Spring Break!

I know I am in the minority when I say this. Perhaps it's even because I still have two kiddos at home. I love it when the girls are out of school! I hear parents complain about how much time the kids have off and they don't know what to do with them for the entire week. Not me, I am as happy about the break as the kids are.

I'm excited when Christmas break lasts a full 3 weeks, I look forward to Rodeo and Spring breaks and even Summer break! I can't wait to have my all my babies home with me. While I am excited to see all the new things they learn and how they grow during the school year, I am still a little sad to see them leave the house when school starts in the fall. 

Since we are taking a two week trip to the east coast this summer, Craig couldn't take the entire week off work. So we planned two smaller trips instead.

On Saturday we surprised the kids with a trip to Rose Canyon Lake for some fishing and playtime in the pines. We didn't realize that the lake doesn't open until April, so we had to hike the path. It was way too long to make it all the way to the lake. So, we stopped at a campsite and built a fire to cook lunch. Afterwards, we hiked back up the road to the group area and spent the rest of the day playing around there. We have this space reserved for our Girl Scout Party in May, so it was a good opportunity to get the lay of the land. We got back to the truck just as the sun set. We didn't make it all the way down the mountain before the fun of the day had all four kids sound asleep.

On Wednesday we decided to head for the northern part of the state and try our hand at boondocking near Stoneman Lake. Something we plan to do often. We knew we were in for some snow on Thursday and cool evenings. We decided to bring the suburban and trailer with the quad as well. 

We pulled in just before dark and grabbed a campsite off the side of the road. It was pretty and had plenty of space. It was a little too much of an incline to get Daisy completely level, but we managed to get it as close as possible. 

The next morning we woke up to a winter wonderland. The kids were thrilled! They couldn't wait to put warm clothes on and go play in the snow. That lasted all of 10 minutes before they wanted to go back inside.

Later that morning the snow melted and our campsite turned into a mud pit. The little bit of an incline revealed to be a pathway for all the snow melt to get to a little creek. We decided we needed to pack everyone into the suburban and drive into Flagstaff. While we were there we got everyone a pair of rainboots, grabbed some lunch and checked out a piece of property we've had our eyes on. 

We came back to what appeared to be drying ground. We thought we should probably pull Daisy up a little closer to the road so she doesn't get stuck. Wrong idea. She was already stuck... in the mud. We had no choice but to wait for the land to dry out. Good thing we were planning to stay a couple more days. It snowed again that evening. 

On Friday, we explored the area and found not 1, but 2 little creeks behind our campsite. They were flowing nicely with all the snow melt. The kids loved being able to play and stomp around in their rain boots. After they went in the RV that evening, I took their boots down to wash them off one last time. It was such a beautiful area. I could've stayed there for hours. 

On Saturday the ground under Daisy still wasn't dry enough and the forecast changed to possible rain! We had to get her out of there before the ground became saturated again! Luckily our neighboring campers heard us and came to see if we needed any help. Turns out they got stuck in the mud on their way up and so did another family member. They had some tow straps and helped pull Daisy up to the dry area and Craig drove her to pavement. Then he came back and helped load everything up into the suburban and trailer to head home. 

It was dark by the time we had everything packed and ready. After a bit of a stressful time trying to get Daisy unstuck and 4 hour drive looming ahead of us, we decided to drive up to the casino in Camp Verde and stay the night before heading home on Sunday morning. 

This is one adventure we will never forget! We discovered some issues with the generator and Daisy even sustained a little damage to her storage bins. All in all though, this was exactly what we needed. We now have a punch list of items to get checked and things we need for Daisy before our trip east. We also learned what we need to watch for on future boondocking trips. 

It's only Wednesday!

Note to self... never, ever stop taking your oils just because you are starting to feel better! Wait another couple of days.

This is something I learned a couple of years ago, but didn't do. While on our fun long weekend adventure, I stopped taking my "yuck buster" bomb. Bad idea.. I now have a cold for the first time in two years! I am so stuffed and my sinuses are so swollen that I wouldn't be surprised if it is actually a sinus infection.

Luckily, my amazing oil community has a couple of tried and true recipes I can try before heading to the doctor. Don't worry though, as much as I love my oils (I mean really love my oils) I know when they just aren't cutting it and a doctor and prescription are needed. 

I decided yesterday that I needed to just rest on the couch instead of doing everything I normally do during the day and let the oils do their magic.

That was short lived. Alli woke up with a very bruised and swollen toe. She walked into the wall last night while on the phone (not paying attention) and bent it back so far that it was still hurting at bedtime (but not swollen). This morning we headed to the children's orthopedic after dropping Emmily off at school. 

The last time we were there, the doctor jokingly said he would open an account for us so Adam would be all set up when he broke is first bone. Never in a million years did I think we'd be bring Alli back. 

Sure enough, her toe is broke! She is going to be in a hard soled shoe for 3 weeks. She and Craig have dubbed it her Super Boot! 

Now this mama needs to rest and kick this cold so she can take care of her babies. 

Roper Lake

You know you really live in the west when all the schools in the area close for two days for the Rodeo!

For us, this meant it was the perfect opportunity to spend a few days out in Daisy! We packed her up and headed out to Roper Lake which is about 2 hours northwest of Tucson.

We had a fantastic time! Our campsite, while close to others, had a big sandy area to play and wasn't too far from the lake. It also had water and electric hook-ups. The only thing we didn't prepare for was needing to pick up firewood before we got there. Luckily they have some for sale at the Ranger Station and the Rangers were nice enough to bring to our campsite when I walked up there to ask.

We did have some cold nights, as we were expecting. The first night the furnace seemed to work just fine. However, about half way through the second night, the unit in the master bedroom stopped clicking on. We didn't really figure out what was happening until the third night. We are hoping it is just a fuse and will be a quick fix.

February is definitely not the time to fish at Roper Lake. We did not get a single nibble the entire weekend. The kids did get some great practice in casting though. They are becoming really good at it. We still have to remind them to watch who is around them so they don't hook a family member, but that is to be expected from little kids.

We also found out that the seal on the living room slide needs to be replaced. It fell down and left a little bit of a gap. Just enough for a swarm of bees who decided we had something in Daisy that they wanted. I took the kids and dog for a walk and some play time on the beach while Craig waited them out. They only hung around for about an hour or so and flew away once they realized we didn't have anything for them.

Probably the biggest part of our adventure for me, was driving home! Daisy is HUGE and it feels like she is taking up more than just her lane. When a semi-truck passes you, the wind will literally push you out of your lane, if you are not careful. Add in a particularly windy day and some hills and you have a scary situation on your hands, especially for a first-timer, like me. Thankfully Craig stayed up front with me and made sure I knew what to expect and how to handle it all with ease.

The kids are already asking when our next trip will be. One thing is for sure, we are very excited to drive out to New Jersey and South Carolina this summer!

The Shakedown Trip

We just couldn't wait another minute to take Daisy out and get to know how she works. Never owning an RV before, there is definitely a lot to learn!

Catalina State Park was our preferred campground for our first trip. Afterall, who wouldn't love to be far enough in the mountains to be camping, but still have a WalMart and the rest of town just a couple of miles away? Bummer though, they didn't have any openings this weekend due to the Gem Show. 

After some searching we found a campground west of town out near the Desert Museum and Old Tucson Studios. When we called they told us that we doing what is called a shakedown. 

Boy, did we learn a few things! We didn't know that we didn't have a hose on board or that it would take 10 hours for the refrigerator to cool down! Luckily we were close enough to town that we could go back in town to get everything we needed. 

Our little Girl Scouts also had a cookie booth to do for a couple of hours. So Craig and the younger two gathered all the supplies and took them back to the site while the girls and I finished up the cookie booth. Then we all went back and spent the night in Daisy!

Poor Daisy didn't come home without a few scratches, but nothing too serious. We are looking forward to our next adventure over Rodeo Break!

New Adventures!

Adventure Number 1:
I did it! I passed my Realtor's Exam! I had no idea how many associations I had to join and all the paperwork associated with getting started is a little overwhelming. It's all done now! I am officially a Realtor in the state of Arizona! I even have my own website (it's a little bare right now) ReneeOConnor.Realtor (note that it is .reator not .com). Now I need to get some clients and start showing houses!

Adventure Number 2:
One of our biggest goals as parents is to let the kids see and experience as much as possible. We want to do it as a family and really engrain in them the love and support of a close family.

Most days that is harder than you'd think. The squabbles and competition between them can be fierce at times. I'm told that is just what happens with the kids the same age spacing as ours.

One way we have decided to combat this is by getting a motorhome! We've been thinking about it, budgeting and looking at some so that we can get one this spring.

Wouldn't you know it.... we found one that is too good of a deal to pass up and bought it just a couple of days ago! I was joking around with Craig saying we should name it Daisy so we can say we are "Driving Miss Daisy." He laughed at me like he always does when I come up with something corney. The kids on the other hand (having never seen the movie) thought it was a great idea. Alli and Emmi were especially excited about the name since they are Daisy Girl Scouts.

We are so excited and can't wait to make many family memories with Miss Daisy!

Happy New Year!

Happy 2017!

I hope each of you reading this has the happiest and most blessed year!

Isn't it amazing how life is always changing? We now have 7 year old twins, a 5 year old boy and a 3 year old girl! Unbelievable!

I don't plan to return to work until Callie is in school, but I also want to help support our family in any small way I can. So, I have decided to get my real estate license. I took all the required classes and school exams. Now I have the state exam coming up on the 3rd! Wish me luck!