Hi all, Mindy here! I couldn’t let Steve have all the say on this new adventure we are undertaking 😉 Steve and I have indeed moved around quite a bit in our 12 plus years of marriage, mostly back and forth between Illinois, where I grew up and Steve and I met, and Texas, where my family all ended up and where the weather does not beat us into submission with below zero temps in the winter. In between the goings and comings, we added two kiddos. Zoe, who is 9, is our creative, adventurous, ,free spirit and Zander, who is 6, is our inquisitive, humorous, tinkerer. We also have 3 fur babies, Hope (13 year old peak-a-poo), Willow (2 year old standard poodle), and Kiki (7 year old russian blue mix kitty).
We have been homeschooling for the last several years and have enjoyed the journey as we have learned so much right along with our kids. One of the many things about full time RV living and travel that appeals to me is that we will be able to take the kids to so many different places. It will allow them to have hands on experiences like we could never give them living stationary. Want to learn more about colonial America?….take a trip up to Boston and Plymouth! Learning more about animals of the North American west?…visit some of the national parks! We are super excited to share these adventures with them.
Another big reason for our decision to give this a go is that we would like to live our lives more intentionally. We have found over the course of our marriage that being tied down with debt and stuff has brought more stress and anxiety and difficulties into our lives. We want to have less stuff and more experiences and we want our kids to understand and appreciate the value of relationships and experiences over owning more things. We have found that these are the things that bring more lasting happiness to us, both individually and as a family.
I am fully aware that the changes we are going to be making will require us to grow and adapt and sometimes sacrifice what we’ve gotten used to living with. I am positive that there will be some growing pains along the way as we figure out this new lifestyle but I think that the long term benefits will far outweigh the struggles we may encounter on the way. This quote I found the other day on Pintrest pretty much sums up my thoughts on the matter, “If it excites you and scares you at the same time, it probably means you should do it.” -Anonymous
So off we go….