Happy Halloween

Day 11
Not much to report today. Halloween night gave us a great excuse to get back in the old neighborhood even if just to beg for treats from our former neighbors. We even got to send the smurfs up to their old front door. They got just enough of a glimpse to see that the 100 year old hardwood floors we put in just over a year ago had already been replaced by cheap carpet. . . . wow.

The best part of the day is that our kids each got a pumpkinfull worth of candy, but once they brought it back to their 4-wheeled place of residence there is literally no where to keep the plastic pumpkins!!


This picture shows Alle's stash! It's not up in her cubbie to protect it from her brother or sister (or maybe her dad!) it's up there because that's the ONLY place to keep it!








That's about all for tonight. We had a good Halloween and I'm sure it will be as memorable as any other Halloween could be. Although, I'm a little disappointed we didn't get back here in time to see if anyone had their headlights on here at the Texan RV Ranch.




Early night for me tonight. We'll see how friendly confines of the RV treat me and my slight headache tonight.

Catching up

Day 9:

Happy to report that although the temperature on Friday night got even lower than Thursday night, we were prepared. Although Friday night at 8:00 we didn't know how prepared we were. After the frigid Thursday night that found us seeing our breath Friday morning, the sun going down was a concern all day long. After a cold night at Friday Night Lights at the soccer complex, and several very good offers of accommodations of warmer resting places we decided that we could handle the cold. . . . but just in case we picked up a space heater at Dollar General (which probably means it will last us 3 days worth).

By the time the Ranger's were out of the World Series-3rd inning maybe-at least we were warm. Not only were we warm we were on the verge of hot which lead to Brandi getting up in the middle of the night and turning down the heater. Saturday morning brought frost to the ground and windows which was barely noticable, until the the door opened to let the dogs out. Also Saturday morning brought a cold morning of soccer and losses for both Adam and Alle's team (bummer). If a couple of humbling losses is the worst for the day. . . it's a good day in our book.

In a brief, but not quite unrelated sidebar, this is where I express my amazement in my wife. On Saturday, in spite of all the craziness in our lives right now, she threw a kick-butt Halloween party. Sure we didn't do it at our house as has been customary over the last couple of years rolling or otherwise, but it was still a lot of fun and all 19 kids in attendance seemed to have a good time. You rock babe!!

Day 10

Double digits!!! After our first day experiences last Friday I must say I'm a little surprised about how well we are fitting into a schedule here. Fitting in the the RV is a completely different topic, but fitting into a routine is going well. A second Sunday commute to church, a great time of worship, teaching and great fellowship means only 3 more weeks of fielding Jeremiah's "did you drive your house" questions. It also proved that there actually are some people following along here which is fun. As in many things when a certain amount of accountability exists its easier to stay motivated! (not to mention I'm actually having fun documenting out the days).

Today actually looked as much like a typical day as any that we have had here. After church and a bag of burgers from Brahm's (2 actually- amazing how much Adam eats!) it was back to the ranch for some relaxing and a nap! Just like back on Parkside I got to nap in living room with the TV on. Only this time the couch was the bed I sleep on every night. After my nap (honestly I have no idea what anyone else in the house did while I was out cold), we ran some errands and then enjoyed homemade pizza. Of course that homemade pizza was made in the Graham home and we are so thankful for all of our friends and their generosity.

As we prepare for week two tomorrow, everyone is tucked in and I'm debating if I should watch the Cowboys or turn in. . . . easy choice - I'll check the score in the morning!

Keep checking back. On top of our daily (not so interesting) updates I have a couple other things that I need to address in this space, such as:

The difference between an RV Park and a trailer Park
My goal to make cornhole the official game of the Texan RV Ranch
My fear of using the propane (yes we have a furnace in here)


Nitey.

Pictures

8:

So it took the good people at Lockheed Martin and their incredibly nice 9/80 work week (which means I'm off today) to finally get some pictures uploaded. I'm sure if I want to take this blog big time I would have them all ready to go with each post. .. so obviously I'm not ready for big time. In fact, I'm not even sure that anyone is reading this so if nothing else the kids will have a place we can go back to in a couple years and see about our adventure, just like the adoption process and the Disney trip - which I'm also sure nobody read. . . . but hey what's put in cyber space is there forever right! (wish I would have uploaded the baby pictures of the girls to a blog. .. doh)



Before we get to mass picture update (or 5 pictures) let me just state that when I said it was cold and the rain was coming yesterday, I didn't know what the heck - or whatnthesamhill if I may - I was talking about. We didn't know cold until we woke up to see your breath cold this morning. Based on the temperature in the Expedition it was 39 outside. Based on the temperature of Ella's nose - it wasn't much warmer inside! But we toughed out the morning and just like the previous 5 mornings got everyone out of rolling casa and off to school - on time no less! Although our diesel alarm clock was running a little early today (6:07). Apparently, he isn't a Ranger's fan and didn't stay up all night watching them blow chance after chance to put away Cardinals.



** Blog contest ** If anyone reads this and has a space heater (that's what was recommended by our friends in the office) and would not mind parting with it for 3 more weeks (24 more days to be more precise, 573 more hours to actually be even MORE precise) my little children (because they don't the added bonus of sleeping with the dogs) would really appreciate it! Just post in Brandi's facebook page - Got a heater for you. (honestly I'm not even sure she reads this).


Anyway on to pictures:





Thursday - day before closing. This was trip 1 of what seems like a novemdecillion (go ahead. . . look it up!)

In the RV world we have learned to take advantages of multi-use areas of our house. Like this is a shower, a shoe closet, a clothes dryer and also on days that it rains. . . a catch basin.

Ok not a great picture, but again me taking advantage of a multi-use area. Here I am in the dining room, also the living room, and the office. Which also happens to be our guest bed if anyone wants to come visit us!

Here's the view. That's the shadow of our baby in the picture. The glorious site you are looking at is the bath house! Its a short, but brisk walk!

Because I'm too lazy to mess with changing the orientation of this picture and because I'm about to be late to meeting up for some laundry fun at the Pruesser's, you'll have to either use your imagination or turn your screen. . .either way - here she is. And in case the sticker isn't big enough it says 1-800-RV4RENT. Don't worry - it says it on all four sides!!

Again sideways. . . I know. Another shot of 80% of our house.

Tilt counter clock-wise and dream of sleeping up there with Ella, Alle and Adam.

Again, counter clock-wise. And yes the doggie treats are on the kitchen counter - which is also the footboard of our bed. No wonder the dogs like sleeping with us so much.

Here comes the cold. . .

Day 6:
Feel free to assume that if there are no updates from RV land it was a good day. Honestly, most of the day yesterday we were probably pretty confident in our transition to house on wheels. The morning was uneventful, which is the opposite of chaotic. I'm not really sure that there is anything to the left of uneventful on the scale and if there is we haven't seen it. Maybe by day 25 we will.. . but not yet.

We did learn one thing yesterday. Jenny P makes some delicious enchiladas!! As generous as her offering of dinner was, even a basically delivered meal is still hard to eat in friendly confines of our little 200 square feet of heaven. Fortunately, the weather held out and we were able to eat outside at our picnic table. The first time all five of us had sat for dinner together in over 9 days!! Don't get me wrong, we (I) will never turn down a cooked meal for us, but after last nights experience, we (I) would rather we sit at your table and enjoy your company!

When the worst I can say about Wed night was that I hit my head pretty hard on the cubbies above the bed you can bet it was a good night! Of course you know what that means. . .

Day 7:
I guess the start of day 7 comes at 12:00 am on Thursday morning. And that is about the time the cold started coming. When you live in a house insulated from the weather by some aluminum and vinyl you can feel it a little earlier than most. And it was about midnight that I realized that the soft blanket that we use to cover up with was not going to be enough. Of course, Brandi wasn't quite in the same predicament, not only was she not sleeping against the outer wall, she was also keeping warm thanks to our snuggle bugs who are enjoying the comfort of our bed - Desi and Lela.

The worst part of the day could possibly be that when we woke up at 6:30 it was the warmest part of the day! The rain and cold front that kept the Rangers from winning the World Series Wed night is making its way through North Texas. While we were all at work/school the temperatures here kept dropping. By the time I got home at 6:00 not only had the temperature dropped into the upper 40's but the rain started falling.

Now, if it was only the sound of the rain and the cold keeping us cooped up we could survive. In fact as I type this we are surviving. Sure my feet are a little cold (because the dryer that costs $1.50 a load doesn't seem run long enough to actually dry our clothes) and I'm watching the biggest baseball game of the year on a 13 inch TV, and thanks to all of you with windscreen TVs can't even see the score. Unfortunately, our biggest worry is not if sound of the rain hitting our metal room will keep us awake all night, it's where will the next place to start leaking be? Currently my bucket that normally serves as my cornhole bag carrier has been transformed into the water catcher in the bathroom. The water that is coming from the skylight in the bathroom - which I'm sure is a major upgrade in the RVing world.

According the weather.com the rain will only last till tomorrow morning. . . perfect!!
Until then - Go Rangers!

Forming a routine

Day 4:
With the end of the weekend comes the day of getting up and everyone getting ready for work/school. For us it represents the first early morning wake up alarm. It's probably not much unlike anyone else's Monday mornings. The diesel truck in the next space fires up at 6:15, the dogs stir and bark and there you have it.. . the start of a typical day. At least what appears to be a typical day for the Thompson's over the next 27.

In all the craziness of mornings in the RV it wasn't that bad. I mean yes, we take turns brushing our teeth while standing in the bathroom, bedroom and kitchen all at the same time. And yes, the girls get dressed in the their bed behind the curtain and who doesn't get right out of bed to walk across the gravel to take the first pee of the morning. (We have a shower and toilet in our home but it has turned less into bathroom and more into closet -<< insert picture here>>).

Once we all pulled away from the ranch it was Monday as usual. I dropped the kids off at school and heard each one of them tell the teachers at the car line that they are now living in an RV. .. I'm so proud!

Monday night was rather uneventful, some playing on the playground, eating Subway for the 2nd time in 4 days and then an early night to bed for the kids. Would have been an early night for me too but much like the rest of North Texas... I've got Ranger Fever!!! 1 more win!

Day 5:
Tues morning much of same. Same diesel alarm, same business inside, same morning walk across the gravel. The big difference on Tues is that we had very little time in the RV. That's because we spent most of the night with a great group of folks at Mansfield's Big League Dreams. It's now about 10:00 and everyone is asleep and I'm headed there soon.

We'll try to make tomorrow more interesting. Although did meet our Aussie neighbor today and another maintenance man. The maintenance guy actually stopped by to introduce himself, and pretty much told us that owner of the ranch had told him to keep an eye on us. I'm not sure rather to be honored or embarrassed. . . until tomorrow - nitey.

Just like every Sunday. . .

Day 3:

For the first time that I can remember I missed setting up the church this morning. (And it was glorious!) I wish I had a good excuse. Like the thunder and lightning knocked the power out, or I was too sore from all the heavy lifting from the move. But the truth of the matter is, I slept right through my alarm. That has to speak of the comfyness of our 25 footer right? As a matter of fact when I finally was rudely awaken at 7:30 by texts from the actual guys that were setting up the church I was the first one up. The kids all tucked away in their "room" above the cab of the truck were still sleeping. Desi hadn't noticed the sun coming up and Lela was too cozy burrowed in the blankets of our bed. For the record, for the last 3 years the dogs have been sleeping in the closet of our bedroom through the night. I'm pretty sure they are enjoying the confines of the rolling home and the fact that allows them back on the bed pretty well.

Sunday provided a good way test our morning routine out. We need to be at church by 8:40 so by the time we all got moving at 8:00 we had a little time to find which cubby everyone's clothes are in, get some breakfast (although Adam and I both decided we'd eat our breakfast at church - Thanks Rush Creek - ML for donut deliciousness!). After a great day of worshipping we stopped in on a couple of potential houses (this time not of the rolling variety) and then home to the ranch.

It was really just like any other Sunday afternoon. The kids rested, Brandi napped and I intently watched Arian Foster rack up the fantasy football points for my teams!! After being inside for an hour or two we saw some kids at the playground so I forced our munchkins outside to make friends. Turned out the three of them running towards the tiny little wooden play structure scared the other kids away so they were left to make monkey's of themselves alone. Brandi and I also decided to enjoy the weather and sit under the canopy by the pool and go through our RV Park survival kit from Lanae. (side note: This is where we WILL be playing cornhole in the near future when I get my boards down there). (side note to the side note: blogger flagged "cornhole" in the spellchecker. . . won't they feel stupid when it's an olympic sport!)

There is just something about a pool on a nice day that is like a magnet for the kids. Not to mention that it is mid Oct, but it never fails - what starts at touching the water, turns into full on swimming in their clothes. I'm sure the people that saw our kids had some great thoughts about our parenting skill but my line of thought was . . . . when in Rome. . . (this does bring up an interesting debate to be addressed later - is there a difference between trailer park and RV park?)

A short run from the pool to the bath house allowed the kids to get nice and warm (all without using our precious hot water from our tank) and clean!

Yesterday was also the first day that we were out and about and met some of our neighbors. There are the prankster pipeline guys that live in front of us. Who are in town from either 2 months to 2 years and it could change at any time. There is Nick next to us who is a diesel mechanic living in Gma's RV (and although it is probably from the early 80's makes us jealous at the size of it) and also the little girl that lives by the dumpster. No kidding that's how she introduced herself. "We live down there by the dumpster". . . can't make it up. . . only at the ranch.

We enjoyed pizza dinner at the Skinner's then back in time to threaten the kids with spankings (too much of Tina's sweet sweet tea!) and watch the Ranger's win before another restful night.

Day Two

We managed to stay busy most of day two. We had two morning soccer games, grocery run, dinner plans, and a Ranger watch at the Hall's. Things were looking on the up and up...we got all the kiddos tucked in bed and JD and I shortly followed. However, once all snuggled in the unthinkable happened. You guessed it, a good ole thunderstorm. I like rain and all, and know we need the rain, but truly was not a happy camper (pardon the pun) when giant rain drops hit the metal roof of our RV. The storm would appear to have had passed only to hear the patter of more raindrops throughout the night. Not the most restful. Oh did I mention that any slight wind and we feel like we are on a boat ride gone wrong. Stay tuned....

So We've Moved. . . . (Again)

So the Thompson's are on the move again. Only this time, things will probably get a lot more interesting. So let's start the play by play as we count down the days in the RV. Yep, that's right RV as in Recreational Vehicle!! Or in our case as in. . . HOME!



What started with a contract on our house back on Sept 29th has already been a little chaotic, and is only the start of the adventure. The new buyers wanted in the house ASAP which meant we had little time to prepare, much less find a new house to go to. Home inspection was Oct 7 and it wasn't until the the 17th that we found out everything was good to go. Oh, did I mention the closing date was scheduled for Oct 21!!


So where does a family of 5 and two dogs go for a short term (oh boy do we pray it's short term)rental? Well, you start by looking at rental properties. When you get denied by them you move on to cabin rentals, when the dogs can't join you there you go to plan B or maybe Q. That's the local 1-800-RV4RENT location. So we secured our reservation and a spot at the Texan RV Ranch in Mansfield.


With that all settled the next hurdle is the actual move out. What we thought was great forethought, naturally turns out crazy busy and after two flat bed trailer loads, two small trailer loads, about 8 guys, two 10x15 storage units and 1/3 of a garage (Thanks Crawford's!) we were out of our house and prepped for the move into our rolling casa.


Of course it couldn't be that simple. Tuesday Brandi was at the Dr. with what appears to be ulcer like symptoms. . . just think how bad it would be if she had some stress in her life! Obviously super mom was overcoming that too well and therefore came down with strep throat on Thursday morning.


But we survived all that even without as much direction from the Boss as we would have liked, we closed on time on Fri. Thanks to a last minute visit by Lanae even Brandi's treasured red chandelier is safe and sound (probably still in the back of Lanae's car) and we were out. No longer residents of the Lowe's Farm community but ready for our next space. . .Wherever Gods wants us!


With all that said, follow us along over the next 30 days as live out our very busy lives here at the Texan RV Ranch! We'll try to keep this up with day by day details of all of our adventures.


Day 1:

We check in at the front desk while our RV and all it's stickered up glory sits in the parking lot. Mary at the front desk realizes right away that we are not the "normal" RVers as she tries to field all of our questions. Before long, Micheal, the maintenance guy is there to escort us to our site. (I have since learned by watching others check in that what we thought was sort of the norm of someone helping you to your site is not so normal) Not only did Michael escort us he also attempted to get us all hooked up with the luxuries of the RV park. . . things like connection to the sewage line, the city water and electricity. I say attempted because none of these connection went as planned. First he looks at our power cord and tells us he can't connect it. The pegs are all bent up and corroded.


While we wait on what to do about the electricity he moves on to the water supply. After we locate the hose (only took me about two trips around all the cubbies on the exterior of what we will be calling from here on home), he connects it and a nice steady drip runs down the home. And based on the rust stains it's not the first time this leak has happened. So new hose is also in our near future. Finally, after a quick visit to the general store on site we had the right adaptor for our sewer line and we were in business!!


Last thing to do is go get the kids and bring them home! Needless to say they are jazzed about their new residence (follow along and we'll see how long that lasts). But the excitement declined some when Brandi and I went to bed at 8:45. It'd had been a long a couple days!

Check back for day two and on as we count them down. (Also hope to update this with some photos. . . as soon as we find the cord!)