Saturday, April 21, 2012

Last Weekend


We bought something kind of fun for the fam!


























And we took it on its Maiden Voyage last weekend.
What a good time we had!


































We've been talking about buying some kind of trailer ever since our lives started
including a lot of road travel (for both work and play).  Hotels have become
increasingly more difficult as we arrive late at night, haul 9 tired people into
two rooms and lay our heads on expensive pillows for only a few hours before
returning to the road.

Did you know we actually lived in a travel trailer once upon a time?
(Don't most honest people?)

We thought it would be an awesome thing to start off marriage debt-free and
without paying a rent bill.  It was awesome.  And it was an experience :-)
Needless to say  we returned a lot of wedding gifts.
There wasn't a lot of storage in our tiny home (If you think a one bedroom apartment
is small...)  One good humored friend recommended we watch The Long Long Trailer
with Lucille Ball.  If you haven't seen it, you should.  It's loads of fun
- especially if you've shared a similar "experience"!  There's more truth to that story than
I'd like to admit. HA! 
Our trailer dream lasted all of 5 months when a manufacturers defect in the hot water
heater landed me ankle-deep in a pond when I stepped out of bed one morning.
I climbed back in bed that day. :-)
It was fun while it lasted, but after the flood of '97 and all the complexity that added
AJ told me to put a bullet in his head if he ever suggested buying a travel trailer again.
What?!!  Life would lose a lot of laughter if I got that serious :-D

Besides... circumstances are different than they were the first time
(they always are aren't they?).  For one thing,  we aren't planning to live in it.
Woo-HOO!  Good news.
Second, when we travel and can pull over, having beds ready to climb into - that
will be really truly wonderful.  Also, we'll be hauling a ready-made guest room for
us when we "drop in" on our friends!
Besides that, we hope it will help us get a little further from our own yard to adventure
with the hoodlums.

When we took our new-to-us light-weight-23-foot-sleeps-10 travel trailer on its Maiden
Voyage we only traveled a few hours from home, found new hiking trails to explore, and
were forced to set up chairs around a campfire and be smoked roast marshmallows together.
The kids thought the 4-bunk room on one end was cool, and I loved that Aloria's port-a-crib
fit perfectly between the bunks for a total of 6 Bugletts in that cozy space -YES!

So after all these years, I am still a sucker for the crazy-fun ideas my Favorite Man dreams up.
Here's some pictures :-)





























































So was something else that made this weekend interesting:
Char and Hannah moved to another state.

It's a long story, and intertwined with bright hopes and new possibilities for them,
but there are (at least) two things on my heart:
1) I hope that this next chapter in their lives is an amazing adventure for them -full of
new friends, experiences, and new opportunities to serve and glorify the Lord.
2) I hope we get to be neighbors again some day.  Sooner if possible :-)

We camped with them for part of our Maiden Voyage as they picked up stakes and
headed out toward their new life far away.

Needless to say, Marvel Hill will feel a bit empty this summer.
(We love you Auntie Hannah, Uncle Char, Ellie, Judah, Micah, and Jo!)












































("Don't take a picture of me Mom")







































































All agreed that our new trailer is great!  We were cozy, warm, comfortable,
and delighted with every amenity.  Can't hardly wait to take it out again :-)

We also agree that it's been a quiet week without the cousins up-hill.

Always another bend in the road.
I look forward to watching God's grace unfold in more miraculous ways.
He takes care of the details I would forget and which make the journey so lovely.




9 comments:

Pam... said...

It would only cost you $700 or so to come see us! What's a mere 1900 miles with 7 children? OR we could drive out for $600 with just 9 of ours, chickens, a few goats and a sheep, a bunny and a cat. Tee hee.

The Pauls' Family said...

Camping = greatest memories :) If you woudl ask our kiddos some of their favorite family memories...camping would be near the top of the list!!! Hope you have lots of great adventures!!!!

Sally said...

That new trailer looks SUPER! I am sure it is going to get lots of use and make loads of fun family memories! We will miss Char & Hannah too--in more ways than one! Blessings on their new home...wishing them all the very best there!

Tracy said...

Oh, oh, OH what memories you will make with the trailer. Our fondest memory was the five week trip across the country and back. All the way from San Diego to South Carolina, up to Boston and back! My adult children still talk about it. Enjoy these very special times...they go by way to quickly. Blessings to you and yours!

Tracy

Rebekah said...

Sounds like fun!I always like new adventures,the trailer will be a blast for sure.Hoping everything will work out for your family on their new place.Take care and have a blessed week!

Marie said...

Oh what fun times lay ahead for you all !!! Love the precious pics :)

RavenM said...

How fun :) Love all the pics of smiling kiddos too! Sad for you that you will be without sibs/cousins but excited for their new adventure (whatever it may be :)

Cinnamon said...

All I got out of that post was "Charlie is gone!" What! :-)

I'm sure his sweet family will be missed and Marvel Hill will need some recovery time to get use to the lack of activity and noise they added to the hill :-)

Hoping that darlin' little camper will find it's way here. HERE. HERE. HERE. (see me jumping up and down and waving my arms?) :-)

Now I am going to see if I can watch the Lucille Ball movie and have a good laugh. As we lived in one too. ALL of us :-/

hugs sweet friend~ Cinnamon

Momma Bug said...

I know! I think we talked about trailer living once Cinnamon. AJ's family did that for a long winter when he was about 8, while building a house. I believe there were some fun traditions attached to that circus.

A visit to Iowa? OK. You talked me into it. I like honest people :-)


Yes... Charlie, activity, and noise are all gone.
Well... I guess we account for at least SOME of the activity and noise!
But Charlie and his gang are irreplaceable. They are already missed.

Pam. Why does it cost more for us to come YOUR direction with fewer people? Do your chickens pull a trailer too? Or do you sell them along the way to pay for fuel?
I have to admit that Michigan never looked like so much fun!