We Have Launched!!!

The launch has officially commenced!!! 

We are still Mississippi because the kids are still in school but we went ahead and decided to launch the full-time+
adventure locally.

We are planners; not sure if I am as much as Paul is so maybe I should say that Paul has done a great job with the planning and preparing stages and easing into this new lifestyle.  Jumping into something, accepting new things takes time for us; as spontaneous as we like to be; when it comes to big things, it's all carefully planned out.

Staying Local: Getting our Feet Wet first! 

Staying local for a month or so was something we considered to do even in April but of course you sometimes never know exactly how things will work out even with the best planning. The best part about staying local for a little bit before we venture off is that we are familiar with everything here; this is still home and if something happens that we need to fix we know where to look and where to go to fix it. We can have time to settle in and organize things while we all are in the same space so going on the road is a much smoother transition.

The first issue that had to be corrected: Tires! We bought the camper used; it's a 2014 and the tires seemed to still be in decent condition but we found out by moving it to the local campground that they really were not in as good of condition as we first thought so new tires had to be put on all the way around. We knew and planned for the possibility of having to replace all of the tires, was just hoping we wouldn't have to right away; wishful thinking! It's all good now, so at least we won't have to worry about tires unless we happen to run over something and hopefully that won't happen; but if it does; even on the road far away from home, it is something we know is all part of this.

Nature and Wildlife

Ok, we are in a campground, not exactly in the middle of the woods. We are still in town; just a little south of town. The campground is maintained and people are in and out all of the time. However, we have encountered some wildlife; campground specific maybe but still things we haven't come across in our own backyard.

The wildlife we don't want to encounter are the dangerous types and there was one of those snakes when we first moved the camper into the spot. I hope we scared it away and it doesn't come back but it is a good reminder to always pay attention to the surroundings and it never hurts to be a little careful when exploring.

The wildlife we have enjoyed are the squirrels and ducks! They have enjoyed our food and it's been fun feeding them. They are definitely used to people and guess they have learned that these people that come to the campground with food are pretty nice to them too. Squirrels and ducks may not be that big of a deal but we have been enjoying them; they are like our adoptive pets while we are here. I know the little things such as a squirrel eating out of your hand are the things the kids (and ourself) will remember from these trips. I hope to be able to have something unique little experiences everywhere we go.

Really, where else can you feed a squirrel right out of your hand?

Two-Year-Old Toddler!! 

One experience we have had this week is our two-year-old grandson, Lane. Lane has been visiting us since last Friday and will go home this upcoming Saturday. Our oldest son, Aaron came in for a few days as well but with his work schedule, he couldn't stay that long. Having two extra people in such a small space has been pretty chaotic. A two-year-old toddler can make some big messes that is for sure! It's easy to forget how busy and messy toddlers are. He has been fun and has been enjoying his first camping adventure. To him, this is a temporary trip, a fun time with Nana and PopPop and he gets to go home to his own routine. Between him and the kids still in school, there is not much down time so we can't use this first week as an indicator of how the rest of the weeks will be. Being able to celebrate his birthday and to experience lots of "firsts" with him has been an adventure all on its own. I am not sure how much of this he will remember but hopefully, he will remember some and with Aaron being able to fly anywhere, hopefully, we will have more adventures with him as he gets older.

We will stay in Mississippi until Shelby graduates and then it is off to Missouri for our first Escapade Adventure!

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 The Roaming PJ's are Paul and Janiece

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Bunk Room for Teens and Kitchen Organization Feb. 19th Updates!!

1.) Bunk Room: Getting ready for teens!! 

This is still a work in progress but it is getting there. I can finally see how the bed is going to work and can picture the storage of their things. 

We have two big teenagers and the bunks are not going to work for them so we decided to stick with our daughter's day bed she has now which has a trundle bed under it. The top bunk above the entertainment center in the bunkroom can hold either one of them but when we add a comfortable mattress to it, (the mattresses they come with are nothing and we can't use them) it leaves very little room from the top to the ceiling so here is our solution: 

Pink and Blue pretty obvious so one for our daughter and one for our son. We raised the day bed since we took a bunk out, we had room to do so. This leaves extra room for the trundle underneath. If our son just wants to sleep as it is under the day bed, he can, he actually tried it out and he said for sleeping it works as is. If he feels he needs more room the trundle bed and slide out either way. It does take up the entire floor when the same direction as the day bed but it can be moved back in when they need the floor space. Across from this bed is the place for the TV/gaming system and the entertainment/dresser system and storage will be on top of that This creates plenty of room for all of their clothes, computers, electronics, everything they need. This part is still a mess with tools everywhere but here is what we do have so far: 

This is actually he ladder which goes to the bigger bunk and it's part of this entertainment/dresser system. We put one of those closet shelve things, here is a link to one like this; we have had it for a long time and I don't think it came from Amazon but I did find one there. 

Hanging Organizer

Paul put his handy skills to use and attached it in there and it works perfectly for shelves in the ladder. 

Beside the ladder is where the TV/gaming system goes and under that is a cabinet with shelves and guess what fits perfectly in this area? These cute boxes so I just got one to try and will be adding three more to finish off that area. To the right is an actual closet with more shelves. Then on top of all this will be storage containers, whatever else we can find to hold even more clothes. I really don't think they are going to fill all of this up. It's funny how minimum we are already; this downsizing is really a lot easier than I first thought! The hardest part is going through everything left in the house!!

Once this area is 100% complete the final pictures will be shared. 

2.) Kitchen Organizing and more organizing!! 

I have been getting all kinds of inspiration for ways to organize things in a tiny space. I guess that is what happens when this has been in the planning stages for several years now. It's funny how prepared we want to be and how over prepared we probably will end up being. So much so that I don't think we are going to fill up all of our spaces either. For everything we want to bring and for everything we think of we think of a solution and a place for it as we are preparing. 

My cabinet for my dishes: plates, cups, bowls is just one big cabinet with two doors. I knew right away it needed some kind of shelf in there to help organize it all. Forgive the variety of unmatching dishes; I've never been one to keep just one matching set of anything! However, we do want to replace the dishes with bamboo ones: they will be sturdy, will hold up and will be light weight. Also will look a lot better when we get those. Here is the shelf for the dishes:

It's a basic wire rack from WalMart, nothing special but I don't have everything everywhere now! 

Other things added: Paul created the wire hanging baskets for fruit. Right now it has Valentine's Day chocolate in it but it's only temporary; will be adding more fruit there. It's out of the way and functional, our favorite thing! 

More pictures:

 The Pantry: I really have a large pantry for a camper. It's larger than I had in my current home: which doesn't even have one! This is also a work in progress but I absolutely love these canisters! They are mostly empty right now but that will change.

I found a hanging pouch for my seasoning packets to hang on the door so will be adding that and also a can organizer!

Hanging Seasoning Packet Organizer

Can Organizer

I wanted the wire rack can organizers; they look a lot better but they are too wide for my pantry!

We have had these containers since after Christmas, they came from Lowe's and are the exact length of the dining seats so they fit perfectly in the storage under the seats. There are two ways to get to the storage, the little doors open up which is shown above and this is how we will use them, just slide the buckets out to get to whatever is in there. I know we will keep games in there but not sure what else? Definitely handy storage area! The seats lift up and they can be accessed that way too but to me that is not the easy way, we like easy and opening the door and sliding the containers out is easy. 

**Note: Videos and YouTube will be more active once we hit the road

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February 10th Updates: Closets and More

Camper Updates: February 10th

1.) Closets!!!! 

This has been one area where we have had the hardest time figuring out what to do, how do we organize these things. I have never been one to own a lot a of clothes so having a huge closet is something I never liked. When I do have one they end up all unorganized with things in there I never use. Downsizing to a camper has been easy as far as stuff goes and it is no different with clothes. I don't like or need a lot of clothes. The two closets on each side of our bed is enough. There are even cabinets above but I really can't think of anything to put in those. The closets are long with one small rack to hang clothes and a small shelve at the top. I don't hang up many clothes, in fact now that I am home all of the time I do not have a need for any type of clothes that needs to be hung up. I will probably keep a couple of things but for the most part, folding them up on a shelve will serve my purpose.

Finally, after searching and searching we found these shelves at Bed, Bath and Beyond and they fit perfectly!

I still have room to hang and still plenty of room for clothes, this above is my side and Paul has the same on his side, except his does not have this extra table/space thing; this is covering some pipes and such and it happens to be on my side. Actually Paul needed something like this on his side for his CPap machine. So he added a little table on his side

2.) CPap!!

 Anyone have to use one of these things? It is amazing how this machine really does help Paul and now that he uses it he really can tell a difference and doesn't sleep well without it. So it will be coming with us.

He had to make something small enough to fit and even has a shelf at the bottom to put whatever he may need there. 

We have been thinking about adding a shelve at the foot of the bed, over the TV/mirror thing but I am not sure that it is really necessary. I feel like I have plenty of room for everything I need. A spot for shoes would be nice but we haven't figured out anything like that yet, except the cabinet under the TV in the living area but I don't like them there. There really is not a good place for shoes in the bedroom but will figure it out eventually. 

3.) Keys!! 

So simple and most effective and this little spot was the perfect place for keys. Nothing worse than not being able to find keys. 

4.) Bunkhouse Progress:

This is probably the most difficult room to figure out because we have two big teenagers coming with us; they want their space. Bunks are ok for the younger kids but teens not so much. Here is what we have so far, we took the smaller bunk that was on top out and have a regular twin bed here for now. 

So, a work in progress but it's a comfy bed so far and he fits so will so how the rest goes. the bunk room does have a slide out, this is in the slide out part so we have to figure out the rest of the room and Shelby's space. 

We have had so much rain lately, it definitely happens the progress some, between that and work but again, slow steady progress is what we are doing and have expected. 

About 3 and 1/2 months left so we are doing well on time! 

**Note: Videos and YouTube will be more active once we hit the road

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Installed Inverter and Hung Some Pictures!!

Little by little, piece by piece, it's the little things that will come together and make everything the best home on the road.

Paul installed this little inverter which fit perfectly in this hole underneath the TV. I think something to cover this hole would be nice but not necessary; maybe something to add in the future at some time. It doesn't look bad it is just a space that I guess they kept opened to allow for some other type of equipment such as a DVD player or video game console. However, the Radio has a built in DVD player and we really don't have anything we want to put there so this little inverter works great here.

Why an Inverter?

This thing hooks directly into the batteries so we can run things like the TV and my laptop without having to be hooked up to full power. The power strip is plugged into the inverter and will be used to plug things into. We will be hooked up to full power probably most of the time but we also feel it is important to get eveything ready for the times when we won't have full hook ups because being on the road every day all the time we know there will be times where we have to rely on this thing all by itself with no hook ups and it needs to be as self contained as possible. This is the goal! We eventually will get solar panels and a generator and those two things will also help provide the power when we need it.

Here is the link to this inverter: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00UFERZKO/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_rRHDAbQXVR1SF

Making it a home

As part of our transitioning from a traditional home to one on wheels to travel in, we have to downsize. Deciding what to keep, what to store and what to get rid of is a big chore. We have many things that we would love to bring with us if we have the space for. Pictures are one of those things and even though we don't have a lot of space compared to a house, we do have some space where pictures can hang.

What about going down the road? We don't want the pictures to fall off the walls while traveling so the option we went with was to drill a screw through the frames and screw them into the wall. They are not going anywhere this way! I know other RV'ers use command hooks or velcro for most things and those are good options for the most part. However we have experienced the command strips not working well over a period of time and in temperature changes. Some people never have any problems with them but we like this method and will report if we ever find anything downsides of hanging things this way.

I really like how our Old Tyme Pictures turned out. I can't remember the dates but the top one was when the kids were much younger and the bottom one we decided to re-do it when they were older. We gained a child in the bottom picture as well, a friend of our daughter's came on that trip with us so we grew in size with the bottom picture. The light right above really brings these pictures out. This is on the wall by the bathroom going to the bunkhouse, a big blank wall which was screaming for something!

This next picture is one of our favorites from Disney World. We still have Goofy and Pluto in the bottom picture but think we can add a new picture there from somewhere on our travels. This fit perfectly in this little part of the wall in the slide with the dinette.

This next picture is the most important one yet. We have had our marriage license framed ever since we got married in 1992. This was always hung in every place we have lived. We have lived in a lot of places too! This is the original frame and everything and this little thing has been everywhere with us and through everything. How perfect of a spot is this? It looks like this was made to fit on this wall right in between the dinette and the couch. The frame is even the same colors as the blinds; it's an official home when this is hanging in it!

Another use of a small space, this picture by the couch. It is a small picture and hard to see what it is but it is from 1999 and a picture of me and Paul in a chair lift from Gatlinburg, TN.

We had a hard time figuring out where to put this bear picture. I can't remember where I got this but loved it for Paul and it was just perfect for him. He has loved it ever since. Finally, the door, the perfect place for a sleepy bear! I also added my sign that Abby got me for Christmas this year in that hole with the inverter, it just seems like empty space and needed something. The sign says My greatest teacher is my mom.

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Beautiful Weekend: Transition Weekend

Beautiful Weekend to Camp... In the Yard!!

After two snow events and record breaking lows for southern Mississippi it finally warmed up this weekend! What a great time to take advantage of the beautiful weather and do some practice camping in our yard.

We are still renting a house and haven't moved completely into the camper yet so it is parked in the yard. What a great way to get used to the camper and figure out little things we like and don't like and need to change. This is our Transition Period. Since we are planners and love to try and make sure we are completely prepared. It's probably overplanning but since the camper is just sitting here why not!

Breakfast!! I made these overfull sausage, egg and cheese English muffins. Cooking in the camper is just like cooking at home, I just have to make sure I have all the kitchen equipment that we need. Practicing cooking a variety of meals will help us figure out what we really need to make sure we have. The plan: anything we feel we need and bring into the camper from the house stays in the camper so we won't forget that we need this item! Unfortunately I do not have a duplicate of everything so while we are back and forth between the camper and the house some items will have to go back and forth but I do hope to be able to slowly gather up the inventory and have the camper stocked for the most part before we completely move in.

Paul just relaxing on the couch. It was definitely a nice weekend; we did have to use the heat Saturday night but had to turn it off Sunday morning and did not need it at all Sunday night. Monday is supposed to rain all day be we are working and will be inside for the most part.

Installed the flip up table which will help give some counter space since the kitchen is small. We definitely used this little space a lot; definitely a good addition!

Here is the link to find it on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00LRF37YI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Paul doesn't like this bathroom cabinet. It doesn't bother me; I do like using baskets and will need to get more baskets and find places for them. Paul says this cabinet gets in his way and wants to move it to another wall and just put a flat mirror against the wall. It's the little things that would never occur to us until you get in the space and start using it.

This is a horrible picture of me, I didn't even know the picture was being taken but it was the perfect weather to be outside and we decided to peel and cut the potatoes outside. This was for our late lunch/early dinner. I marinated some steaks and cooked them in foil packs with the potatoes. Some things are just so much nicer outside as long as the weather permits it. A couple of gadgets in this picture is the peeler that Paul is using, it peels potatoes extremely well, it's small and compact. The garbage can was a present from our oldest son and it is an awesome, perfect way to keep a garbage bag outside!

The peeler on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003Y3AZVY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The collaspable garbage can: https://www.amazon.com/Coghlans-Pop-Up-Camp-Trash-Can/dp/B006EHAJSG/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=home-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1516580022&sr=8-1-fkmr0&keywords=coleman+camping+garbage+can

We spent time outside with the kids and my oldest daughter's boyfriend and they all enjoyed target practice with our youngest son's pellet gun. Shooting a coke a can since I can't drink them anymore anyway!! Wouldn't shoot anything bigger than a pellet gun and wouldn't recommend shooting even a pellet gun in a campground but when out away from people it can be a fun hobby sometimes; the kids enjoy it from time to time.

Other items we have put in the camper:

1.) Power outlet, voltage meter: this has two USB chargers and it is nice to see what the batteries are pulling in: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N4QWJUO/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

2.) A second USB charger outlet: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N6S2SNM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3.) Awning Lights: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F5YT8BW/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

4.) Upgraded Shower:
 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00AZOWSJM/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

There are many more things we will continue to upgrade and change to make things work for us and make it our own.

Plans for the future weeks: 

1.) Continue to camp and live in the camper in the yard as much as possible.
2.) Continue to cook meals and find ways to organize things in the camper for us.
3.) Transition from the house to the camper completely by April 1st, that is a goal and it may or may not happen by that exact date but that is what we are planning for. That means all upgrades we want to have in place before we hit the road full time will need to be completed by then.
4.) We joined Escapee's and will attend an event with them at the end of May in Missouri: https://www.escapees.com/knowledge/escapade?id=259
5.) Go to Adventureland in Iowa in June, how long we stay there will depend on how much we are enjoying it. If we do not like it very much we will leave sooner but if we are enjoying it we will stay longer.
6.) Going to TN for Amazon in the fall, September/October is a possibility but it is not set in stone and we have many directions we can go; it's too hard to plan too far in advance but will see what happens!!

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