Art and fun

Last weekend the swinklets & I jaunted down to Fredricksburg to check out Via Colori, a festival that features chalk artists.
I must say there were some amazingly talented artists there. I loved the chance to show the kiddos that art can be so much more than painting. Chalk work, murals, graffiti, textiles, crafts, billboards, music, dance; art is often a matter of perspective rather than definition.

 a view from Swink4's perspective

 One of the pieces at Via Colori

 Minions :-)

Art...by the Greatest Artist ever

Life in 18 feet...

As previously mentioned; we are nuts. Oh, wait...what I meant to say is that we have decided to live in a travel trailer for the forseeable future. Many of you saw or at least have heard of our little 18 foot bumper pull trailer. We stayed in it moving from FL to CO and camped in it a few times over the past few years. It's been fun and a blessing having it to enjoy. We've toyed with the idea of being full timers for a while now but never settled on it. With the move from CO to VA we decided that this would be the perfect time to launch this idea.

So Swink1 moved moved into the camper officially on July 10th when he left CO (that means that he's been in it a little over two months).,just him and the pup (who at 11 is not so much a pup any more). The rest of us joined him on August 14th so that puts all 5 (plus the aforementioned pup) together for just over a month.
In an 18 foot trailer.
That's tight.
And I completely mean that in a space way not in an "awesome" way.
Our cozy little camper is 18 feet long and approximately 6 feet wide. Ya know what that means for square footage?
A postage stamp.
108 square feet.
Have you tried fitting 5 people & 1 large dog into 108 square feet for any length of time? It's a challenge but I'm happy to report that everyone is alive and well. Just for kicks I made a video to share with everyone how we used the space; unfortunately the internet isn't crazy fast so it's saying it will take 500 minutes to upload it. Ummm...ain't nobody got time for that. Instead, here are some lovely pictures!!

 <------ that is the master suite :-) complete with giant tv at the foot of the bed 'cause when we do family movie night we do it big!

              This is Swink3's bed. ------>
               he sleeps above us.

 <--------- The girl's bed (and the dog sleeps at the foot of the bed). Also note the blue & clear 3 drawer system. That is our school book center. This also functions as a dinette set. We are taking multitasking to a whole other level!

                                                Rather large and spacious kitchen --->
                                                that even includes a double sink! Yes,
                                                that would be the master bed (also
                                                known as a fold down couch) in the
                                                lower left corner and I'm standing at
                                                the foot of the girl's bed.

 <------- clothing storage for 3 of the 5 family members. Each kiddo gets their own shelf & dirty clothes go on the bottom. In case you're wondering, the shelf system is in the shower. We don't use the shower in the camper, instead we take advantage of the bathhouse provided by the campground - it's a bit more spacious!

                                                 The rest of the clothing storage ---->
                                                 Swink1 & I share this space and also put
                                                 some of the swinklet's clothes in here that
                                                need to be hung up.

Big Announcement: we upgraded!! We just purchased a larger camper that gives us a bit more room. Comparatively speaking the new place is HUGE!! I'll take pictures soon to share with you. Also, if I can get a somewhat faster internet connection going on then I'll try to upload the video and share that at some point.
What do you think of living in such a small space? Do you think you and your family would be able to or enjoy doing something like this?  Oh, one last picture. Our inside may be small but our yard is enourmous!!

how do those words taste?

Don't ya just love it when God smacks you in the face with things you've said? Well, that happened this week here at Team Swink headquartes.

Pre-swinklets and possibly post swink3, I distinctly remember questioning the parenting skills of individuals who were out running around with their young ones late at night. It usually went something like this, "Good land, what are those people thinking? It's 10:30 at night & they are dragging their kids around Wal-Mart." This was all thought or said quietly to Swink1 while observing said kid(s) either running around like a maniac or dragging around whining through the store. It was also normally said in a superior tone of voice.

 

Gads, did I really cast such crazy judgment on people for keeping their kids out late? Yep, I hate to admit it but I did. That was me & if you're honest, it has probably been you too. Oh, maybe not this particular example of keeping kids up late but something else. Let’s say, “Are they really letting their kid climb those rocks/run screaming in that park/get up ridiculously early/eat nothing but candy & drink Mt. Dew?” OK – that last one will still get the same result from me…just being honest!

 

So what has happened to make me eat my words?

We are now those people.

 

Well, I do avoid Wal-Mart but our bedtime has migrated from rather close to 8:30 to sometime between 10:30 & 11. Since Swink1 has a new work schedule where he doesn’t get off until the middle of the night & since we are living cozily in an 18 foot travel trailer; necessity dictates that our sleep habits adapt to be more like his. This means that if my kiddos need 10 – 12 hours of sleep (and they do) and I need them to sleep until 9:30 or 10:00 in the morning then they don’t go to bed until around 10:30 or 11:00 at night. They are still getting the right amount of sleep, we’ve just moved it to better suit our schedule.

Just like many of those people I questioned probably did to ensure they were doing the best for their family.

On a related note: I’m almost completely positive that one of the biggest detriments to our kids today is lack of sleep. With the schedules that we put on them and that they put on themselves they are not getting an adequate amount of sleep. Do a little sleep research at your house & see what your schedule allows for sleep. Here are some rough guidelines – as always children are different.

Newborns: 10.5 – 18 hrs.

Infants: 9 - 13  (night not including naps)

Toddlers: 12 – 14

Preschoolers: 11 – 13

School-age:  10 – 11

 

Back to the main topic: something I once disdained in other parents is something I know do. Often when we say, “I would never…” it’s only a time until God says, “Oh, but you will.”

 

So tell me what words you’ve had to eat!

Road Trip Review

Awww...finally finished!

I wanted to blog from the road but a) Swink1 had the computer with him & b) the app wouldn't work on my phone so that left me with no blogging until now.

We (the swinklets & I) left Colorado on July 25 and arrived at our destination in Virginia on August 14. In case you are wondering that's 21 day & over 3300 miles. We had a wonderful time visiting family & friends. So here is a quick rundown:

July 25th we went from Colorado to

then after a quick lunch in Clayton we jetted on over to

We hung out with Memaw for a few days swinging at the park, taking walks, seeing a movie & having giant ice cream sundaes.
We then made a slight jump up to

 

where we spent the night with my college roommate (M) & her husband (J). We got to see their awesome house that they have poured a ton of work into, the fire station where J works, play with their family of dogs, & goof off in the sprinkler system. On our way out the door Swink5 says, "Bye Bye My Mitches!"   I PROMISE she has never heard us utter any phrase that comes close to sounding the same. All the same... :-)

We headed back to 

and down south to Houston. A few days spent with Grandpa & Ms. Jean going to splash pads, playgrounds, attempting to geocache, & seeing the Water Wall was enjoyed before heading up to Fort Worth/Weatherford.
On our way we stopped to see some dear friends who love our family as much as we love theirs! The swinklets got to go shooting with G & I got to spend time with P, my sweet sister in Christ. Their house is AMAZING & they have done a wonderful job building it.
Over in Weatherford we saw cousins, friends, the swinklets great-grandmother, and a lady who shaped much of my young life. It's always so much fun to see people you haven't seen in years and to connect with people who at one time or another were a huge part of your life.

Alas, our time in Texas came to an end & we headed north once again.

An overnight stop to see my sister & two of her girls along with another lady who means an incredible amount to me & her daughter. Swimming in the hotel pool & visiting late into the night was enjoyed by all...well, most of us (the swinklets were getting tired but I could have chatted much, much longer). Absolutely loved seeing my family & getting to hang out. The next day we swung by a place that I spent a ton of time at when I was in highschool - Little Niagra. I remember that place as being absolutely freezing but ya know, after you've spent time in the mountain streams of Colorado it doesn't seem so bad! That night we ended up in OKC to spend time with my brother. It is a wonderful treasure to get to know him as an adult; he's 6 years older than me & our childhoods were completely different so we don't share many of the same memories and he has a drastically different perspective on things than I do.

On Sunday the 11th we headed east.

a quick stop at an awesome park in Little Rock was as much as we saw of the Natural State before we were on the road again headed to

well, we didn't actually stay in Memphis but since the "Welcome to Tennessee" sign is in the middle of the freeway in the middle of the bridge, I wasn't quite sure how I was gonna get the kids up there to take their picture. Around 11 that night we rolled into a little north Tennessee town to see my best friend evah! & her family.
   **I'm fully aware that the previous sentence is not grammatically correct...you can't say "evah!" without the exclamation point.
Anyway, the next day the swinklets again went shooting only this time with D & a couple of the girls. We got the tour of the farm which is not eerily reminiscent of the one A & I grew up spending time at in OK, happily enough. The family is thriving as is their garden (minus the tomatoes which have had too much rain). The girls (4 of them) are set to show horses in the State Fair soon - yay for hard work!! Not yay for the extra expense!!
Late morning of the 13th we set out once more

finally we made it to the same state as Swink1! Hallelujah! But we had once more over night stop since we wanted the swinklets to be in good spirits when they saw Daddy rather than completely exhausted from the trip.

Around 2 on August 14th we pulled into the campsite & are together again. Seeing as how that was Swink5's birthday & she kept saying she wanted Daddy to be at her party it was perfect timing.

A great trip with lots of fun times but I'm glad it's finally over!!

chaos?! of course

The last couple of weeks have been COMPLETE chaos.  I'm beginning to think that we either thrive on it or can't figure out a way to live without it.

Swink1 headed out the door on a Tuesday to visit his dadio down in Houston for a few days while the swinklets and i  attempted to finish the house. By Thursday I was beat down and pretty much sick & tired of dealing with cleaning and sorting and packing so we took off with some friends for the mountains.  Swink3's bestest friend in the whole world and his family were going camping and since his mom is pretty darn cool she invited us along. Thurs. - Sun. was a great time of zip-lining, fishing, grilling, tank wars, playing in mountain creeks, bb guns, s'mores, rain, hiking, archery, hanging out, and fun. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves and it made us leaving a tiny bit easier on the boys. We are sure gonna miss that family :-(

We came back on Sunday to spend the evening with Swink1 then on Monday i went into the hospital for surgery. It was planned. It was fine. There will be more info coming soon. I was discharged from the hospital on Wed. morning and Swink1 left for the East Coast that night.

The new job puts us in rather close proximately to the capital of the US. He had to start his new job on the 15th so out the door he went and away on an adventure.

The swinklets and i are camping in our friend's basement now. Interesting. The friend is wonderful and amazing and incredibly generous - as are her daughters. They have made us feel very at home and welcome so I'd like to leave before they get sick and tired of us :-)

All the above being said; we plan on hitting the open road Thursday morning. We have spent the last week spending time with people we cherish and will dearly miss when we leave here. That's the worst part of leaving...saying "see ya later."


I would have pictures but alas...all of them are on a disk & this handy computer that I'm using doesn't have a disk drive :-/ hmmm...

Packin' up & cleanin' out

One of the more difficult tasks of clearing out our things is letting go of stuff. Not all stuff; I've had no troubles selling picture frames, furniture, clothes or decor items. Wanna know what gets me?

Books.
Books are my weakness. The stack of books we are passed on to others was enormous. The stack of books we kept is... not so much. How do I choose between so many wonderful stories and so many helpful ideas? The piles of books that have lead me in a new directon stretch along the wall. The countless times I've snuggled with the swinklets and rhymed or learned about new things or enjoyed familiar characters are represented in the little hardbound editions.

Yes I have a Kindle (though at the moment I think it's done for) and yes we can check books out at the library but it's not the same as the giant collection of treasured tomes that we had.

It's time now for new people to grow and for new kiddos to enjoy getting to know the wonderful inhabitants of those many places.

Goodbye sweet friends...may we meet again someday.

Why's all that stuff for sale?

If you’re friends with me on FB and at this point all 7 of my “followers” are personal friends so I’m guessing you are; then you’ve seen the numerous “For Sale” posts I’ve been putting up.  We seem to be selling an inordinately large amount of items. This observation will no doubt lead you to question why we are selling so much stuff. I mean, sure everyone who is PCSing or ETSing sells things but who needs to get rid of that much? This line of questioning will inevitably be followed by a couple of possibilities.
 

A)     We are hoarders & need to bring our level of stuff down to a
         level the movers can actually work with.

B)      We have a side business of refabbing furniture & other things.

C)      We are actually cat burglars who can’t figure out how to swipe things of value and therefore
          have ended up with tons of junk and need to get rid of it quickly before we are caught.

or

D)     We are selling 98% of everything we own & moving into an 18ft. travel trailer because
          we happen to be slightly insane.

Well…despite some people’s idea, we are not hoarders, and while option B is somewhat true it isn’t on a grand scale. That leaves us with C or D. You know, when I was younger I always wanted to be a cat burglar; it sounded mysterious and full of intrigue but alas, when you have kids it’s much better (and easier) to raise them when you are with them rather than from a prison cell.

That leaves us with D.  

Yes, our family of 5 (plus Foxy- the dog) will be moving into a travel trailer.

Yes, it is only 18 ft. long.

Yes, we are slightly insane.

There are a number of reasons we are making this decision and be assured that I will share them soon. As for now, I must go wake Swink4 up since she has decided to sleep the day away but we have plans so her beauty rest will have to wait.

grace & peace friends,

swink2

Changes are a comin'

Big changes are on the horizon for Team Swink.

Swink1 signs out on terminal leave Wed. 6/12/13. This change wasn’t highly anticipated nor was it what we thought would be happening this year. However, it is what is happening and that means that for the first time since 1997 neither one of us will be tied to the military. Not as a soldier or as a spouse...weird

 

It’s a big adjustment but one that we are now excited about. There is an entire world out there with opportunities just waiting. There is an extension of the path that God has already chosen for our family and it is waiting on us to take it. The good thing about all this: I enjoy change. I adore moving and exploring new places. Meeting new people and visiting old friends.

During a recent conversation someone asked if we would go “home” once Swink1 is out. I honestly couldn’t think of where “home” would be. Other than a few friends, I have no ties to the town I grew up in, neither of us have any desire to go to his hometown, our parents are scattered & the town where we own a house is no longer home. Many of our friends have a definitive answer when asked where home is; I don’t.

The best way I’ve found to explain the way I view it is this: whereas the oak has deep roots that cement it into place I’m more like a cactus whose roots are shallow & far-reaching. Draw your own conclusions as to the other similarities between me & the cacti!

Pray for us friends, as we start out

on this new adventure!