The Dust Has Settled… and Been Stirred Back Up!

Whew!! I will be completely honest and admit that I had expected myself to have at least a dozen blog posts by now; a month since we arrived in Williston! Yet here I sit, writing my first one, which will end up being about why I haven’t been able to write those dozen posts.

We are loving this opportunity to explore our new home! The sky is beautiful and there is so much to see and do under it!

The dust has settled.

We pulled into Williston, North Dakota around 3 am on Saturday, May 24, 2014 after having been driving since late afternoon on Thursday, May 22. Yes, somehow, someway, we managed to leave Lynchburg on time – despite me getting very sick for two of the last three days! We handed off our house keys to our tenants and we were on our way! The boys were absolutely incredible passengers for the drive. We stopped once for a few hours so Michael could sleep since he drove us the entire way. Other than that, it was a solid 35+ hours of drive time.

Upon arriving in Williston, we got a hotel room and the boys promptly woke up and were thrilled to be out of the car… so they were wide awake and mommy and daddy… were not. 🙂 A few hours of semi-interrupted sleep later, Michael got up, went to pick up our RV from his job site where it had been waiting, then came back to load us up. That was the first time I had seen our new home — and it looked fascinating as it was pulled behind Michael’s truck down the dusty driveway to get us. It was all at once much larger than I expected and also much more real than I had prepared myself for.

Fascinating. Here. we. Go!

We quickly got to unpacking, shopping, unpacking more. Organizing, reorganizing, shopping more. No problem with storage and the boys’ bedroom was the best part of the RV so I was very relieved!

There have been a few things that have kept me away from the computer – and I’m not too upset about them, to be honest, though it has been a change! Here are my excuses:

1.) Our internet is just through our cell phone plan since we are staying in a campground… for a girl who is use to unlimited data (and of course high speed wifi at home!) then down-planning to metered usage (no Spring service here!), it has been a big adjustment!

2.) No home office. While our RV is pretty nice and has many features that are “extra” – I didn’t get an office. 😉 And since Carter is now extremely mobile, I keep my office stuff up and away when not in use. When I do take the time to pull it down, I better be getting my homework done! (This managerial finance course has been brutal!)

3.) We have to get out – a lot. Well, we don’t HAVE to. But we love to. We’ve been to SO many local parks and we love exploring our new home. That’s the bonus part. The necessity part of getting out is that the boys are use to having a big(ish) house to play in and a big fenced in yard to go to. The need the time out of the RV to burn some energy and keep us all sane.

4.) It stays light here until REALLY late. Like after 10 pm it’s still light enough to play catch. The boys have had a hard time adjusting to this and were staying up super late the first few weeks. Carter has adjusted back to normal, but Landon is still my night owl. I’m exhausted by the time I even get any time to myself!

This was after 10 pm! Williston sunset on a late night drive to put the boys to bed. (It didn’t work!)

5.) Updating the world is important, but I’ve also not been with my husband in 5 months. So yeah, we are playing catch up and enjoying living together again. He even does dishes sometimes now!!! What?!?! Yeah, my world has been rocked! 😉 ❤

6.) Finally, I’m not good at keeping the dust around me too settled. I try, I think, but I just love to get involved and have things going on. I already have quite a bit going on here – and I’m so glad. I’m so thankful for the amazing people I’ve met already. I’m thankful for the opportunity to do what I enjoy even in a completely new place. I’m thankful for a new place to explore! I’m thankful that my family is finally back whole and we can finally all stir up the dust together.

I really do look forward to finding my groove and writing more. I am documenting this adventure through photos, journal-ing, and of course, memories. I will be sharing more here very soon.

 

With love from Williston, at last!

Kayla

 

 

At the Theodore Roosevelt National Park. A spontaneous detour on a Sunday roadtrip. So thankful for this memory with my boys. The Badlands are breath taking.

Easy Silence

I’m crushing on my hubs right now ❤

Our anniversary is May 22nd, the day which we will likely be starting our drive out to North Dakota.

Our wedding song is Easy Silence by the Dixie Chicks. Honestly, we hadn’t picked our song by the time we arrived at the house/venue the week before our wedding in Cape Cod. Our DJ kept asking for it… but I couldn’t think of anything. This song popped into my mind one night that week while I was frantically doing something to get ready for the wedding… and it was just perfect. It’s a bit unusual, but so beautifully appropriate for our relationship. I am being reminded of this often as I find myself needing easy silence through the stresses of preparing for our move and new life.

The lyrics:

When the calls and conversations
Accidents and accusations
Messages and mis-perceptions
Paralyze my mind

Buses, cars and airplanes leaving
Burnin’ fumes of gasoline
And everyone is runnin’
And I come to find a refuge

In the easy silence that you make for me
It’s okay when there’s nothing more to say to me
And the peaceful quiet you create for me
And the way you keep the world at bay for me
The way you keep the world at bay

Monkeys on the barricades
Are warning us to back away
They form commissions tryin’ to find
The next one they can crucify

And anger plays on every station
Answers only make more questions
I need somethin’ to believe in
Breathe in sanctuary

-Chorus-

Children lose their youth too soon
Watchin’ war made us immune
And I’ve got all the world to lose
But I just want to hold on to

The easy silence that you make for me
It’s okay when there’s nothing more to say to me
And the peaceful quiet you create for me
And the way you keep the world at bay for me

Read more: Dixie Chicks – Easy Silence Lyrics | MetroLyrics

My husband, Michael, gives me easy silence. It is something that he does better than anyone I know – and sometimes he is the only one I know who could do it for me. My personality is definitely Type A — and I am very, very much a planner. Well, this new adventure is proving to be quite a challenge for my planning, analytical, Type A personality. There are SO many things to think about, question, try to plan, get taken care of… and not everything is even possible to get done – even when I want it to be and am willing to stay up all hours of the night to make it happen. Sometimes I feel paralyzed by everything that is in front of me. Note: I am not trying to change this about myself. I really enjoy planning, being somewhat “in control” and thinking about everything. I am glad that our relationship works for us and that I can have that role. But sometimes it really can be too much for some time…

Last night was one of those nights. I had just returned home from a beautiful weekend in Baltimore where I intentionally tried to not deal with “everything”, and when I got home I suddenly remembered **everything** that needs to get done, things to worry about, how much stuff there is left to do. I called Michael, frantic. And like he does so well….. he told me I was being crazy. Yes, really. He just tells me when I’m being crazy. I generally know when I’m being irrational, but that doesn’t mean that I can make myself stop. But having him tell me (in just the right way) and then continue to lay it out for me in a much simpler, normal way of thinking, I get that easy silence that I’m talking about. Finally all the stress and chaos is calm. He reminds me that everything is going to be okay; that as much as it can be hard to just wait and let things happen, they WILL happen, and it WILL be okay. He takes what I over complicate and he simplifies it, enough so I can take a breath and see it with new eyes. We are in it together, and that’s what matters. He then reminds me that he really does love the crazy parts of me 😉

Well, that’s all the crushin’ on the hubs for tonight. But I just had to let the love ooze ❤ I hope that all relationships can be complimentary to each other… and that you have a relationship that gives you easy silence when all the world can seem crazy.

Not Everything Can Come

It’s a given that moving from a 2,000 square foot house, with a yard, storage shed, big yard — to a 34′ long RV, that will move from place to place, will mean that a lot of things won’t be making the trip along. First of all, we couldn’t fit all of our stuff in our new home if we wanted! More importantly, we don’t want to! But the question of how much exactly – and what exactly – will be making the move has been pressing as our departure date gets closer. Since Michael is already in Williston, I am left with the quite daunting task of deciding what to donate, sell, toss out, keep for “later,” and what to bring with us.

We had planned to tow a Uhaul trailer behind us that had our things packed in it. However, we are strongly reconsidering that and we are likely going to just use our Honda Pilot and a Thule rooftop carrier instead. The Uhaul trailer would be easier to just bring whatever we wanted really. But part of this journey is simplifying. Part of this journey is also me not being petrified of driving the thirty hours with a trailer (I really, really dislike driving with trailers…. especially turning, or on a highway, or on a back road, or going straight…… ha).

The Thule rooftop carrier…. 17 cubic feet for our stuff!

So we have 2 adults, 2 children, and our most needed/wanted possessions that will be traveling 2,000 miles from Virginia to North Dakota, in our Honda Pilot. Anyone want to come along for the ride?? 😉 No?! C’mon, it’ll be an adventure!

I’m still very much in the thick of going through everything and sorting it all into the aforementioned categories. I have been packing away, tossing out, donating, etc. as I’ve been going and trying to only leave the essentials out for our daily living. It has been eye-opening to see how little of what we have we actually need. As the “to store” boxes in the basement pile up I can’t help but think about how long it will be until I actually see any of that stuff again. I’ll admit that I haven’t completely said goodbye to much of what I probably should have. While we still have fairly cheap and easy storage for our items, I don’t feel as much pressure to fully purge as I normally would. But, I have also been trying my best to go through my “bring to Williston” pile frequently and determine if the items are really needed or not. I’m proud to say that my pile is quite manageable.

The “spare” room, since Landon prefers to sleep in our bed, has become my primary organizing room. Stuff to move, sell, and get out of the way goes here!

But there are some things that we really need to bring with us. Here’s a brief list:

• Clothes – I’m bringing most of my summer stuff, and a few things for cooler days, so I have some cushion depending on when I get back to grab my fall/winter wardrobe. The boys’ clothes are a bit of a challenge since they grow so quickly. Going to try my best to guess where they’ll be and bring along what I think makes sense. I have never lived in North Dakota and am unsure what the climate will feel like (hot, but no humidity) And honestly, shoes take up a lot of space! Ah, saving this for last….
• Cloth Diapers – I’m thinning my cloth diaper stash WAY, way down for living in the smaller space. Sad, but doable.
• Wool – Having a hard time leaving my wool cloth diaper covers behind, so some will have to come along!
• Kitchen items – Things that are very expensive and aren’t easily replaced once we get there… We did decide to store our Bennington Potters handmade pottery dishes and bakeware. That was sad since it is gorgeous, but not practical. My mom gave us some Corelle dishes – which I honestly have always wanted anyway 🙂 Still waiting to see what exactly we bring along for the kitchen since I use it everyday I haven’t been able to pack it and see how much space things will take.
• Baby carriers – They are all coming, of course. I feel that my baby carriers are going to be very useful (beside the fact that I LOVE THEM) as a way to experience our new community so I don’t feel bad about taking up quite a bit of space with them. And yes, there are quite a few!
• Bedding – Not sure yet what will be coming, but probably my Aden & Anais blankets, the pack ‘n play, and a quilt. We have a king bed now so our bedding won’t work for the queen size bed in the RV. Kind of looking forward to picking out new bedding, actually.
• Movies – but not their cases! That was quite the project!! Maybe  a couple of the tv’s? Not sure yet what we are doing with them!
• Sewing machine/craft stuff – Looking forward to working on crafts and sewing!

This is a common scene around my house these days… These boxes happen to be empty DVD cases (yep, they’re full!)

I’m forgetting plenty, I’m sure. Its hard to picture what all is coming as it is still mostly scattered around the house.

Many things cannot come. But this is a great exercise in figuring out what is important to us, what we need, what we value. Grateful for a reason to do this. I encourage you to spend some time to simplify your life, even if you aren’t doing it for the same reason as us!

    The boys’ playroom has become temporary storage space for the many boxes I am packing up….

 

At least the utility room is pretty much cleared out!

A “staging” area.. I set these up around the house and try to put things of the same category in the area to go back to and sort through when I’m in the right mood/have time. This is the craft area 🙂

Quiet Night

I have been packing, sorting, packing, tossing, donating, organizing, packing… non.stop.

Throw in a three year old and a ten month old, and subtract the other parent… and that routine just gets repeated more than usual… and with much more “excitement” than usual. 🙂

But tonight, my house is quiet.

Landon is visiting my in-laws in Vermont this week. He usually is a night owl, up late with me. Carter is asleep by now most every night, though I expect him to get up to nurse around 12 most nights. So these “prime hours” of the night I have been spending being super-duper productive;  It’s been great. I have a TON accomplished (and yet still so much to do!).

But with all the stuff I have packed up and either out of the house  or organized in neat boxes and placed in the basement, I am finding there is not only less stuff, but also less noise. Not noise in the clangy, banging sense. But noise like chaos, business, inability to concentrate. I truly don’t think our house was ever out of control, but we are currently getting down to what I consider “bare bones” of what we need to get by.

And it is making it so much easier to just relax!

It’s so nice walking down the hall and it almost echos because there isn’t a ton of stuff to absorb the sound of my foot steps. The breeze from the open windows can freely move from room to room. I look around and see open spaces everywhere. It’s definitely a step in the direction of our move: to big, wide open spaces in the midwest.

So tonight rather than bring the noise and business back just yet, I am crawling into bed, in this quiet house, on this quiet night. I am enjoying the space that my hard work has given me. Sometimes, less really is so much more.

Deciding Where To Live

This new adventure comes with one especially unique twist that I have never encountered in quite this way before: the many different options of where to live. Sure, when you decide to move somewhere you generally have plenty of housing choices, and you decide based on location, budget, amenities, etc. but one thing that you generally need to consider is that you will be there for quite some time. Choosing to stay in an RV gives us the opportunity to move about a bit more freely and we know exactly what at least our inside accommodations will be like no matter where we go. (Check out picking our RV here)

The one thing that I wish I spent more time on during my recent trip to Williston was exploring the different RV “housing” locations. I knew I wanted to check out Williston; but I didn’t really get a feel for what it would be like in an RV park.. We had planned and hoped to find a nice campground that has things for the boys and myself to do during the day, but my internet searches are coming up short in that arena, unfortunately.

We are weighing our options.

One potentially great option is on the table: A friend of mine locally has family near Williston (about 45 minutes away) with a beautiful farm and a place for RV hook ups. It’s gorgeous and seems perfect. But, it’s 45 minutes from Williston. Michael doesn’t mind the drive, but it would cost more than the rental spot would each month in fuel for his F350 diesel. And I plan to bring the boys into town quite a bit… do we want to make that drive so frequently? But there are definite upsides: beautiful, space, safe….

Right now, I am thankful for the flexibility the RV is providing us. It is allowing us to stay one place for a week or two while we figure it out once we arrive in town. It is probably the hardest decision facing me right now and I am hopeful that the “right” answer reveals itself before long – somehow!

That’s the update for tonight. If you hear of a great campground, that is safe, right in town, with a lake, little store, family friendly…. you just go ahead and let me know! 😉

An Official Date

We have an “official” move date! We booked Michael’s flight back so we will all be in The Bakken by the end of that week (Lord willing!).

May 18th Michael will arrive back in Lynchburg!! So, we will more than likely be driving the 30+ hours on our anniversary, May 22nd!

We hope to stop at the Great Wolf Lodge in Wisconsin on our way. (http://www.greatwolf.com/dells/waterpark)

Can you think of anything else we should check out along our way (from Central Virginia)?? Let me know!

My New Ovolo – and a bit about Babywearing

Heads up! If you’re here and you’re not into baby/kid stuff, some posts will either bore or annoy you… Babywearing, cloth diapering, birth even…, cool little boy stuff… it’s gonna show up here! Hope you enjoy – or hang in there in the meantime!

~~~

If you’re familiar with the “babywearing world” you know that it really is another world. There are more acronyms, terms, brands, colors, carries than you would possibly imagine. When I was first introduced to babywearing I thought they were all pretty crazy and needed to just relax… I finally got turned onto babywearing when Landon was about 16-ish months old and I was convinced to try an Ergo baby soft structured carrier. It was life changing. Not exaggerating. I suddenly was able to garden, do dishes, sweep, go for a walk.. all while holding my baby, and keeping him out of the way if needed by putting him on my back. He was comfy, I was comfy. We used it almost every day. His nanny even would wear him!

But the “woven wraps” of the babywearing world were still intimidating. I bought my first one a few nights before I went into labor with Carter. I wasn’t convinced that I would use it, but the Ergo is really designed for older babies so I figured I’d give it a shot. When Carter was about 36 hours old, I wrapped him in my first wrap. It was a Didymos (brand) Indio (type). He was so snuggly and happy. Okay, I’m hooked.

It has taken patience and practice, but I am now a relatively confident wrapper. I love to wrap Carter whether we are home or out.  He loves it, too. He knows when I pull out a wrap it means he gets to be snuggled close to me, have a great view of the world, and will likely be soothed to sleep. Some people give funny (or concerned) looks as they watch me wrap a 12+ foot long piece of fabric around myself and my baby in the parking lot. 🙂

So today, I received my latest woven wrap purchase: an Ovolo Fletching Honey, size 4. I had been fighting the urge to buy another wrap (it gets very addicting!) and was going back and forth between a few that I had been eying. I had never heard of “Ovolo” wraps, but the name popped up on my news feed so I was intrigued. After reading a few great reviews — and seeing that they were still quite new, I decided to check them out. Then I saw they are made in Bozeman, MT and a mom is the seamstress who finishes them off. I made my most impulsive wrap purchase to date. They are quite pricey (around $250)… wraps can go from just under $100 to over $1500 for quality handwovens, in case you’re curious… but I just had a good feeling that this was the wrap I needed for our new adventure. (Yes, my many others will also be making the trip out west with us, too!)

stalking the mailman…

The mailman arrived today with my tube-shaped package. Ovolo is unique in their packaging; they ship in a cardboard tube to help prevent creasing! I opened it to find a handmade wooden teether for Carter tied to the beautifully golden-honey wrap.. and an absolutely AMAZING salted caramel candy, also made in Montana. I gave it a quick wash, let it dry in the warm breeze that we had today. Then UP Carter went! It is amazing, so supportive, and truly glows.

I am looking forward to this wrap being a part of our adventures… you will be seeing it in many of our photos, I’m sure!

 

 

My Visit to Williston: Day 1

Everyone wants to know… “So, what did you think of Williston?”

Here are some thoughts on my brief, first impression of Williston, N.D. when I first went out — for five days to visit my husband. He had been there since early January and this trip was mid-March.

I left the snowy Burlington, Vermont early on Thursday morning. We had stayed in a hotel the night before so I could be with the boys until I left. My mom drove me to the airport while my sister stayed with Landon and Carter. Fortunately, they both slept through my departure and although it was so hard to leave their sweet snuggles, I fortunately didn’t have to say goodbye to sad faces. It would be my first extended stay away from Carter and he’s still nursing and especially attached to me at this age.

Somehow, I had actually been sleeping in that bed, too.

I made my focus shift to my excitement about finally seeing where my husband has been living for the past two months. He is pretty terrible at sending pictures to ease my curiosity! (Later I’d realize how difficult it would be to capture “what it’s like” with a cell phone camera…)

The waiting area for my third and final flight, into Williston, was a good indicator of what I would find when I landed. Sitting around me I counted 21 other people, a total of 7 cowboy hats, and 2 females. 🙂

As we were approaching landing, small fires were seen scattering the landscape. I later learned these are intentional, called flare pits, to burn off excess gas from the drilling. It was very flat, but I was noticing quite a few bodies of water (many of which were covered by patches of ice still)

Coming into Williston

I was pleasantly surprised by the “mild” temperature when we got off the plane – and walked down the stairs and across the asphalt to the airport. I believe it was in the high 30’s that afternoon. And sunny, so sunny. The airport you could tell hadn’t quite caught up to the “boom” Williston was experiencing. I looked around, confused, trying to find the baggage claim only to be told later that I had walked by the baggage window. Talk about feeling like a big city girl 😉

Michael met me outside the building, boots covered in mud and that cheesy Michael grin on his face. It was as if he was thinking “Haha, she wanted to see what it was like, huh? Well here ya go, sweetheart!” We walked through a big open parking space to the gravel spot where his park was trucked. I noticed a sign letting patrons know that parking would no longer be increasing from free to $2 per day as of February 2014.

Boomtown, USA

We visited a few hot spots in town: Wal-Mart, The Home of Economy (I think this place deserves its own write up!), and the Boomtown Babes drive-thru coffee. Michael was sweet enough to know that I would be missing my Joe Beans habit while gone and this pink coffee shack would be my fill-in for the visit! I got myself a pair of cute boots at the Home of Economy – to really feel like I belonged – and then we finally headed back so I could see where he was staying. The drive from the center of town to the lot where his camper is… is straight. There are some large buildings, a few new construction hotels, and lots of worker-housing (man camps as they are called there).

Michael is currently staying in true bachelor-style. He and a friend are in a work trailer that outfitted pretty impressively to be their housing. Since the trip held so many uncertainties from the time they left, and housing is so expensive, this makes great practical sense. Also, it is pretty awesome. There is a hotel next to where they are parked — but I requested to be able to stay in there with them. Anyway, they are parked amongst many other campers, large trucks, trailers, etc. The lot is pretty open to the elements and I was fairly convinced we could blow over any minute. The wind is so, so incredibly strong. Wow.

I was so excited to see a tumbleweed!

What do I think of Williston? It’s windy.

We went by the jobsite where Michael is working to get our roomy, Josh, after work. More BIG housing! It is amazing to think there are enough people to need all this housing that is going up. But there are.. We spent the rest of the night relaxing and I got to experience the “normal” for Michael. Although I am glad that we won’t be living like this when we move out, I really didn’t mind it at all for myself. It’s not something I would choose to raise the boys in, given a better alternative (a 6×16 trailer full-time with 2 young boys on its own is a bad idea!), but it has its perks. Living is simple, cozy, affordable, and they are a part of something that will be marked in history.

Here are some pictures of the guys’ accommodations.

Josh mounted a flag to the trailer. 🙂

Neighbors

Man-life. View from the top bunk.

I cooked dinner one night. It was things like this that I enjoyed seeing and doing so I could picture it while I’m not there.

Choosing Our RV

When we started discussing our move to Williston, we assumed that we would look for an apartment (isn’t that what you do when you go somewhere new, usually??) and stay there for a while. But we realized before long that an alternative might be a better fit for us. What if Michael got a different opportunity somewhere, and we were tied to a lease? With Williston rental prices the highest in the country, what would we need to sacrifice in order to get a place that was both safe and comfortable? So, the option of purchasing an RV came up. At first, the idea was almost comical: “Right! Like a family could really live in an RV?!?!” But then I took the handy google search and found that not only is it completely doable, a lot of people actually LOVE it. And these RV’s are nothing like what I was picturing! These things actually had bedrooms!

What I was picturing…

We decided to move forward with finding an RV to invest in. There are more options in RVs than I could have ever imagined. While I completely believe that we could live in the most basic, fixer-upper there is, we decided to put together a list of things we would like to have in our RV, ideally, since it would be our home for an extended period of time. Here’s the list that I came up with (after learning that these were even options.. I didn’t know half of the choices when I started looking!)

• Two bedrooms: a “master” and a room for the boys
  – This later expanded to a more specific description for the boys’ room that included sleeping space low to the ground, good storage  space, and a floor area for playing
• A slide-out in the living area to make a larger space for playing
• A bathtub! Even a smaller than normal one, a bathtub is a must for our boys!
• U-shaped dining table/seating
• A fully-equipped kitchen
• As much storage as possible!
• Outdoor kitchen
• Separate door to the bathroom from outside

As far as all the nitty-gritty mechanical details of the RV, I let Michael worry about those! Something that looked pretty wouldn’t be a negative, either. 😉

After lots of searching, we found one that fit all of the wish list items above (and apparently has some cool features that Michael cares about, too. Ha!)

I am very curious to learn from experience what “wish list” items I overlooked and what doesn’t really matter that I thought did. I’ll be sure write about that once we are settled in!

Here is a link to the brochure: http://heartlandrvs.com/index.php?p=35&c=lightweight&sc=WD&i=WD+3150+DS&view=floorplans&fcmd=showfplan
And here are some photos:

 

 

Our Big Announcement

It’s time for the next chapter of our story to be written. It’s time for a journey.

In just 5 weeks, the boys and I will be making the trip across the country to join Michael where he has been working in Williston, North Dakota since January. This drive will make our trips back and forth to Vermont seem like a trip across town, so Michael will be flying back to help pack us up and drive us out.

It’s a one-way trip. At least for now.

We had discussed having the boys and myself go out for a few weeks at a time. But over time, we came to realize that right now the most important thing to our family – is our family.

If you know me, you know I’m a planner. I need my plans. They give me something to hold onto – to shape my life around. I’m letting go of that, at least more than I ever have before. We have plans… but the beauty of this announcement is that I don’t have all the details to share with you. You will discover them with us as we go on this adventure.

An adventure.

The sky is so big.

I was so scared of this when we first started talking about the possibility of turning our plan of a few weeks’ trip out to visit into a more long-term arrangement. It hasn’t been all easy to come to this feeling of excitement about our upcoming adventure. But I can say I am truly excited. To explore another part of the country. To let go of some of my obligations and shift my focus. To see my husband more than once every five weeks. But especially to be together, as a family.

In order for this adventure to take place, we have had to make some pretty significant choices and changes to our lifestyle.

We will be living in an RV.

Where memories will be made.

Williston has the highest rental prices in America. (http://www.businessinsider.com/williston-nd-rent-story-2014-2) So, RV living makes financial sense. But, more importantly to us, choosing an RV provides us with the ability to truly embrace this next stage of our life as an adventure. We have no plans to sell our house, but also want to be able to follow an adventitious opportunity if another comes up.

This is a big change. Even though we are not selling our house and having to fit ALL our belongings into the RV, we are only bringing the essentials. We are selling, donating, trashing quite a bit. The rest of our stuff is being stored. I’ll save that topic for another post.. because it has been eye-opening to start packing the materialistic part of our lives into boxes the last couple of weeks!

I plan to document this journey. I am so, so excited for this next part of our lives – and that it means we get to be together as a family for it! You can subscribe to this blog if you’re curious to follow along. More fun to come, but that’s all the announcing for tonight!