Holding Pattern

Well, he have our truck, and we are ready to buy an RV, but we are stuck! Our truck is in the shop this week and likely won’t be ready until early next week. Once we get the truck back we will be ready to make our move! We have been enjoying our time at the Reagens’, which makes this transition a little easier. 

Grand Haven Detour

With a trip previously scheduled for Cincinnati, we decided to leave a day early to pass though Grand Rapids, Michigan to check out an RV. The RV was a bust, but luckily Grand Rapids is just a short drive from Grand Haven. We were in Grand Haven long enough to eat dinner, walk along the boardwalk, play in the lake for a few minutes, grab some Pronto Pups, eat some ice cream, and watch the musical fountain. We made it to our hotel in Benton Harbor by midnight, leaving us just a few hours to Cincinnati. 

testing out the water
at the beach

Truck & RV Pickup

I think I am in love.

Today we left Des Moines at 8 to head to Sioux City to pick up a 2001 Ford Excursion (our tow vehicle) and an RV in Sioux Falls, SD. Things worked out with the Excursion, but not with the RV. 🙁

The Excursion is definitely a change of pace for us, and it needs some work; that made for an interesting ride home. The craziest part was when we were filling up the tank in the Excursion and as it neared the top diesel started spilling everywhere. I guess there is a hole in the fuel hose. I will add that to the list. . . 

For the record, we have been driving a 2001 Mazda MPV for about the past 10 years. The replacement vehicle we purchased is from the same year and actually has even more miles on it.

We made it home around 10, tired and worn out from a long day. The Reagens are out of town so all of the kids slept in the same room as us. As we were going to bed Rose said, “Goodnight, Elliot. I love you.” That was definitely the highlight of the day.

The Excursion

Crazy Day

It was a crazy, emotional day today. Susan, Erin, and her mom went to the house this morning to clean. They were there for a few hours, getting everything perfect for the new owners. 

All of the Lieslands went over after Rose’s nap, to say goodbye. There were a lot of tears shed. We also had one last visit and popsicle with Rick & Donna, our closest neighbors ever. 

By dinnertime it was time to transition to the traditional May 29th affairs – our 13th anniversary. Erin & Nate watched the kids so Susan and I could go out to dinner. We ended up at Cool Basil – table 13!

Mobile
One last popsicle with Rick & Donna.
Table #13

Moving Day

For the past month we have been moving things out of our house, by either selling them or giving them away. This morning we gave away our final items and then it was time to get real about the move. We moved about half of our remaining possessions into storage and the other half will come with us on the trip. 

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Garage Sale – Weekend 1

Today and yesterday were the first days of our garage sale. We sold some stuff and will have plenty more to sell next week. In preparation for our big trip we have decided to sell most things, rather than pack them, so we are really clearing out.

Quick Life Updates

  1. Our house is now under contract. We are through the inspection phase and ready to get moving! We are scheduled to close before the end of May. Right now we are thinking we will stay with family in DM after we sell our house, to give us a more peaceful transition to the RV, which we still need to buy. 
  2. Due to the fast timeline of our move, we have decided not to get a puppy until we get back. There is much sadness around the issue, but it would have been too much in such a tight timeframe.

For Sale By Owner

Last Thursday we listed our house on Zillow, For Sale By Owner. We had a few showings this weekend. Yesterday we signed a Purchase Agreement! It went quick and we need to get through the early stages  (inspection, financing details). 

We continue planning for our RV adventure. If all goes well we will be in the RV by June!

RV Dreamin’

By now it is widely known that we have big plans for the next year: we hope to sell our house and spend the next year on the road. It is something we have talked about for a while and now is the time. We decided to go for it a few weeks ago and have been working hard to get our house ready. 

Our plan is to sell our house and buy a travel trailer and a vehicle with massive towing capacity to haul it around the country. I will work from the road, Susan and the kids will homeschool during the day, and then in the evenings we can explore. After a year we will resettle back in Des Moines in time for Andrew to start high school in Fall 2018. 

We plan on listing our home after spring break, toward the end of March. If all goes well we will hit the road sometime in the summer. 

Our House
RV Shopping
Catalina!