Category: Thoughts on Life

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Faith

Celebrating Christ

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Easter is a wonderful time to celebrate our Savior, Jesus Christ. The symbolism of spring, a rebirth and a fresh beginning is a perfect frame to consider the new life offered by Christ. Symbolism is important in The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (which is the official name of the Mormon Church) though we use symbolism in different ways.

If you have ever visited an LDS church or temple, you will notice that the symbol of the cross is absent. We do deeply believe that Christ sacrificed himself for us, but we choose to symbolize his life over his death.

He lived for us, loved us, and taught us. He died for us, redeeming us from our sins. He opened the gates of death, and we all will be resurrected. The real magic of Easter is that Christ Lives again, and is here with us. He loves us, watches over us, and helps us in more ways than we can detect.

Part of Christ’s involvement in our life today is the calling of Prophets. As in days of old, he has called prophets to teach us the Good News of the Gospel and help us apply it in our lives.

Twice a year, we have the opportunity to hear directly from a prophet called of God, his 12 apostles today, and other leaders in the church. Each April and October a conference is held, and using today’s awesome technology we can stream it right over the internet.

Saturday April 4th and Sunday April 5th, there will be sessions streamed live at 10am and 2pm Mountain Standard Time. Please join us and hear the messages and music presented. (Visit lds.org during conference time to see the live stream.) My soul is fed each time, as The Spirit touches my heart and motivates me forward on the path of faithful living.

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We enjoy some typical traditions including yummy breakfasts and Easter egg hunts, but my favorite part of celebrating Easter is dedicating some of our time to learning and living the Gospel of Christ more fully.

Categories
Mommy Diaries

Need More “Me” Time – Any Ideas?

IMG_1928-EditI’ll admit that life can get a little rough sometimes around here. Most days between road school, cooking, laundry, exploring, cleaning up, and managing daily life I rarely get any “me” time. I viciously guard my 30-40 minutes of exercise everyday since that is my one time I get to plug my earphones in and tune out the rest of the world. Other days I’ll listen to my audio book while cooking dinner, or sneak in 30 minutes of reading while the kids play the tablet, but that’s about it.

To keep from burning out, there definitely needs to be a little more solo time in there. I know Sam doesn’t get enough alone time either (work doesn’t count) and its a difficult balance to develop and maintain. We tend to over correct when I get a little (okay, a lot) grumpy, but I think an overall better balance would be much nicer!

I have so many ideas and thoughts running around in my head, plus photos to edit, YouTube videos to create, social media to mange and other projects that are just waiting for me to have a little time. The little free time I’ve had so far this week was swallowed up in balancing our proverbial check book and making sure we’d have enough money in our checking account to pay the bills. Exciting? Not so much.

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So, I’m looking for suggestions? What do you do to help manage your time and get everything done? I mentioned my dilemma to a friend last week over email, saying that maybe I should rely a little more on the television babysitter (our kids rarely watch any tv at all). She suggested that maybe if they were watching something educational I wouldn’t feel so guilty about an hour and a half of veg time. Thoughts? Favorite educational shows for kids on Netflix?

I’d love a couple of hours a week to sit down and just work. Pound out blog posts, edit my thousands of photos, manage our social media accounts, and just get ahead. No, our blog doesn’t generate money yet, but I’d like it to and the only way that will happen is if we put some decent time into it.

I know this is a constant struggle for moms everywhere, not just those of us on the road in tiny houses. Please share any suggestions you have in the comments below!

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Arizona Mommy Diaries

I Freak Out in Phoenix & One of My Big Mistakes

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Last year when we came through Phoenix, we only spent 3 days at Usery Regional Park. We knew there were a few other parks in the area that other traveling friends loved, but we couldn’t get in as they were ALL full! Every day. Ridiculous. Since we were on a mission to get to Disneyland, it wasn’t a big deal and we figured we’d just hit them next time around.

This year when we were making up our travel schedule I was bound and determined to visit ALL the parks near Phoenix so we made reservations. Careful, laid out plans that would still get us to Flagstaff in time to meet up with friends for their spring break. We didn’t want to be in a hurry, so I booked 6 days at Lost Dutchman State Park, 5 days at Usery Regional, and a full 7 days at McDowell Mountain. We would be “close” to Phoenix, splash pads, rock climbing centers, Costco, grocery stores, the Science Museum and friends and family. We would get caught up on EVERYTHING, take it easy and just re-group for the time we were there.

Looking back, I have no idea what I was thinking. What in our traveling style to this point convinced me we could spend almost 3 weeks practically in the same place and not go crazy?

And go crazy I did. I partly blame the weather (up near 90 degrees which is hot even for Arizona this time of year), and partly my mind set. I was determined to be IN Phoenix, and only VISIT the parks we were staying at. My frustration mounted as I realized that we weren’t “close” to anything! Friends were a good 45 minutes away, the Science Museum almost an hour, Costco was even a good 25 minutes. We weren’t near anything and the more I pushed to go out and explore the city, the more frustrated I became.

Talking together, Sam and I had an epiphany of sorts. We needed to be IN Lost Dutchman State Park, and only VISIT Phoenix. Sure, drive into the city one day, visit the Science Center and run all my errands. The rest of the time needed to be spent in the park! Letting the kids explore, hiking, and enjoying the beautiful view of the Superstition Mountains. That was more our speed, and typical of our traveling lifestyle anyway.

Once I made the mental switch, I immediately became more calm. We weren’t here to be in the city – cities can be enjoyed from fancy hotels that are downtown. We needed to enjoy what the state park had to offer and be content. Which we did, and Lost Dutchman State Park has now hit my list of favorite places.

We’ve now cancelled the remainder of our reservations, will save McDowell Mountain for “next time” and are headed north to escape the heat this early summer has brought on. We’ve always joked that if we have to use our air conditioner we are in the wrong spot, and we are now committing to the theory despite earlier plans. It’s taken me a few days to come to peace with this decision (haven’t gone rock climbing! The mountain biking at McDowell Mountain is supposed to be amazing!) but I’m also excited about the destinations and plans we’ve made instead.

Categories
Musings of Sam

Like an Old-Time Rail Journey

Big Balanced Rock, Chiricahua National Monument
Big Balanced Rock, Chiricahua National Monument
Big Balanced Rock, Chiricahua National Monument

Full-time travel is not a vacation.

Vacation allows us to put off important issues for that short time to focus on the time we have, the people we have, and the experience we have. Full-time travel requires that we deal with life’s issues as we travel, having no near future to defer to. Issues of house maintenance, parenting, cleaning, relationships and even taxes must be dealt with.

At times, this can seem overwhelming, and even frustrating. It can be hard to focus on mundane but important things when we are seconds away from a trail, new friends, and wonderful experiences. This last week, I had a day frustrated with such issues. A friend posted this quote:

“Anyone who imagines that bliss is normal is going to waste a lot of time running around shouting that he’s been robbed. The fact is that most putts don’t drop, most beef is tough, most children grow up to just be people, most successful marriages require a high degree of mutual toleration, most jobs are more often dull than otherwise. Life is like an old time rail journey…delays…sidetracks, smoke, dust, cinders and jolts, interspersed only occasionally by beautiful vistas and thrilling burst of speed. The trick is to thank the Lord for letting you have the ride.”

― Jenkin Lloyd Jones, Unitarian Minister

My mental burden was lifted, just by realizing this corrective perspective. Life is good, but we must not measure such goodness in any one moment to decide our happiness. And certainly not in the middle of taxes.

Categories
Hiking Musings of Sam Outdoor Adventures

The Shoes We Wear – I Finally Retire My Hiking Shoes

SAM_3159-Edit copyI imagine the average person doesn’t think much about their hiking shoe purchases. I’d wager that a good percentage of people don’t even have hiking shoes. Being the active person and family that we are, I take my outdoor gear a little more seriously.

Added to that, I have slightly wide feet. Choosing shoes can be difficult, and to purchase these shoes I tried something different this time around. I ordered several sets of shoes from Zappos, and spent a few days walking around the house in each pair. The winning pair was this pair of Merrells, which came in a wide size.

Looking back over the years, these shoes have carried me on a wide variety of trails around Utah Valley as I explored valleys and ridges. After my little brother talked us into hiking the John Muir Trail in California the summer of 2013, these shoes carried me on all of my training hikes as well as the 240 miles on the John Muir Trail. Our pace was fast enough that I was sure to experience some foot discomfort no matter which pair of shoes I was wearing! They held up great, and I was grateful to have them. Among other places, these shoes have stood atop Mount Whitney, the highest peak in the lower 48 states.

These shoes left with us on an adventure that led to our current life of full-time Airstream travel. They have hiked trails in Virginia, Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, Washington, Oregon, Vancouver, Minnesota, Illinois, Nevada, and all over Utah.

I finally wore these shoes out, as they began to come apart in multiple non-repairable places. I replaced them 6 weeks ago, but kept them for this final shot. Here in the Alabama Hills in the shadow of Mount Whitney, I took a final picture to commemorate all the wonderful places these shoes carried me.

I wonder what adventures my next set will see?