Author: Jess

Categories
This Week on Instagram

This Week on Instagram: March 1-7, 2014

This Week on Instagram March 1-7 2014

We ultimately decided to postpone Cara’s potty training. It was a rough decision, but after two weeks and everyone miserable it was for the best. That decision made, we set about exploring more of San Diego this last week with visits to the Mormon Battalion Museum, San Diego Zoo, USS Midway Museum, and San Diego Safari Park. Too tired on Thursday to explore, we spent the day running errands, doing laundry, catching up on school workbooks, and then a drive in movie that evening to see the Lego Movie! So fun. Friday morning we packed up the Airstream, said goodbye to San Diego and drove north to a beautiful beach-side campground near Point Mugu State Beach. Going to sleep to the sound of waves crashing against the shore is extremely therapeutic.

Continuing north this week up Highway 1. We are excited for the drive!

Categories
Pennyslyvania

5 Fun Things to do on a Quick Trip to Philadelphia With Kids – Pennslyvania

5 Fun Things to Do on a Quick Trip to Philadelphia with KidsHaving navigated Washington DC successfully for 4 months, I thought I was prepared for another big city. I was definitely wrong. Philadelphia is OLD. The streets are crowded, the parking scarce, and it seems that no no takes credit cards. I’m so glad we had friends to act as tour guides and point out the best parts of their lovely city. Touristing is always better with friends anyway, right? Here are a few things to do on a quick trip to Philadelphia with kids:

When We Visited: November 2013

Ages of Kids: 8, 6, 3

Tips: Bring lots of cash – most vendors/small restaurants don’t take credit cards.

1. Ride the Train. Since there are no RV Parks within an hour of Philadelphia, we graciously courtesy parked the Airstream at our friends’ house in Havertown and took the train in to the city. It was great. The kids love trains anyway, and it gave us a way to avoid parking. Check the cost compared to parking all day in a lot though – while it may save on the hassle, it could possibly cost more than driving in.

2. The Franklin Institute. ASTC Pass participant. There’s a giant statue of Ben Franklin in the Rotunda and a small light show. They also have a room that’s all about the heart, including a two story, beating replica Cara was terrified of. The other kids thought it was cool. They also have a planetarium, and a small younger kid’s room.

The Franklin Institute in Philadelphia

3. Independence National Historic Park. I’ve written a longer post on this you can see HERE. We earned our Jr. Ranger Badges, waited in line to see the Liberty Bell, and watched a ranger hand press copies of the Declaration of Independence. If you want tickets to actually go inside Independence Hall, you have to show up really early as they sell out quickly.

4. Eat Philly Stake Sandwiches. You can’t go to Philadelphia and not eat one. Unless you are a vegetarian I suppose. We found a fairly random little shop within walking distance of Independence Square using Google Search and made sure the place had good reviews before we went. Plenty of places sell them, so just find one that’s closest to you at lunch time.

5. World’s Largest TV & the LOVE Sign. At the Comcast Center in downtown Philadelphia is the largest TV in the World. The building’s lobby is also quite interesting so its definitely worth the stop. Nearby is also the LOVE statue, located fittingly in Love Park. We did a quick stop and then jumped back on the train headed to Independence Hall.

Other ideas:

The Benjamin Franklin Museum – located next to the printing press we visited, this museum looked very interesting. After learning about Jefferson and Washington, I would have loved to learn more about this great historical figure but we just didn’t have time. Although it is an NPS run museum, there is an additional cost to get in.

Please Touch Museum – This one has FANTASTIC reviews on Google and sounded like so much fun. We chose the Franklin Institute as it was free, but next time I think we’ll splurge on the Children’s Museum Pass so we can get in on a discount.

Smith Memorial Playground and Playhouse –  a free, safe place to play for children 10 and younger. Its 6 1/2 acre Playground includes the Ann Newman Giant Wooden Slide and more than 50 pieces of unique, age-appropriate and accessible pieces of play equipment. This sounds awesome!

Although it was a quick trip, I did love it there! I can’t wait to go back and explore more areas of the beautiful city. Have you ever been to Philly? What was your favorite part?

Categories
Daily Life Most Popular Posts

A Day In the Life: City Edition

One thing I love about being on the road and having our location constantly change, is that there is no “typical” day. There are a lot of similar things we do everyday, but no two days have been exactly alike so far. I love it. Our days vary quite a bit too if we are in the city, or out at a State Park, or by the beach. I thought I’d share one of our days so you can get an idea of what it might be like. We are currently in San Diego, CA staying at an RV park in the city.

Sam and I try to get out of bed to work around 5:30am. He’s much better about it than I am. Often I’ll snooze my alarm and go right back to bed until the kids get up at 7am. They come out from the back bedroom, we snuggle, and then I send them off to get dressed and make their bed while I get going on breakfast. I am a breakfast lover. Pancakes, French Toast, Oatmeal, German Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs – you name it. We only have cold cereal once or twice a week and the other days I typically make breakfast. Today was French Toast.IMG_20140303_082408_1

After breakfast activities depend on our plans. This day we had plans to visit the San Diego Zoo, which I typically count as school for the day. I took a shower while the kids cleaned up and made sandwiches for us to take for lunch. Sam settled in the back on the bed with his laptop to continue working while we got ready to leave.

IMG_20140303_082435_1Rachel’s pretty good about wanting to do her own hair these days, although sometimes she still asks for help. She stands up on the toilet so she can see herself in the mirror. Most days I try to brush out Cara’s hair and do something with it.

IMG_20140303_084609_1The kids and I load up in the truck along with our adventure bag and a cooler for lunch while Sam moves out to the table to be more comfortable for work.

IMG_20140303_092143_1

We arrived at the zoo around 10am and stayed until 4pm. Looooong day, but my kids do so well its really easy. We bring our own snacks, but occasionally splurge on something at our destination as well. We usually don’t buy souvenirs. We have no place to put them and a lot of times its just cheap junk anyway so our standing rule is that we just enjoy and leave. This time, however, I totally caved. All three kids wanted a small stuffed animal and they had been so good I said yes. Rachel got a leopard (her favorite), Andrew an elephant (no surprise there), and Cara got a cute little monkey whom she named “Monkey Socks”. They’ve played with them non-stop since then, so I’m thinking it was a good purchase.

IMG_20140303_153528_1

We got back around 4:30pm and I sat down to relax for a minute, and the kids ran over to play with the neighbor’s daughter until dinner.

IMG_20140303_165633_1

Most RV parks will receieve UPS or FedEx packages for you. Since we’ve been here for almost 2 weeks, we Amazon Primed everything we’ve been waiting to order. We had quite a few packages arrive, one which was Cara’s new ride a long bike. Sam and I spent some time putting it together and then we had Cara test it out. Success!

IMG_20140303_170431_1

Dinner time and I was feeling lazy, so we went to Costco to get shopping done and eat. We all got Polish dogs and drinks for a grand total of $8.10. I love Costco. Getting home and fitting everything in the fridge and freezer is puzzle, but Sam can usually fit it all in.

IMG_20140303_180317_1

Bedtime! The kids brush their teeth and get their pajamas on…

IMG_20140303_191416_1

…and then we all pile on the bed to read scriptures.

IMG_20140303_193046_1

We put Cara to bed first around 7:30pm (most nights) and then we read with the other two until their bed time around 8:30pm. Sam and Rachel are currently reading Fablehaven, and Andrew & I just started a new Secrets of Droon book.

IMG_20140303_200429_1After the kids are in bed, Sam and I typically stay up until about 10pm working. I’ll blog, edit photos, or plan our itenirary. Sam will try and squeeze in some more work, blog, or currently he’s working on taxes. Once or twice a week, we’ll quit early, snuggle in bed with the laptop and watch one of our favorite shows on Hulu. Current favorites are White Collar (although I’m pretty sure the season just ended) and Castle. Since we have to pay for internet by the amount we use we’ll occasionally watch a DVD while we work instead.
IMG_20140303_205836_1

 There you go! As I said, our daily life depends on where we are and our plans for the day – but this is probably a typical adventure day in the city.

 

 

 

 

Categories
Photo Sessions Photography

Our Family Photo Shoots: Why Photographers Need to Hire Other Photographers

I’m am one of those moms that got into photography so I could be cheap and take photos of my own kids without having to pay someone else to do it. Sad, but totally true. As I’ve progressed in my business over the last 5 years, however, I’ve learned that even though I technically could take our photos, its so much better to hire it out. A tripod and self-timer could never replace the eye and vision required by the photographer who wields the camera. There’s also the “photographer’s child” syndrome where my kids have modeled for so long they refuse to listen to anything I say. Add to that my love of lifestyle photography (vs. more posed portraits) and I’d have to be a super ninja to work that out on my own.

Thankfully I know some amazing photographers (who are also great friends), and hired them to photograph our family antics over the years. I can’t replace those photos. They are so precious to me, and so much more enjoyable ON my walls and not just on a disk on my computer. Unfortunately, I don’t have room for a 30×40 canvas in the Airstream, but a girl can dream right? I just recently printed a few more 8×10’s and 5×7’s and got them framed and up on the wall and my heart just sings every time I look at them.

Lesson? Even if you are the best photographer in the world, find someone whose work you love and hire them. Then you can just relax and be your true self. Its worth it. I promise.

November 2013 by Kylene Cleaver

DSC_4263-Edit

DSC_4319-Edit

June 2013 by Kara Elmore

IMG_8807IMG_8537IMG_8418Sept 2011 by Kara Elmore

Curren Utah Fair_026Curren Utah Fair_027Curren Utah Fair_031IMG_9780

November 2010 by Jami Edman

IMG_2816-Edit bwIMG_3173-Edit

Fall 2009 by Jami Edman

 

IMG_0304-Edit copy

Categories
Finances & Money

How Much Does it Cost to Live in an Airstream? February Summary

How Much Does it Cost to Live in an Airstream Feb 2014

What amazes me about life on the road is how unpredictable it is. One month can be completely different from the last, but that’s what makes it so exciting! At the same time, variety makes budgeting difficult.

I’ll detail a post later on about how I budget in general (because that’s not really Airstream life specific) but just know that these are not ALL of our expenses. Not even close. These are just the ones that are fairly Airstream specific. We still have health insurance, life insurance, entertainment, loans on the Airstream and truck, HSA contributions, children’s savings, mortgage and utilities on the house in Lehi… You get the idea.

But aside from all that, most people want to know what it’ll cost in the Airstream. The biggest differences for us are the camping fees, higher gas spending, higher groceries, laundry, and occasionally the higher eating out (only because we never really ate out before).

This month we spent 1 week at Disneyland in an RV Park, and then another week in San Diego (actually 2 – but we crossed into March). A little bit of courtesy parking, regional park in AZ, and a National Park in CA. So, pretty varied as far as camping fees go. BUT we also drove less. WAY less. So less gas money. It seems we average out between the two most months.

Here are February’s numbers:

Feb 1st: Halfway between Tuscon, AZ and Phoenix, AZ
Feb 31st: San Diego, CA

Total miles driven: 1,301
Total miles towing the Airstream: 687
Average Towing Miles per Week: 172

Camping Fees (State parks, RV campgrounds): $1029.55
# of Nights Courtesy Parked with a friend/free parking: 2
Gas: $321.59
Propane: $55.70 (way less! Hooray for an electric heater!)
Groceries: $612.45 (also includes all paper goods, and Pull Ups)
Laundry: $21.25
Dining Out: $111.81 (does not include eating out at Disneyland – that was budgeted separately)

Here’s our 3 month average for Dec 2013 – Feb 2014:

Average Miles per Month: 1997
Average Towing Miles per Month: 1194
Average Towing Miles per Week: 99.5

Camping Fees: $23.87/night
Gas: $594.22/month
Propane: $79.44/month
Groceries: $662.56/month
Laundry: $18.42/month
Dining Out: $126.07/month

Not too shabby. We originally budgeted about $40/night average, $700 for groceries, and $700 for gas. So, under on all three! This makes me very hopeful we can continue this lifestyle without too much stress. Hooray!