader when he says "are we done yet?"  We have had a lot of fun and have been able to bend the rules  with our flexible schedule. We've schooled in Colorado, Utah, Maryland, California and Nevada this year.  I am so comforted that we have not had to pull the boys in and out of schools with all of these moves. We skipped class a few times and went to the movies. We've taken field trips to Chimney Rock,  Mesa Verde, the hot springs, you know wherever.
      Some of my favorite moments were when Ian helped us build a scale out of gift wrapping rollers and tin cans. I remember making homemade paste because when you live 30 minutes from the store it's just not worth it. I didn't particularly enjoy that memory but I'm dang proud of myself for doing it. I remember when Wrex had to write a poem about Cleopatra. It sounded much better as a rap but I was also very proud of that moment too.

      One amazing thing is,  that in every town I've been to, I've been able to connect with another home school mom and be very encouraged. They make me feel like one of their own, even though sometimes I think I'm an impostor. They're always so cheerful as they charge along getting the best education for their children. Sometimes I feel more reluctant than the rest, but today I did get it done. If you can't tell I'm extremely proud of myself, but I am even more proud of my children, because they have learned independence this year,  among many other things. Wrex was a bit distraught yesterday when his PowerPoint presentation of 1910 to 1919 would not work on application sharing to present to his class. I tried telling him that this was  something that most adults can't,  even do but he didn't really believe me . 
     As one son goes into junior high and the other into second grade I feel that they are definitely ready for the challenges ahead of them and I pray that I am too. We're transitioning into our summer learning program, which consists of me teaching them to do whatever I want them to do. As I was instructing Houston to make meatballs in the kitchen this afternoon, I stepped out to prop the door open with my jogging stroller, because the door opener thingy  has broken off quite some time ago. When I came back, I saw him trying to stick his fingers in the can and I stopped him because I knew he would get hurt. So instead, I stuck my finger in the can and pop tomato sauce everywhere along with bloody fingers. Which reminds me, how much I have to learn and how  grateful I am that my kids are graciously learning with me. This is one thankful homeschooling mom who is so happy for the end of the year. Now id you'll excuse me, I am late for PE which just happens to be "Just Dance 2" today. Thanks for checking and happy summer!

A clay lineman for his service worker project

Science projects

We created our own time machine

A mosaic of a horse....you could tell that right?

 

 

Off to Denver

      Hey Guys! So we found out last week that we were headed to Denver. We thought we would have until Tuesday to get here and that Ian would have the whole weekend off. We thought of how nice it would be to not be in a rush for once....Wrong! Ian ended up working Saturday and even part of Sunday. When he left for work on Sunday, I figured we would just be leaving Monday. The trailer was pretty much packed up, so I had just finished my coffee date with my friends and was relaxing outside around 11 am when I heard Ian's truck pull up. It was so sudden, yet I should've been mentally prepared to go because I knew it was coming for several days, but it kept getting pushed back, and  I was in denial that it was really time to go. So I said goodbye to Tarah and Chandra, I think we were all a bit stunned that I was actually leaving, and just like that we left Alamo. I wasn't sure how far we were going to get. From Alamo to Denver it's a twelve hour drive, but towing a fifth wheel and traveling with children can just about double that.  We made it to Green River Utah that night and stayed at the KOA. Green River is one of those towns that I've driven through before and imagined it would be the end of the world to work out there, but after Alamo, I realized how many stores they had and all of the amenities I didn't notice before. Funny how that works. The next day was much more eventful . The truck had been running pretty hot the first day and an air hose that went to our jake brake had melted. A jake brake is an additional braking system that makes it safer and easier to slow down when you're towing a heavy fifth wheel behind you. Semi trucks have them too! Anyway our air hose had melted, so Ian fixed it before we left the campground. We went through some amazing mountains. It reminded me of "Thunder Railroad" at Disneyland, because we drove inside of mountains. We came out of the mountain and there was a train on the other side of the river and amazing pine trees. It was breathtaking but especially so after our time in the desert. As I admired the beauty of the mountains, the truck was running hotter and hotter. We made pretty good timing and made it to an hour outside of Denver in about 6 hours. That's where everything turned south for us. The truck was just too hot and we had to pull over and rest for about 15 minutes every mile. This was not ideal for the children, who had ants in their pants from being in the car for  6 hours. It was also extremely frustrating for Ian who had already done some serious work to his truck this year. Truck troubles are never ending, can I get an Amen? So anyway, we had been pulling over every mile for about an hour and a half and I pulled out behind Ian and looked in my rear view mirror and realized that the dirt bike which I tow on my 4Runner was no longer in sight. I asked Houston if he could see it and he said "No" so I honked twice and pulled over. Ian however, didn't see me and kept on going another mile. So I get out and we have a hauler that plugs right into my hitch and its big enough for one dirt bike and the KTM was laid on its side, thankfully not on the road but the tires had come off the track. So I called Ian, and he and Wrex pulled over and we're running back a mile down the highway while I gave it my best to lift the 250 lbs bike back up. Yeah, that was not going to happen. An amazingly kind truck driver came to my rescue and pulled over and lifted it up and strapped it down. I called Ian and told him I would meet up with him, he was so apologetic. In reality I don't think it was his fault at all. I know how I drive, I probably hit every pot hole from Nevada to Colorado and then flooring it from the shoulder to the freeway traffic was probably bound to loosen the bike. My bad, luckily nothing major broke on it and I didn't drag it a mile up the freeway, Phew! So another hour and we had made it up the mountains. Our air hose on the jake brake had melted two more times during this jaunt in our journey.
       We finally made it to our park. Oh yes our park! So when I found out we were moving I started calling around and everyone told me they were completely booked. Some people told me that even people's backyards had been taken and that the nearest long term solution was in Cheyenne Wyoming. I called at least 16 places and got nowhere. I called upon all my line friends and everyone was trying to get us a spot. Finally a guy we had worked with , who had stayed in the company yard in Denver a few days waiting for a spot for himself,  found us space at his park and called dibs on it for us. I was so grateful to actually have a spot, but I forgot about all that when we pulled up. It had been such a long day when we pulled up to our spot right next to the freeway. If you're driving on the 285 in Sheridan on your way to Costco, wave to me! I haven't been in a city for a long time and I was completely overwhelmed yesterday. Yes, I am right next to a Super Target and a Costco. so no more 6 hour shopping trip days, like in Alamo, but dang. The constant hustle and bustle which I can hear as I type this is frustrating. I was on the phone last night and the boys couldn't hear their movie over my conversation and likewise for Ian in our bedroom, so I took it outside, you know next to the freeway. Finally I went into the bathroom to finish my call. Such a glamorous life I live!We took the truck in yesterday so I'm car less. Yes, this all sounds a bit discouraging to me too. I had to remind myself, that usually when I get into a new place, I immediately find the things that make me uncomfortable but by the time I leave, I'm not ready to say goodbye. I think it's just human nature to dislike change.  Who would've thought I'd miss Alamo? Truly I don't, because that just can't be, but I miss my friends, my support, those girls that know what it's like to cook dinner in a mini oven and take a 6 minute shower using yoga poses to shave your legs. I miss them. But I am determined to stay positive today. I did have a few highlights yesterday. I went to a park further from the freeway and brought all my boys and gave my best puppy dog eyes and showed off my adorable toddler and she is trying to find us some room there. After I realized I do in fact have to stay at my park for a bit longer, I paid the rent and the very kind manager told me about a trail right outside our park. So opposite the freeway there is a trail that goes throughout all of Denver and we all went for a nice long walk last night. It was actually very serene and peaceful, just what I needed to clear my head. So I'm sure Denver will be just fine. Ian started work today and it looks like he'll have a more normal schedule and we'll actually get to see him. I've got a few leads on kids camps that I'm going to look into and the boys are trying to convince me to walk to the movie theater today. We will see. Ill keep you posted ~Kristina

Our Merry Go Round

     

    I haven't written in a while. The truth is I didn't think much was going on. I should be working on my never-ending laundry,  but when it's never ending what's the rush? I've been lost in thought today about what's happening out here in Alamo. To be honest it's a weird place. I went to California, for the kids school testing and since I've gotten back, it feels like my days have been running into each other. Ian has worked every day since April 18th. I'm sure his days are blurred even more than mine. It's like groundhogs day; laundry, groceries, homeschool, repeat. When you're in a town this small, and in a group this large, you might find yourself bartering for items.  One day I had to laugh, as someone handed me $10 for a screwdriver they bought off of Ian and I passed it down to Cayla so she could purchase some flour for me in town and she handed it back to repay me for the apples I had purchased through bountiful baskets. We have our own gypsy trading system going on here. Then we had to say goodbye to Cayla and Mike who had moved on to a job closer to home.  Then one day I was running ;ate back to the laundry room, and I met Chandra folding all of my clothes! It was a few day before Mother's Day and I just about cried when I saw my laundry folded. We continued our Sunday potluck dinners. What a neat tradition that Cayla left behind. There's always someone by the campfire in the evenings and someone always has smore supplies. There are five of us gals out here right now.  Which is pretty impressive, when you've been traveling around on your own. This Sunday four of us were walking around Alamo, exercising, laughing and chatting it up. We are all very different gals from many different backgrounds, but we're all here together  For me, it has made Alamo more than bearable even enjoyable. Not to say that every day we have a ball, but what we have here is support for each other . A line family. I find myself depending on all of them at one time or another. Not every job is large enough to have this many travelers on your same path .This sense of community , our little trailer hood, is affected when one of the guys gets injured, which we've had quite a few. Our friend sustained an injury yesterday. He almost lost his thumb. As in, it was dangling by skin. I'm reminded again how dangerous this job is. We have these people in our lives for a small period of time but these injuries can follow them forever.   Ian has all the hours and the time to become a fourth step apprentice. At this point we're waiting for that paperwork to be processed and then he can work on live electricity. We need your prayers. Pray for our friend, pray for our future.        
         We came on the road to stick together as a family and we need Ian to be safe so we can come home as a family. This weekend marks our one year anniversary of living on the road. To be honest I'm not ready to go home. I thought I would've seen more by now, done more by now. There's still more out here to experience. I may get lost in the day to day things like Waylon crawling up on the table every five minutes. Or last night he woke up asleep underneath his bed and our days are sprinkled with baseball, baseball, baseball. But we're still having adventures and there's still more to come. It feels like a change is coming. We've been told we will most likely leave this job any day. There are job opportunities in our territory and it's time for us to go back To the mountain states. I am so grateful to have experienced this type of community on the road. All of us so different,but coming together as a line family. I'll keep you posted until next time...

Enjoying Today

Hey friends! I have been living it up in Alamo, Nevada. When I look back on the last week, I can't help but think how lucky I am. I did so many fun things it's going to be hard to summarize it all. But here it goes…
Last week was a windy one here in Nevada. It was so windy, that Ian got off early on Tuesday and we headed to Las Vegas to do some grocery shopping. We hit the usual, a country-western store, Costco and we picked up another pool for the kids. It was good to spend some time with Ian because he had been working 10 days in a row.
We also had baseball tryouts last week. One evening I went for a bike ride with the boys and was pleasantly surprised to see a baseball team practicing. I found the president of the Little League in the snack bar and before we knew it, we had Wrex on a team. Wrex is so excited to be back on a baseball team and hanging out with boys his own age. I am amazed at our timing in this and how we even stumbled upon it. We are so grateful to be a part of the team even if they only play six games . I think the season is short because of the warm weather.
Another thing we did last week, was exploring the hot springs just north of us. My friend Tarah and I took all the kids to the Hot Springs. We had so much fun splashing around in the warm water. What a relief to know there's water nearby. Even if it's only a little bit.
On Saturday the guys filled into the park one by one a little bit early. There is an endangered tortoise in the area that they work in. Their company has hired people to watch out for turtles to keep them out of harms way. They have also hired trucks to water down the road to minimize dust and also keep visibility for the tortoises. You see, living in the desert, the tortoises have adapted to look like rocks. With hundreds of men working out there on these powerlines they have so far run over two tortoises. Their company has also given all of the men a cash incentives for whoever sees a tortoise , this way they can be moved out of harms way. So believe me when I say that everyone is looking for these cash money tortoises the second tortoise was hit on Saturday, which caused the whole entire job to shut down for the past three days. There is talk of the whole job being shut down permanently, but I believe they're trying to find the best way to keep the tortoises safe and production up. So the Trailerpark's been pretty full lately. What else could we do but have a big pot luck dinner on Sunday night. Cayla and I decided it would be Mexican night and we made enchiladas and fajitas. One of the guys surprised us with some Colorado style tacos, they were delicious! We ended the night with my boys making us some homemade ice cream and s'mores. We've been taking s'mores to a whole new level at the trailer park. We're past plain old Hershey bars, we've moved on to white chocolate Reeses and snicker bars.
Cayla and I had been waiting for the guys to have a day off for sometime. We already had our plans ready. So finding the silver lining, Cayla and I took off for Vegas at 6:30 in the morning on Monday. I had been scavenging yelp for quite a while and found us a nail salon where we both had manicures and pedicures . After that we hit the spa at Caesar's Palace. With a little research we discovered they had 20% off services Monday through Thursday. Either way it was money well spent. We both had body scrubs and full massages. We enjoyed the Roman baths, the sauna, steam room, and even an arctic room where there was fake snow. We ate chick food like açai bowls and salads with candied walnuts and pears. It was the best day ever! We made it back to Alamo by 4:30 in the afternoon (just in time for Wrex's first baseball practice.) It was a huge success. Our husbands are amazing for treating us to that experience AND watching all the children. Love you babe!
It broke my heart to hear about the bombings in Boston. It hurts my heart to realize that things like going to a movie, sending our children to school, or even running in a marathon are now unsafe. I know that tomorrow is promised to no one. I also know that we can't live our lives in fear. Every day has little treasures in it. It's important to keep an eye out for them. It may be a cup of coffee with a friend, or an early day caused by the wind. I feel so incredibly blessed right now that my days are at such a slow pace that I can see those treasures. So a Message to myself, Kristina. Yes you. Remember these days. Enjoy them thoroughly. Don't grumble, because every day is a gift. I'm praying for you Boston.

Spring Break

      Hello everybody. We had a very lovely Spring break here in Alamo, last week. We ventured to the closest town, Caliente, which is 50 miles away. I was hoping to be amazed by the luxuries of the big city, but ended up realizing our grocery store/ rest stop is actually much nicer here. Still, I found out they have a public pool and a train museum. Always good things to have nearby when you have little boys.
     I turned a whopping 29 last week. I woke up and did what I imagine everyone does on their birthday. Put on an outfit that makes them feel good, do your makeup in a way that makes you feel like you really shine. Then I laughed when I inspected myself in the mirror and saw this 29 year old hipster, with her skull shirt and liquid eyeliner "with wings" staring back at me. I think I can still rock it, it's just funny how I thought I would grow out of that stuff, but it still is my comfort zone. Silly, I know. So I planned on going to Vegas that day to fill up on supplies and keep myself busy so I didn't miss my family too much. My friend Tarah and I headed to Vegas which is a scary drive. It's an hour and a half on a two lane road, which is mostly used by semi trucks and trailers. So if you want to make it there in an hour and a half you have to pass in the other lane (towards oncoming traffic.) I've never felt comfortable with that. I think I made everybody else feel uncomfortable too. Not fun. Anyhow, we made it to Vegas and had lunch at In N Out (surprised?) Then we went to Costco and Target. While I didn't find everything my hearts desired that day, we were loaded definitely down on the way back. After taking a wrong turn and driving an extra 20  miles out of the way, (the pleasures of being in a new town) I was in such a hurry to get back to Alamo. So much that, I got a phone call from Ian on the way home "was that you flying by me , just now? This ain't California babe, slow down!" Whoops! If you've ever driven a long car ride with a screaming baby, you feel my pain. We made it safely back, but after that adventure I was wiped out .

Our awesome set up! My lounge chair is the one with the towel on it, so you don't stick to it. It's classic

    I spent the next two days lounging in the sun in my new classy trailer park lounge chair. The other gals purchased wonderful things like slip n slides and baby pools. Which I am grateful for, because all I thought of was laying out in the sun for the next few days. We had such great weather the kids had an absolute blast on the slip and slide. At nap time you could find me, laying out, soaking up the sun. This relaxation fueled me up for our next big event. Easter.
      Let me say how lucky these kids of mine are. We had three Easter egg hunts. We found a local hunt at the elementary school which was tons of fun. This is where Waylon really figured out that plastic eggs=jelly beans. Although, after that, there was really no motivation for him to find the next egg until the one he was working on was empty. On Easter morning we had an egg hunt inside the trailer, just to warm them up. We then made Resurrection rolls and read the Easter story while filling the crescent rolls with buttery, cinnamon and sugar marshmallows. If you've never made them they are so yummy and very simple. (here's the recipe I used http://eatatallies.com/2011/04/resurrection-rolls/ ) Later that day, Cayla, Tarrah and myself collaborated for an Easter dinner for all the guys. It's so nice to be in a community.  I think of all these guys away from their families and I think of my brothers scattered all over the country and I  just hope that someone out there makes their day a little brighter with a plate of food. It seems like the least I can do here. Especially with such little fridge space.They have been great at eating my leftovers. I think its a win win situation. Anyways, Easter was a huge success. We had a ton of food and everyone had fun munching and chatting. Afterwards all the guys (I believe Cayla had to supervise) hid over 100 eggs in our trailer park. I'm not sure who had more fun, the guys hiding them and giving out clues, the dogs chasing the kids or the kids on their sugar high. I'm pretty sure it's safe to say that fun was had by all.
    We are now back at school and trying to figure out a daily routine. The stomach flu is still hopping from trailer to trailer, we're convinced we've built up enough immunities to outlast the apocalypse. I sure hope so, I'll keep you posted.xoxo~ Kristina


Houston making our resuurectin rolls.

Easter brought to you by the lovely ladies of Alamo

Our first week in the middle of nowhere

     Good morning ! I've been making mental notes and coming up with some Alamo stories for y'all. At first I thought "What am I going to tell them? We're in the middle of nowhere!" Once again life proves it's not about the destination but the journey along the way."
      Our first day in Alamo was wonderful. I woke up early and had the whole morning to myself . Thanks to my new trailer, the boys slept snugly in their room and I was able to have some peace. It may have been peace and quiet between 4 and 7 AM but I'll take it either way. My friend Cayla showed us around.  We finally have an address! I opened a PO Box, it's very unsettling not having an address.  We also  looked at the "other trailer park" options because ours was having some power issues. Meaning our power kept turning off. Not a great start. First we went to this "secret park" which was someones yard, at the end of a spooky street.I say spooky because it is on the edge of town and no clear definition of where town stops and desert starts.  Then we investigated "the other park," which was basically a parking lot, without laundry facilities, we decided to stay put. Along the way, we managed to pop all of our tires, on the bicycles and the jogging strollers. Turned out that "other park" was full of little "goat heads." I wasn't familiar with these pokies before, but after pulling out a few hundred of them and patching all six tires, now I know what they are! After our serious threat to leave the RV park,  the owners fixed our electrical problems. I would say this in itself was enough excitement for a day, but  that evening,  Waylon started throwing up. I've never had a one-year-old throw up before,  it's awful. They don't seem to know when it's coming, (or they do and can't tell you)  so you really just aim them at things. The stomach bug spread to everybody except for me for which I am eternally grateful. This gave me the opportunity to really get familiar with the towns laundry mat. I've spent $40 on laundry this week. With half the town's laundry machines out of order, it was a miracle that I have clean linens. Poor Ian came home sick on Wednesday with those dreaded words "your son got me sick." These poor guys, whatever they had,  it sounded terrible. Horrible noises coming from both bathrooms. Somehow I survived! Shuffling crackers to one room  and gatorade to the other.   Everyday I love my trailer more and more . It is so much more livable,  there is so much more space and  I am so grateful that my husband bought  this for me. In fact I feel quite spoiled!

    My friend Cayla, took the opportunity to quarantine her family and left the city! Actually, they left because her husband finished his apprenticeship. She is now officially married to a journeyman which gives all of us a glimmer of hope. It's so wonderful to see someone finish this apprenticeship. It is proof that the hard work and sacrifices will pay off. We are so happy for them. So they left town for a bit to get his Journeyman's ticket. I was so relieved when they came back. For a moment I thought we had lost them! If it wasn't a blizzard in Salt Lake, who knows if they would've come back! So  by Saturday, I had a little break in the action and Cayla and I were able to run a 5K in honor of the victims of Sandy Hooke. It was so fun to have a running buddy. She is definitely more compatible and more fun ,as a running partner than either my brother (sorry Nate) or Ian. ( He already knows this.) We had a few days here in the 60s but most of the week has been in the 70s. Which didn't seem like a big deal until I started seeing reports of Salt Lake and Colorado . Sorry friends out there, stay warm!

      I also got to pick up my first basket of fresh fruits and veggies on Saturday morning from bountiful baskets. Cayla forewarned me that the grocery store had slim choices for fresh produce. I'm so grateful that she was able to figure this stuff out ahead of my arrival, I feel so lucky. There was a little drama with the produce truck not arriving on time and I had to make three separate trips to the elementary school which isn't a big deal because I'm right down the street. and I don't have a lot to do. We  got all sort of goodies like pineapple, bananas, tangerines, grapefruit, Chinese cabbage and a box of sugar cookies to  decorate for Easter! In Alamo you really do need to plan ahead. I found this out when the grocery store ran out of bread. So signing up for bountiful baskets to receive fresh fruit and veggies a week ahead of time seems like a necessity.

        On Sunday we got a new family into the park. The boys are so excited to have some kids around here. The timing is perfect because we're on spring break and we need some entertainment! Ian was lucky enough to get off early yesterday ( he's working seven days a week, 12 hour days) and was home around five. Then we got to witness this really neat tradition that the guys in our park on Sundays call family dinner. ( I'm pretty sure Cayla actually started it.) I was caught off guard and you know how I like to plan, but sure enough at 5 o'clock, food started coming out of the trailers and everyone asked if we were ready for dinner!  I was not as I was up to my elbows in Chinese cabbage. So I whipped together a Chinese chicken salad and went out to feast on smoked pork loin, pasta salad and watermelon. I am so impressed that they get together every Sunday. It was so fun seeing all the guys hang out and enjoy each others company. Afterwards the guys all started playing poker and Houston  moved in on them. Luck was on Houston side and the boy cleaned house with those guys. We finished the evening off by enjoying a new recipe from the Pioneer Woman. If you haven't made her Apple dumplings they are a must! They have a secret ingredient (its Mountain Dew) Sounds weird, I know, but it was incredible yummy and easy to make. So we ended up having a pretty good,  entertaining week in the middle of nowhere.  Now we're ready for our second week. Let's hope everyone is healthy!

I am woman, hear me roar. I had to patch my own tires, because Ian is working every day, used 3 tubes of slime, but I got the job done!

 

Apple Dumplings! Imagine this warm gooeyness with vanilla ice cream. I should've taken a picture when it was plated, but we were hungry and it smelled soooo good!