Somewhere in the Middle

“The world is a book and those who do not travel read only one page.”
― Augustine of Hippo

Over the past month, I have had some time to think about our journey so far.  In the beginning, there were feelings of apprehension and fear.  Were we making the right decision to go on this voyage?  What if we hated it and regretted going?  How was being away from the only home my children knew of going to affect them?  Would I be able to teach my kids their schoolwork and be good at it? Would my heart break being away from my daughter and close friends?  Would Ryan and I survive our marriage spending so much time together?

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”  

― Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky    

 

Realization sets in when you are excited to wake up everyday, only to eagerly see the next waterfall or take the next jaunt into the city.  Then at night, to stand at the top of a mountain and look over the valley at the night skyline; the moon highlighting the evening wonders. 

Drive from Utah to Colorado

 

 

“I have found out that there ain't no surer way to find out whether you like people or hate them than to travel with them.”

― Mark Twain, Tom Sawyer Abroad    

Marriage (on a road trip) is like having your best friend in your business, ALL OF THE TIME!   It is very humbling to be together 24/7.  You learn that compromise is definitely the better option when in need of a solution.   In our previous living arrangement, I felt like we never approached coming to a solution because we could just ignore it.  Now we cannot ignore it; There is no hiding in the other room or not talking for days.  It is in your face and without a solution, life could be very miserable.  Communication is so important, especially when living in a quarter of the space that you are used to.  We have learned that these little "disagreements" are just part of our journey in marriage.  It has made us stronger as a couple and as a family.  Our children are learning that talking about our differences makes us all feel like we are being heard.  We respect each other more and do not take anyone's feelings for granted.  My family...they are my BEST FRIENDS. 

One very special person is missing from this picture.  Ashleigh we LOVE and MISS you!

Our  hike up Logans Pass

 

 

Hot Springs

View from atop the Waterfall

 

 

 

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”  

― Ernest Hemingway

(Most pictures taken at Yellowstone National Park, WY)

LOVE and BLESSINGS!

 

FREEDOM

free·dom

/ˈfridəm/ Show Spell[free-duhm]   noun

1. the state of being free or at liberty rather than in confinement or under physical restraint

2. exemption from external control, interference, regulation, etc.

3. the power to determine action without restraint.

 

Our escape from the Apache State was May 28th, 2013.  It has been four months, three weeks and six days.  Our uncharted excursion into the "Land of Opportunity" has given us an astounding sense of FREEDOM.  What have we experienced that has given us this license to do as we want? 

 

Living in a 500 square foot recreational vehicle, with two boys under ten, and a man known as Ryan O'Neill ... If you would have asked me how I felt about participating in this test on or before May 27th, my response would have been one of fear and apprehension.   Many of my close friends crossed their eyes at me when I told them of our plans.  NO "me" time, boy farts, dirty socks, messes left everywhere?!  One friend actually told me she thought I had lost my mind!  Well, there was no way that anyone could sway my confidence in our adventure of a lifetime.  At least that is what I kept telling myself.

 

 MMMmmmm... FREEDOM:  When you are driving down a long stretch of highway with a panoramic view of countryside you've never seen before.  This is the most breathtaking, brief period of time.  A time when you desire to burn the stunning images flashing before you into your consciousness. Beautiful ocean views spreading to infinity, beyond the eyes recognition.  Hues of green evergreen trees trailing all around you; the crisp, refreshing, clean air enveloping you with a sense of gratification. The Pacific Northwest is the most stunning place to experience. 

 

Empowering FREEDOM:  When we are in one place, which becomes our FAVORITE, and decide to stay for a whole month...just because we can.  No restraints. No one to tell us we can't.  We stayed at Fidalgo Bay Resort in Anacortes, WA; BEST RV resort so far!  We went fishing and caught a pink salmon.  We went clamming and had a clambake.  The blackberry bushes are everywhere and we went out frequently to snatch up a quick and healthy snack.  The views of the bay were breathtaking, with the Tessero and Shell Refinery in the not so far distance.  The best part was making new friends.  There is something to be said for relationships that start on a whim and will last forever. 

 

Learning FREEDOM:  When in doubt, Homeschool.  Today I turned 37. Never did I think I would go "back to school."  I started homeschooling my two boys on August 12th.  The depth of my knowledge has increased tremendously.  My 37-year-old brain is absorbing third and fifth grades all over again! Of course, I never thought I could do it.  The accomplishment of teaching your kids...YOU, the parent...teaching your kids.  It is the most fulfilling, humbling, amazing experience EVER!  Especially when Logan says to me, "I love that your my teacher, Mom," then gently smiles at me as he puts his arm around my shoulders and squeezes. 

 

Priceless FREEDOM:  When your kids say to you, "We have a good life!", and "Thank you for taking us on this adventure!"  When you share these first time life experiences with the people you love so much. When your kids come "home" from collecting treasures, with mud all over them and dirt in their ears.  Simply priceless.

 

Practical FREEDOM:  When you realize you should never take nature for granted.  I will always stop to breathe deeply and mentally photograph my surroundings.  When you realize you have the power to control your destiny.  You paint your picture with the colors, experiences, and people that you want in your masterpiece.  No one can stop you from making your life the way you want it to be except for YOU!  When you realize your hopes and dreams can come true. 

 

So, if you ask me now how I feel about living in our not so big "house on wheels," with the three men in my life, I would tell you I would do this a million times again and again.  The little nit-picky things don't matter.  They are things that bring you together.  The things that make you laugh.  The things that make you learn and respect each other.  This has been the BEST four months, three weeks and six days of my life! 

 

Happy Birthday to me! 

 

I have the gift of FREEDOM!

 

Love and Blessings,

 

Sarah

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fidalgo Bay Resort

First Stop: Dockweiler State Beach

May 29th thru May 31st

Our New Life...Life on the Road

"The time is flying by,"...this is a common saying for many people.  This daily occurrence just seems to catch us and buckles us in on this crazy roller coaster ride.  Why can't we just have a remote with a button that says "PAUSE LIFE?"
 

Well, this past week of our new life...Life on the Road...has FLOWN by!  Let me start off by saying that it has been nothing less than exciting! ...Spine-tingling, Stimulating, Intoxicating. 

It was hard leaving our home of the past 2 years.  There are many recollections of our past liveliness. We loved the inviting neighborhood; the lush, green park across the street where the kids spent many days delightfully playing kickball with other neighborhood kids; the invigorating pool in the polished (by Ryan) backyard; the many intimate memories made with our best friends.  All of those reflections will be seriously missed.
 

We left Denny Way on Tuesday, May 28th at 4:45pm.  The original plan was to leave at noon but, as I said before, "Time flies by...."  We had so much STUFF to get rid of.  Stuff we really didn't need but for some reason, it had a hold on us.  We went through each item asking each other if we REALLY needed these doodads to survive on the road. Most of the pieces we rethought were thrown away or given to friends.  It is such an amazing feeling of freedom when you purge the amount of stuff that we have!  ...And we are thinking of doing it again as we have found we STILL brought too much insignificant junk!  Simple is so much better...


The drive proved to be an adventure..."O'Neill Style."  We drove for a couple of hours into California.  The traffic was minimal considering the time of day, until we got to Beaumont, CA.  The darkness set in.  The winds suddenly started to pick up.  Here I was, sitting in the passenger seat trying to keep my cool as huge 18-wheel trucks flew by us and shook the RV as they drove by.  The kids, who were tired and trying to be as patient as saints,  were thirsty.  They went to the fridge to get a bottle of water, when suddenly we heard this wretched dragging noise....like nails on a chalkboard!  I got up to see what these dang kids were doing and as I walked to the back, I saw sparks flying from outside the window.  The kids were fine....In, fact, it wasn't them getting into mischief. It was the RVs awning that came disassembled from the high winds!  The monster 18-wheeler next to us started honking at us and flashing his beaming headlights!  "OMG," I screamed, "PULL OVER!,"  Ryan immediately did.  Now remember, we were on a four lane highway, in a place we have never been before.  It's dark, it's violently windy and were are all shaking from the inside out.

Ryan, my dear husband, hopped out of the RV.  I opened the passenger window and saw these enormous metal beams flying about with the awning itself catching the fierce wind.  All I could think of was, "Ryan is going to get knocked out by these seriously treacherous beams and what am I going to do?"  Ryan carefully came around to the passenger side, trying to keep his footing, and gallantly grabbed one side of the awning and tied it back.  I held that side to stabilize it and he cautiously walked to the other side.  This time the beam was flying wildly and he had a hard time catching it.  Let's face it, Ryan isn't the tallest man on Earth and here he is in ditch trying to stabilize these things that are about ten feet taller than him. Well, guess what...the Superhero in him came out and he saved the day!  He secured the stubborn beam to the roof !  Dun-da-da-dah!


We drove to the next exit and ended up parked in front of the California Highway Patrol. Yeah, that's right...you would figure if someone saw us parked out there that someone would stop and help.  NOPE!   Ryan wanted to make sure the awning wasn't going to come undone after that unnerving experience.  He intently climbed up the back ladder to the roof while the wind ferociously tried to knock him off.  He started to cut the swaggering awning off as three highway patrol cars pulled out of the barb-wired protected parking lot and just S-T-A-R-E-D at us. OK...there is nothing abnormal about a man and his family parked in the front of the CHP with the man on the roof, cutting off the plastic awning and his wife standing on the sidewalk trying to catch the flying remnants while standing in a turbulent wind storm.  Can you believe it?! Nonetheless, we fastened the obnoxious flapping pillars and rid the "tin can" of the jeopardous material causing havoc on our trip!

Thanks a bunch, ....for all your help...NOT!

We decided that the sunshade escapade was enough stimulation for the evening.  As a family, we decided to settle in at Walmart for the evening and start our journey to Dockweiler State Beach in the morning.  YES, we stayed our first night at Good 'ol Wally-World!  Like I said earlier, spine-tingling, stimulating, intoxicating!

  More "O'Neill Style" adventures to come...

Love and Blessings,

The O'Neills

How Did This Happen?

 

NORMAL: [nawr-muhl] adjective.
Definition: common, usual

It all started...
when I got my normal daily text message from my husband.  As I was sitting down at work to have my normal daily lunch, the text message read, "Check out this website: www.Kelloggshow.com.  Let me know what you think about this Family..." 

This was a very odd, random message...So I took my first bite and proceeded to follow the link.  The first thing that popped up was, " Kellogg Show:  How to Raise a BAD ASS Family."  Hmmmm...OK.  This looks interesting.  I Googled it.  " Family of 14 gives up everything to live in an RV."  Wow.  How does a family of 14 fit in an RV?  I kept on reading.  What I found made me wonder...Does my husband want to live in an RV?  Would I want to live in an RV? Why did he send me this?  Alrighty then.  I was confused! (That's pretty normal for me! Ha, Ha!)

My co-workers were sitting around me and I jokingly mentioned the "not so normal" link my husband sent me and asked what their thoughts were on the subject.  One response was, "Are you serious?  That would be CRAZY!" The other was, " My Dad always wanted to take me and my sisters on a trip like that when we were kids but we weren't interested.  Now I wish we had." Hmmmm, the wheels were turning in my head...

My brain would not stop obsessing about the thought of packing up our stuff and taking our family on an adventure of a lifetime!  As much as I thought the idea of living in an RV was as nutty as a fruitcake, my brain had a thirst for knowledge on the lifestyle. I had so many questions...

My first thought on the RV lifestyle...

OMG, I am sure most of you can imagine Ryan posing in this picture...LMAO!! Tight boxer shorts, cigar hanging out of his mouth, beer in one hand...    But seriously, where I grew up, the people who lived in motor homes had a reputation of being "not-so-friendly or trashy."  How naïve and judgmental does that sound?! 

When I got home that night, I sat in bed and asked my husband what his thoughts were on "The Kellogg Family" and if he had intentions on actually doing something so crazy and not so normal.  He had mixed feelings as well.  We both sat there in bed and enthusiastically talked about the idea of  minimizing our life and hitting the road.

Over the next couple of weeks, I obsessively researched everything I could about RV Life and other normal families who were in fact doing it.  The information I found drew my desire to actually consider this style of living.  The idea of traveling across the United States with my best friend and two boys seemed so incredible to me.  Getting rid of the "stuff" that we have accumulated (junk, paraphernalia, things, trappings) seemed so appealing, so cleansing.  To live in the absence of complication; to not worry about the time, the clutter of everyday normal life, living in a world of dull repetition.  Everyday normal life gets so boring.  I wake up at the same normal time to do the same normal routine to go to the same normal job.  Does anyone ever feel that way?

Then one day Ryan and I sat down and did something that would change the rest of our lives.  We decided to come up with a plan to revamp the normal life we were living to make it more desirable and stimulating.  We went out for a tasty Mexican dinner and talked about our plan of attack.  As we sat over a Margarita and Heineken, we came to the decision that we really needed to do this!  How could we not?  Traveling, teaching our kids about landmarks all over the US and actually experiencing history, saving money, spending quality time with each other, experiencing LIFE. Why should we have to wait until we are old and wrinkly to travel?  Because society says so? NOT! That would be way to normal! (PLUS, I wouldn't look as good in a bathing suit if I waited that long, LOL!) 

In our house, we have a saying, "Normal is boring!  I would rather be weird than normal!"  Most of you that know me would say I am not normal.  At least I hope you would...

Since then, we bought a  1997 37' Rexhall Aerbus.  We have sold pretty much everything that we cannot fit in the RV. We plan on traveling the coast of California to visit Hollywood, our friends in Napa Valley and  Pleasanton, and the Redwood Forest.  We also plan to visit Kyllo's Restaurant in Lincoln City, Oregon and friends in Bend, Oregon.  That should take us to the middle of July.  We should know by then if we could make this an extended journey and if the RV life is for us.

We leave for our adventure in one week! Our departure date is May 28th.  Please keep Rollin' with us to stay updated on our travel and once-in-a-lifetime experiences! We would also LOVE to hear from you!  Leave us comments to stay in touch!

“A man practices the art of adventure when he breaks the chain of routine and renews his life through reading new books, traveling to new places, making new friends, taking up new hobbies and adopting new viewpoints.” — Wilfred Peterson

With All of Our Love and Blessings,

The O'Neills

This is my LIFE