Crossroad Academy: Full-timing: Four Months and Counting!

Today marks four months since the day we moved into our RV. In four months of exclusively living on the road, I have made time to blog only one time, and that was more than three months ago. I actually love to write and rarely struggle with writer’s block, but I am working on overcoming a little bad habit called procrastination. For today I’ll lean on the old “better late than never” adage and maybe a “there’s no time like present” for good measure.

My three children, ages 5, 7, and 9, have visited 24 states. (The RV has only graced 23 due to that “minor” breakdown-in-West-Virginia episode in which we continued to Ohio sans RV.) We have struggled to get started with and keep up with some of our school material, but we are getting into the groove with that now. On the other hand, the boys have earned several junior park ranger badges and visited more national parks, museums, and historic sites than many people may see in a lifetime. The checklist person in me hates to skip a day of spelling or math, but the free spirit in me loves showing my children the country, and deep down I know the traveling and sightseeing are enriching their education beyond what a textbook can do.

I hardly know how to sum up four busy, fun, sometimes stressful, sometimes exhilarating months. Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I’m including some of our favorite travel memories through photos. I hope you enjoy them! (And I hope this puts me on the path of blogging much more regularly.)

Our new home ... which broke down on our first day of living on the road:

After our extremely stressful first day,

we needed the respite we found at the home of team members in Canton, Ohio.

We continued on from Canton to Niagara Falls for a business event and once again found that being at the mercy of staying in others' homes gave us the opportunity to build relationships we otherwise might not have enjoyed. A gorgeous family day at the falls was just what we needed to connect and take a deep breath together as a family after the breakdown ordeal.

(An electrifying place...)

After Niagara Falls, we had no plan and more than week to kill before our RV repairs would be complete. We started driving and ended up back in Ohio, where we found more wonderful team members who spent time with us, took us into their home, and became lifelong friends.

Being in the area also gave me the opportunity to have a last-minute dinner with team members

in Cincinnati and enjoy The Creation Museum with my family.

When we finally got our RV back, we had only a few days to make it from West Virginia to Maine. Following a few stressful days on the road, including getting stuck, losing an awning to a telephone pole, and nearly running out of fuel, we welcomed peaceful, joyful, and memorable moments with friends, water, and each other in Maine.

A 7th birthday called for trip to Hershey, PA!

Next we took the train from Elizabethtown ...

to Philadelphia.

(My 7-year-old got his wish to see the Liberty Bell on his birthday weekend.)

From Philly we went to visit dear friends in Winchester, VA and took a day trip with them to Harper's Ferry, where we saw civil war reenactments, a lovely old church, and beautiful scenery.

I conducted an essential oils class in Lynchburg, VA and a business meeting in Roanoke, VA
on our way back to North Carolina. We had only been away six weeks at that point,
but we were all overjoyed to be back in our "home" area to see familiar places and faces.
We got to see many friends, meet three (!) new babies who had been born in our absence,
and connect with team members via events big and small.

Next up was a stop Chatanooga, TN, where I conducted a class to introduce essential oils

to some new friends, and we took a day trip to see Rock City, too.

("Fat Man's Squeeze")

(Balancing Rock)

(An overlook of 7 states)

(My biggest boy's first time rock climbing with his mama!)

We were excited to arrive in St. Louis, where we reunited with wonderful friends and I taught
a business training and oils of the Bible class for team members. The kids were sad to part ways
with their buddies here and also really enjoyed the famous arch and The City Museum
(maybe the most unique, if not the coolest, museum ever!)

We took a quick trip over to Kansas City. I met a couple of team members for dinner, and our family enjoyed the old train station, a neat science museum inside of it, an aquarium, and great barbecue.

We headed north and stopped in South Dakota, where we just had to visit the Minuteman II site
and the boys could learn all about what life was like for their daddy when he worked on the Minuteman III missiles in Montana (waaaay back when he and I first met 18 years ago!)

We couldn't resist a quick stop at Wall Drug!

The Badlands of South Dakota were windy, amazing, and truly memorable.

The Black Hills area was one of our favorite spots ...

(Inside Wind Cave)

(It was fun to watch the fat prairie dogs!)

(We didn't stop at the Crazy Horse-in-progress, but I managed to get this drive-by shot
that shows in the bottom left corner what the completed carving will look like.)

(Spearfish Canyon)

(Trail ride at the wonderful KOA resort near Mt. Rushmore)

(Mt. Rushmore by day ...)

(And by night, where all of the veterans in the audience are honored during the lighting ceremony. We were proud to see my husband honored among them!)

(Another climbing wall, but this time my boy made it to the top! I was proud
to see him keep trying to reach this goal without giving up.)

(One of the best parts of South Dakota was getting to camp alongside friends from North Carolina, who were on a whirlwind 3-week tent camping trip across the U.S.)

We arrived in Montana just in time to celebrate my dad's retirement and help my parents
transition into RV living. We were privileged to be part of a going-away dinner on their
friends' ranch, where we had fun farm experiences that included a mouth-watering
farm-to-table meal where every delicious item came from the farm.

(My parents, our new neighbors, on the left!)

I was so happy when the smoke cleared and we could see that beautiful big sky!
These shots are from our campground near Bozeman, where we spent almost a week
while my parents wrapped up their lives in Great Falls.

One of the biggest blessings of my business is being able to see my childhood best friend
and her family, and we loved every minute with them in Bozeman. My youngest son decided his
best friend is their youngest child and only son, and watching them play was just precious.