The Incredible Journey (Part 4)

Leaving West Virginia was exciting because our next stop was Ohio. And we had big plans in Ohio.

However, getting there wasn't that simple. You see, West Virginia has this little thing called a panhandle. And once you think you are out of West Virginia, you are suddenly back in it. And then you start to wonder what happened. And then you start to worry. Am I going the wrong way? Am I lost?

And then you realize that West Virginia is some sort of alternate universe where you can never escape.
I kid you not, our drive that day went exactly like this: West Virginia, Maryland, West Virginia, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Ohio.

Seriously.

It is way less exciting to tell the kids we just crossed into West Virginia when you just told them we left there 20 minutes ago. Damn that panhandle!I guess we're just lucky. We had the extreme pleasure of passing through West Virginia three times in one morning. And I assure you, I was not lost.

(Got the GPS, never need a map again!)

Finally, finally, after a long day on the road, we arrived in Ohio. Finally.

We stayed at a military base that night and I felt so much safer there. In fact, we were greeted upon arrival by a sweet couple who were camping near us.
I guess that I'm a pretty pitiful sight as I set up camp with my splinted finger and six unruly children. As I hooked up the poop chute, a retired gentleman approached me and asked if I needed help. Of course I said "no" because that is my M.O. Heather always refuses help. Can you say character flaw? Anyway.

The man's wife eventually came over and he helped me unhook my camper and we chatted. They were amazed that I was traveling alone with my children and were surprised to hear that my husband was in Iraq and I was all by myself. Being retired military himself, our new friend was touched. He told me that I was an example for military wives everywhere. I shook my head and told him I'm just doing what I have to do.

The kids and I left to take care of our big plans (more on that later!) and came back late that night to crawl into bed.

When we woke up the next morning, our new friends came over and helped me break camp. They told me that they had told their friends about our family and that they were all wishing us a safe trip. The sweet couple even gave me a copy of the military campground book so that I could scout out bases to camp at along our way. The gentleman warned me that I needed new tires and told me that I wouldn't make it to Washington without getting new tires. I inflated my tires and headed on my way, planning to buy new ones in Colorado.

We left Ohio feeling blessed by friendship in unexpected places. Sometimes my courage is boosted just by a simple conversation with a stranger. Sometimes dinner with a "new" friend can feel just like dinner with a friend I've known for years.

Ohio goes down with a smiley face next to it in my book.

Wordless Wednesday

The Incredible Journey (Part 3)

Our third stop on this Incredible Journey was to the wild, wonderful state of West Virginia.

West Virginia is no stranger to me. I spent summers there as a teenager on mission trips with our church's youth group as we built houses for a poor community. I explored abandoned coal mines and didn't do the greatest job of staying out of trouble. I have gone skiing and whitewater rafting in West Virginia. I've jumped off of cliffs into the deep lake water. I've slept in a log cabin in bear country and drank illegal moonshine. I've seen incredible poverty and beautiful mountains there. As they say, it's wild and wonderful in West Virginia.
So it seemed quite fitting that our first stop was in a tiny town, nestled between the mountains along a river in West Virginia. After a shaky 5-mile trek down a one lane gravel road, we arrived in the middle of nowhere.

We watched the sun set over the fields of wildflowers. The kids were thrilled to finally be headed west and I just spent the night praying that we wouldn't eaten by a bear or abducted by aliens or kidnapped by hillbillies.

Again, we survived.

In the morning, we awoke at dawn. The mountains were shrouded in a heavy veil of white fog. The wildflowers were wet with dew. Nobody stirred in the quiet of the cool morning as we broke camp and headed back down the long, gravel road.

We thought we had seen the last of West Virginia as we watched the sun rising behind us as we drove west. We were wrong.

The Incredible Journey (Part 2)

Let me start by saying that we are not yet in Washington... not even close! We are a bit closer.


At the moment we are actually visiting family in Colorado. It's been a wonderful break from the daily driving that I've done for weeks now. (Over 4,000 miles and counting!)

I'll get caught up soon, but for now, here are some pictures from the second part of our trip. We spent nearly 2 weeks in Virginia and had the pleasure of seeing friends from Massachusetts and just running around my old stomping grounds. The D.C. area holds a lifetime of memories for me and I enjoy sharing some of that with my kids.
While in Virginia we camped at a familiar spot... my grandmother's property. She is one of the few people left who own acres of land in the shadow of the nation's capitol, where everything is condos and homes crammed on 1/3 acre lots. Her property is a paradise in the midst of the hectic lifestyle of northern Virginia.

I backed my 26-foot camper down the winding driveway and pulled right up to the water and electric hookups. I figured camping here was a safe place to start since a) I have never camped in a camper before, and b) I was a little freaked out about camping without a man around, especially since there were escaped convicts on the loose from Arizona and I was a bit overly paranoid.
Besides, my grandma's house is more beautiful than any campground. And we were surrounded by nature!
Plus, there is a perfect playhouse for the kids and plenty of things to explore.

Of course, for the little guys exploring means making mischief. They don't miss any chance to create a little chaos. In fact, they thrive on it.

When I had one son, I said it was difficult. When I had my second son, I said there wasn't much more challenging than 2 little boys so close in age. When I had twin girls, I determined that twins (even girls) were
definitely the biggest challenge I could ever face. With the addition of these twin boys, I have now learned that I should just shut up already.

Twin boys are, by far, the sneakiest creatures on earth.

If these guys weren't so darn cute...

My four boys kept me busy as I saved them from drowning, made sure they didn't throw things into the fish pools, and ensured that they didn't catch the camper on fire.

We visited family, went swimming, walked the Manassas battlefields, and went to the Air & Space Museum. We walked and walked and soaked up the sun.

We had mama drama, we had minor injuries, and we had a few annoying roadblocks. But we had a great time and made memories that will stick with us for a lifetime.

Sometimes, success in life can only be measured by whether or not you survived.
We survived.

The Incredible Journey (Part 1)

Although it feels like it was just yesterday that we were celebrating Joshua's sixth birthday and preparing to leave Georgia for good, it was really more than a month ago. We traded our empty house in Georgia for a cramped camper and life on the road. And it has been one of the best decisions I have ever made.

There is nothing that could have prepared me for this journey. Whenever I start to feel like I have life figured out, God throws me a curve ball. Whether it's twins, twins again, a deployment, or a cross-country move, I am clearly being taught patience, humility, flexibility, and compassion. Apparently I had a lot of lessons to learn, because, well... have you seen my life? As the end of July grew closer, my nervousness and excitement consumed me. Once the hardest part of the actual moving was over, we hit the road, ready to face the next challenge.

For me, that next challenge was learning to live in a camper with 6 young children, a dog, and a cat. By myself. On the road.

The first part of our journey began when we pulled out of our driveway and hit the highway. Our typical 9-ish hour drive to Virginia took over 11 hours and was complicated by an overheating van and overloaded camper... not to mention the 6 kids with overactive bladders.After countless potty stops and a few stops for me to check (and add) oil, we arrived safely in Virginia. We had eaten 3 meals on the road and had spent the first night in our camper. We had survived. Day 1 of our trip was complete.
After driving over 500 miles, I was exhausted. But I had no idea what was in store for us next...

Getting There Is More Than Half of the Fun

3,121 miles traveled... and 3,000 more to go.

16 states visited... and 6 more left to see.


I have asked myself many times why I am doing this crazy trip. But I've answered myself countless times when I have seen how much fun the kids are having. One thing is certain, this is a summer we will never forget. It's a summer that will live in infamy. It's the summer I threw caution to the wind and headed west. And we are having the time of our lives!

We have camped on the quiet shore of Lake Michigan and in the mountains of West Virginia. We have caught grasshoppers in South Dakota and roasted marshmallows in Wisconsin. We have had a tire blow out in Michigan and gotten stuck on a dirt road in Montana. We have met the families behind two of my favorite blogs and we made new friends in a retired couple we met. We have watched the sun set over the Mississippi River and watched it rise again over the plains of North Dakota. We have seen sunflowers and palm trees, wildflowers and pine trees, farms and fields, cities and skyscapers, highways and one lane roads.

There have been moments when I'm terrified at what I've gotten myself into, but I can't let myself think about it too much. When I drive for 2 hours without cell phone coverage or an hour without seeing another car, it's intimidating. When we have camped without hookups, it's a bit scary for me. But the kids don't even notice.

I can't wait to post pictures and catch up on emails. Thank you all for thinking of us and praying for our family. I am doing this alne,, but I'm never truly alone. What a blessing! This is the trip of a lifetime. Only one thing can top this... and that is Jason's return from Iraq! And I got the call yesterday... he'll be home a bit earlier than expected!!! Next month I will have my husband back home for the first time in what feels like forever. Washington, here we come!

Can We Just Pretend Yesterday Didn't Happen?

Ever have one of those days when you feel like you just need a do-over? That was me yesterday.

Our otherwise fun trip took a turn for the worst. I thought the day would never end. I can laugh today but that's only because I treated myself to my first iced latte since starting this trip.

It started when I couldn't get the slide on the camper to come in so we could leave our campsite. If only I had known then that it was just the beginning... Our campground was in BFE, Michigan. There wasn't even a gas station in "town" but I finally found one and stopped to put air in my tires. I had noticed the tires were not looking good and I'm pretty irritated that they sold me a camper with 4 bad tires. Anyway, I got 40 miles down the road and blew a tire on the interstate.

I waited for nearly 2 hours for the roadside assistance guy to show up. When he did, I worried about what he might do to me. He had no teeth and smoked a cigarette as he lifted the spare tire from under my propane tanks!!! Actually, he turned out to be quite sweet And we both had a good laugh at my situation. I finally got on the road and decided to try to make it the rest of the 160 miles to Chicago because there were no tire stores open on a Sunday anyway.

Eight hours later, we arrived to our campground. This was after numerous stops to let the tires cool and me busting a u-turn on the front lawn of a church during the church service. (don't ask!) Our campground was beautiful but had no water hookups. We were 100 yards from the shore of Lake Michigan (literally!) and had no water. It wouldn't be a problem except that someone had stolen the cap to our fresh water tank so the tank was empty and dirty. Yuck. We walked a mile to get water from the marina and the kids convinced me to spend $17 on corndogs. (again, don't ask!)

We decided to stop at the beach and everyone loved the sand and water. I felt like a 12-year old with ADD as I tried to watch six kids going six different directions. Covered in sand and with no water in the camper to rinse with, we returned "home." It was then that we discovered that our darling dog had chewed through a window and door frame in the camper. And there was poop. Lots of it. Our dog won't poop when he's on a leash so he had held it awhile already. I cleaned up and had the kids wait in the van to escape the swarms of biting flies.

We got into the camper and had another potty incident and a spill. After I had just cleaned the floor three times!

Other highlights include: Nathan's black eye, Leila's mysteriously bleeding lips, 2 hours in bumper to bumper Chicago traffic with a huge camper, my hurt finger bumping into things, no wifi again, and not enough sleep. But don't get me wrong, we are still smiling (through the blood, sweat, and tears!)

I can't wait to post pictures but I need a wifi connection first. (I read the iPhone tethering only works if you cancel your data plan. Anyone know if that's true? I'm dying for Internet access and typing on my iPhone is so hard with no functioning index finger!)

Right now we are sitting here near Chicago waiting for the camper to get the new tires. I asked if they give a military discount and they don't so I asked if there was a discount for women with too many kids. They just laughed at me. I'm glad we are still laughing.