Moving To A New Website!

This is probably crazy, but I decided to move the blog to a different website.  For multiple reasons, most being that I'm used to using Wordpress more than Blogger and would prefer everything on the same platform (like my business websites).

While we're going to still be posting about the kids and traveling as usual, we're also going to be doing a lot relating to our remodel.  In fact, we've already started on several big projects!  I've read lots of RV blogs over the past few months and I'm excited to write more about how we've made our RV work with our small children.  :)

Therefore, I won't be updating this site anymore, but you can find all of these old posts and upcoming ones at KidsRV.com.

Bookmark it and check back often!   I'm still working on updating a few little things but it's close.

~Robyn

Babyproofing The RV & Columbus Day

Yesterday was Columbus Day so I put together a couple of activities for Luke.  We made an explorer spyglass, watched some Youtube cartoons that taught about Columbus, and Luke did some coloring.

Here he is with his spyglass and his picture he made.  It says "If I were an explorer I would find..." and he drew a picture of himself finding an Indian with a feather on his head.

John has been doing some work on the RV too.  He was able to rewire a few things and move all of the Entertainment gear (satellite box, PS3, antenna) up out of the floor and into a cabinet.  Looks so much better without cords hanging everywhere!

We decided to let Scarlett have a little more room to roam but still had one little problem.  There are some really steep steps right by the door that we were worried about her falling on.  We couldn't find anything to put there that would block it.  So John improvised by putting the ice chest on the steps sideways.  Of course that was then the ONLY place Scarlett wanted to go!

Baby proofing an RV is no easy task!

Just Bang On The Lid A Couple Times

Today was one of those lazy Sundays where my greatest accomplishment was doing laundry.

Exciting I know.

But as always, in our traveling lifestyle, even laundry is an experience these days.  We're staying at a small park outside Springfield, MO for a few days.  When we were looking at places to stay, this one won out over the other nearby because it had laundry facilities.

Well..these are probably the worst and most hilarious laundry facilities I've seen, but oh well, at least we have clean clothes now.

John told me that the washers and dryers was inside the office for starters.  That was different because every other place we've stayed has had a separate room for washers and dryers, sometimes a separate building.

So Luke and I load up our hamper, soap, quarters, and a timer for the machines and off we go.

The office is probably about the size of my old living room total.  It's small.  And the two washers and dryers are lined up against the wall in front of the check-in desk.  There is also a wide assortment of dusty furniture and various odds and ends.  There were two men, who are probably about 80 years old, "working" in the office this morning.  They were busy reading the newspaper and smoking cigarettes.  Actually chain smoking while watching some sort of "call in with a question" pastor on the little TV in the corner.  (They were very friendly but it was just the overall scene of it all that made me laugh.)

So we push through the cloud of smoke, find out only one washer works, and get started.  When I turn it on, nothing happens and the man at the desk tells me to "just bang on the lid a couple times".  I did and voila!  It worked!

On one of our many trips back and forth, we brought Max with us and Luke stood out front waiting for me.  One guy asked Luke what his dog's name was.  He misunderstood Luke and thought he said Mack.  Luke said "No, his name is Max.  With an X on the end."  :)

Thankfully they didn't charge a ridiculous amount for these luxurious machines and the ambiance that went with them but they got the job done and eventually everything was fresh and clean.  And to think that I used to find laundry boring...

Opportunity

Whenever we meet people on the road, the first question is almost always "how do you make money?"

It's a legitimate question.  We stand out in a sea of retirees.  Most of the people traveling in an RV are either retired or traveling full time for their work and moving from one job site to another.

So I tell people what I do.  I help small businesses with their online marketing.

And I always hear things like...

"I wish I could do that."

"How did you get started?"

It's sometimes hard to explain in only a short conversation but I love helping people figure this stuff out.  So I decided to offer a free teleseminar through my company.  I'll be sharing all about what kind of work I do and how I got started (and how you can too).

If you or a friend are looking for a way to break free of your job (or just make some additional income) so that you can travel or just be able to stay at home with your kids, then go sign up!

Visit:  http://contentqueen.biz to register for the free call taking place next Tuesday evening.

Opportunity comes to those who take action.  ;)

On The Road To Springfield

We ended up spending two nights at the park in Cuba, Missouri.  Yesterday morning we took a walk down to the little lake nearby.  The pictures don't do it justice, it was a gorgeous place.  

 There was one lone goose out on the water that Luke was so excited to watch.  It kept getting closer and closer.  He was throwing rocks in the lake and I think the goose thought it was food.  He asked me if a goose can bite.  I told him if it got too close, then RUN!  (I remember getting chased by a few at the lake when we were kids.  I don't mess with geese.)

Later we did school work outside.  We did reading and math and then Luke started gathering up rocks.  He said they were meteor rocks  and he wanted to make them into planets.  I pulled up a picture of the solar system on my computer for him.  

He gathered up rocks and colored each one with markers to look like one of the planets.  He also made the sun and then put them all in order.  He had so much fun and learned most of the planet names too.  I love doing these kinds of projects.  It's always more fun when it's his idea and he works on something he's really interested in.  

Then this morning we were back on the road.  Unfortunately today was nasty weather.  It was cold and rainy and not very pleasant.  Even with the bad weather, the drive was gorgeous.  We were driving through the Ozarks and at least one national forest area.  

Our original plan was to drive on all the way to Texas this weekend but we decided to slow down for a few days.  Our crew is just not made for constant travel!  

We stopped for lunch outside of Springfield, Missouri and decided to stay for a few extra days.  

We found a nice little RV park just outside of Springfield (and apparently less than an hour from Branson based on the millions of billboards we passed).  I feel spoiled here already with how close it is to things!  We walked next door tonight at a local pizza/pasta restaurant for dinner.  (We also rented Redbox movies for tonight!  It's the little things right?)  

Scarlett tore up some meat sauce and garlic bread for dinner.  That girl can EAT.  I had to hold the plate down to keep her under control.  She would sheepishly smile and start signing for "more" as soon as the last bite was in her mouth.  

Once she was done, we had to leave quickly because she thought it would be fun to pterodactyl scream in the middle of the restaurant and I didn't think anyone else would really appreciate that.  

 We came back and, of course, Max had shredded paper while we were gone.  He has terrible separation anxiety anytime we leave him alone.  Next time I'm at Walmart, I've got to get him a crate because it is not getting better.

Luke looked around and said...."Wow, looks like Max went all Hulk in here."  So true.

Now we are settling in to watch movies and stay warm in this chilly weather!

Passing Through St Louis MO

I know, everyone just couldn't wait for more of my window snapshots!  

We drove almost 4 hours today, which is quite a lot for us.  We usually don't do much more than 3 because the kids start getting pretty restless.  And Scarlett definitely screamed the last 20 minutes or so. But we made it from Lincoln, IL to Cuba, MO.  

Cuba is a pretty small town but they had a nice park to stay at where we got a great discount so we decided it would be a good stop.  I need to take some pictures of this place tomorrow because it is really beautiful.

We were happy to be out of IL for two reasons.  One, the gas prices were SO much lower in Missouri! We paid $3.92 a gallon in Belvidere on Monday and only $3.39 today outside St. Louis.  Pretty significant when you only get 7 miles to the gallon...

We were also glad to get to Missouri because there was a little bit more to see besides corn and pretty red barns.  Here is the St. Louis Arch as we drove through downtown and crossed the Mississippi.  (How many times have we crossed the Mississippi now?  At least 5!)    

And here is a picture of Busch Stadium right across.  St. Louis reminded me a lot of Arlington with the sports teams and Six Flags park.  We'll have to stop there sometime and check it out closer!

 I think I've posted a picture like this one before, but I think they are so pretty!  As soon as you cross the river in Missouri, you start seeing these pretty rock formations everywhere.  Love it!

We haven't decided yet if we're leaving tomorrow or going to hang out for a day.  We'll just see how we feel tomorrow and if it looks like the little princess will be in the mood to cooperate!  :)

Camp A While Lincoln, IL

I had to include a few pictures of this cute little RV park before we leave tomorrow.  We spent two nights here on our Passport America membership.  It is a little bitty park basically in the middle of a corn field!  

This picture shows the entire office building...

It is a very clean and well kept park but is pretty much the kind of place that you stay overnight or so, not long term.  

Here you can see the adorable playground.  There is a swingset, sandbox, slide/fort.  Luke played out there all morning and loved it.  

This is the view out our front window!  (Ignore the dirty windshield.)  It was beautiful today and I loved the pretty country view.  

Scarlett had fun swinging this afternoon (except for the wind.)  Funny story...this morning I put her in this outfit and put the leggings OVER her onesie so it looked tucked in.  She looked crazy.  It was the most unflattering baby outfit ever.  Then I discovered that the onesie was NOT supposed to be tucked in and she looked much better!  :)  

We're excited about starting on our renovation project.  We've already started taking out a few things here and there.  One of the biggest eyesores in this 80's interior is the mauve color.  I have no clue why mauve was so popular in the 80's but they went a little overboard with it in here.

The furniture is mauve and even though it's in excellent condition and very comfortable, it drives me crazy!  There are also some lovely window valances everywhere that our kind of a mauve velvet.

They are firmly screwed into the walls and John has started removing them.  He took down the one over the door and a random mauve wall hanging this weekend.  Then today, he went ahead and removed the valance piece over the small kitchen window and the hideous mini blinds.

This is a really bad comparison photo but hopefully it gives an idea.  They turned out really dark and I had to brighten them on the computer but you get the idea.

In the left picture, imagine that top piece being an ugly shade of pink.  He tore it all out and removed the blinds, just leaving the nice window.  Much better!  I can't wait until the two BIG windows are done soon, just waiting on curtains first so we don't have open windows!

Tomorrow we are on the road to Missouri on our way back to Texas.  Wish us luck!