Category: Holidays & Bdays

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Holidays & Bdays

Merry Christmas from Currently Wandering!

Christmas Card 2015 copy

We have had quite a spectacular year! This has been our first year without a sticks & bricks house to call home and it has been liberating. We’ve had so much freedom to roam the country, explore, and spend time together as a family. We couldn’t be happier and hope to keep traveling for the foreseeable future!

Highlights from this year include:

  • Meeting new traveling friends and hanging out in the deserts of Southern California, Nevada, and Arizona (blog post here).
  • Day tripping into Mexico (blog post here).
  • Teaching our kids to mountain bike (blog post here).
  • Renting a house in Flagstaff with our Utah besties for Spring Break (blog post here).
  • Adding solar and bigger batteries to the Airstream (series of blog posts on that here).
  • Spending time with family in Idaho, Minnesota & Michigan.
  • Learning about the Voyageurs (blog post here).
  • Trying to keep up with our kids’ reading habits (blog post).
  • The Lake Superior Circle Tour – 42 days in some of the most beautiful places we’ve ever seen, plus 3 backpacking trips with the kids.
  • Andrew’s baptism into the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
  • Halloween with family in Utah.
  • Backpacking over Thanksgiving in FDR State Park, GA.
  • Florida beaches along the Emerald Coast (blog post here).
  • Florida Keys for Christmas.

We are extremely blessed and happy to be able to spend so much time together. We have a greater realization & understanding of how limitless the possibilities in this life really are when we work hard and are united in our goals. We love watching our kids grow and thrive in our lifestyle and are completely in awe of all they have accomplished.

We are grateful in this season for our Savior Jesus Christ. Through His miraculous Atonement we can truly do all things.

We hope you all are well and wish you a very Merry Christmas season!

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Holidays & Bdays Ontario

Rachel Turns 10 While Sleeping Under the Giant – Ontario, Canada

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September 15, 2015

Dear Rachel,

You are growing up so fast and I love that we get to spend some much time watching it! I’m truly grateful for this journey of ours and that I can be by your side most of the time. Its a great honor and a blessing!

You are turning into quite the young lady. Sometimes I see you debating whether or not you want to act young and silly like your siblings, or if you are “too old” for whatever mischief they are cooking up. I love how you encourage and support both Cara and Andrew and are a great example to both of them!

Lately you love to babysit your siblings and really love it when mom and dad leave for a few hours. You are very responsible and a huge help getting the house cleaned up and everyone tucked in bed. Its fantastic and I’m so proud of you. At the same time you also love to tease and are quite the mischief maker yourself sometimes!

You love to read (still!), play Lego’s, braid your American Girl Doll’s hair, explore, draw, and play games with the family. We have watched you conquer your fears numerous times and appreciate and encourage your determination to always be better.

We are so grateful to have you in our family!

Love,

Mom & Dad

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Rachel’s birthday was pretty simple this year. We had plans to fly back to Utah in October (plane tickets as birthday presents!), but we still wanted to get her a little something to open on her birthday. We found a Friends Lego Set we thought she’d love and Andrew & Cara both picked out some treats. It amazed me how a new, small Lego set could promote a two week frenzy of Lego playing with ALL the Lego’s. It was awesome.

We were camped in Sleeping Giant Provincial Park in Ontario Canada during our Circle Tour of Lake Superior. The area was beautiful, remote, peaceful, and exactly what we all needed. The kids loved throwing rocks in the water and building out their little breakwater.

There are plenty of trails and lakes in the area, but we didn’t want to overdo the two days we had there. We drove the long dusty road out to the Thunder Bay Lookout, hiked out to the Sea Lion, read in the hammock and generally relaxed. We loved being there in the off season as there were plenty of open spots right next to the water, few campers, and cooler temperatures.

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Rachel had requested Greek Gyros for dinner and then we surprised her with a birthday cake, but no candles since the Canadian Wal-Mart we visited didn’t have any! It was a great spot, and Rachel loved that we were in Canada for her birthday.

Categories
Holidays & Bdays

Andrew’s 8th Backpacking Birthday on the Apostle Islands, Wisconsin

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Dear Andrew,

I can’t believe you are 8! Time is flying so fast and I love that I get to spend so much time with you. I would hate to miss any of your amazing moments as before we know it you’ll be grown and gone.

Eight years old is a special time in our family. You’ve been studying your Book of Mormon with dad and have made the decision to baptized a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Although it won’t happen quite as soon as you’d like, we are excited to share this even with our family and friends who love and support you when we fly back to Utah.

You have a great attitude about life, and although your sisters frustrate you I love the way you play and try to get along with them. You’ve never been a high – energy child and I love that you are content to just sit and read for hours. You love to learn, try new things and are endlessly curious about how things work.

I can’t wait to start doing Cub Scouts with you as I know you’ll learn so many new things and we’ll have fun as a family supporting you!

We love you very much and are incredibly grateful you are in our family!

love,
Mom (and Dad)

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We had talked a long time ago about how birthday presents this year were plane tickets to fly back to Utah to visit family, but Andrew has been told he could have a pocket knife “when you turn 8” for at least the last year. Sam and I decided it would be great to have him open it while we were out backpacking on the Apostle Islands.

We were super sneaky to both buy the knife and get it into a pack and on to the trip without him even realizing what was going on. While shopping earlier in the week, Rachel also decided she wanted to get him something and found some Disney Villain playing cards and some Hot Tamales that we also packed in. Grandma and Grandpa Madsen sent him a sticker book, and cards from his aunts & uncles. Andrew was completely surprised by all of this which made it even more fun!!

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Since we were backpacking, and it was cold, the kids were actually dressed for breakfast for once. Andrew had requested packet oatmeal for breakfast since I never buy it anymore and was thrilled with his special breakfast.

Much of his birthday was pretty low key – we hiked to our next camp spot on the beach, the kids played cards and mom & dad took a nap.

His “cake” though ended up being pretty epic. I had pre-made some chocolate chip cookie bars and we toasted marshmallows (on sticks he had whittled with his new knife), stuffed them with Hershey’s chocolate bars and then ate them on the cookies. We also snuck in a number 8 candle and manage to stick it into the marshmallow. He was one happy kid, and I’m not sure we’ll ever eat another regular S’more again.

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My favorite part of the day was when Andrew said, “Mom, I really like DOING special things on our birthdays.” Me too, kid. Me too. Although I’m not sure how we are going to top this one next year!

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Holidays & Bdays National Parks Utah

Cara’s Dinosaur Birthday Party IN Dinosaur National Monument

Dear Cara,

You bring adventure and light to our lives! You have a creative, silly personality and always find a way to make us laugh. At the same time it can also be completely frustrating, but that’s just part of growing up!

We are finally past potty-training (hallelujah), and are now working on your reading skills. Unfortunately for my patience, you just take things at your own speed. Before you are ready, there’s just no arguing with you. I hope you can take that same stubbornness and determination and apply it appropriate throughout your life!

You love to play with your brother and sister, whether its your “stuffed animal game”, Lego’s, MineCraft, or just outside exploring and making up your own games. Although you are the youngest, you seem always ready to try new things and don’t have much trouble keeping up. You are a fantastic hiker – having completed 3, 10 mile + hikes in the last year. You are also amazing on your bike, can run fast, and throw a ball like I’ve never seen in a 5 year old. We are so proud of you and can’t wait to see all the new things you’ll learn this year as we travel.

I love your snuggles in the morning and hope you never grow to old for those! We love you Cara and are grateful you are in our family!

Love,

Mom & Dad

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I’m not sure why it took us so long to settle on a dinosaur theme for Cara’s birthday since we knew we’d be IN Dinosaur National Monument. It only seemed natural once we made the decision. We had a lot of fun! Because my parents were meeting us there, I had my mom shop at the party store near her house to stock up party supplies and she did a great job.

Cara wanted pletta (Swedish pancakes) for breakfast, and while daddy cooked she opened up here presents. Rachel & Andrew got her a new PlayDoh set, we got her a book, Grandma & Grandpa Madsen brought her a fun dinosaur activity set, and Grandma & Grandpa Curren provided the funds for 4 months of Netflix! Wahoo!

After breakfast we drove to nearby Vernal, UT and visited the Dinosaur Museum. While it was on the small side, the kids seemed to enjoy the hour we spent there. Plus, we went out for lunch afterwards so there was that to look forward to as well!

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We spent the afternoon hanging out at our campsite, and Sam and I gave her our present: a new bike! I’ll have a full post up later this week about her new Woombike, but let’s just say that it is amazing. We couldn’t be happier with this bike, and she is already riding like champ!

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We finished off the day with “Mom’s Famous Nachos” for dinner, watching Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, and eating cupcakes! It was a fantastic day, and just proves to me over and over again how easy it is to celebrate birthdays and holidays while on the road!

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Categories
Holidays & Bdays

Merry Christmas from the Currently Wandering Crew!

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We loved sending out our Christmas postcards this year, and had so much putting them together. We chose to print them through moo.com so we could use 10 different photos on the front. It was so hard to narrow it down! Each photo reminds us of a special place, story, or adventure and we are extremely grateful for the support of our friends & family that we’ve had along this crazy journey of ours. If you haven’t read it yet, here’s the link to our 2014 Christmas Letter as well!

Which card did you get in the mail? Let us know in the comments below!

Cascade Head Hike_13 Hiking Cascade Head (blog post) along the rainy Oregon coast last October. Its amazing the views we can get when we rise above and conquer the challenges that come our way. The kids were awesome hikers on this trip, including dodging Elk droppings and some muddy sections of trail.
Crater Lake_67 We decided to do the boat tour at Crater Lake National Park – making it one of our most favorite experiences (blog post). The amazing blue water lacks both a major inlet and any major outlet, leaving the water undisturbed and amazingly clear. In the middle of the tour, were were dropped off at Wizard Island, a small cinder cone within the lake itself. We hiked to the top and ate lunch before hiking back down for the rest of the tour around the lake.
Point Reyes Seashore_037 Point Reyes National Seashore (blog post) in Northern California. This picturesque lighthouse requires a long drive AND a long stair walk to enjoy. The day was perfect, and we even got to look inside the lighthouse at the lens and turning mechanism. We stayed in the redwoods at the nearby Samuel P. Taylor State Park, where we enjoyed the trees, some good rain, and used our generator for the first time. Sam visited this lighthouse multiple times as a kid, and it was awesome to return here with our kids.
Redwood Forests_02 After leaving Camp Noyo (blog post) and a wonderful time with family, we enjoyed our freedom from a schedule with a 2 week meander through the Redwood National & State Parks. This area is beautiful and has so much to explore! One of our favorite spots was along the Avenue of Giants near Humboldt Redwoods State Park. We loved the giant trees, fungus, and generally lack of anything better to do or anywhere to be.
Redwood Forests_09 Our only vertical image was the ONLY way to try and represent the majesty of these wonderful trees. This was during one of our walks to see the majestic trees! We love this photo because it always reminds us to look up and enjoy the world around us. We had a great time here and earned many Jr. Ranger Badges (blog post) but after two weeks were ready to go inland out of the coastal fog.
Trinidad_16 Trinidad State Park was one of our stops along the Northern California Coast (blog post). One evening we ventured out to hike around Trinidad Head and found this beach just as the fog was rolling in off the ocean. Not one to miss a perfectly opportune photo moment, Jess had the kids race along the beach yelling “Come get me!”. Well, they did.
Utah Salt Flats_13 Driving home from the Bay Area last April, we had a lot on our plates. We had received an offer on our house and were racing home to make sure we still wanted to sell it. Our only concession along the route was an epic photo shoot with the Airstream on the Bonneville Salt Flats before we drove into Salt Lake City the following morning (blog post).
Crater Lake NP_29 Another photo from Crater Lake, but this one from the rim! We spent three days in this park, and could have easily spent weeks more had we a better internet signal! We enjoyed hiking along the rim and enjoying the views of Wizard Island from up top as well as down on the lake.
IMG_0588-Edit Late in October we spent some time along the Oregon Coast. This was a beautiful afternoon spent at Cape Disappointment State Park (definitely did NOT live up to its name) on one of the few clear days we had. We spent many afternoons all along the coast flying our kite in the winds kicked up by the volatile coastal weather. The day after this epic afternoon, we had one of our worst mornings when we discovered the raccoons had gotten into our truck (blog post).
John Day Fossil Beds_09 We desperately needed a break from the Oregon coastal rain, so we took a chance and drove inland via Bend, OR over to the Painted Hills and the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Although we drove many more miles than normal, the drive was worth it as the national park turned out to be one of our favorites!