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.