The Countdown is ON!!!

 The Countdown is ON!!! 

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed

 by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you do.

  So throw off the bow lines, sail away from the safe harbor,

 catch the trade winds in your sail.”

EXPLORE, DREAM, DISCOVER

Mark Twain

I just finished reading a great book recommended by my dear friend, Juli.  It is called, Packing Light:  Thoughts on Living Life with Less Baggage, by Allison Vesterfelt.  It tells about the adventures of two women who travel to all of the 50 states in a 6 month period.  They set out without an itinerary, with as little stuff as they can get by with, and very little cash.  They truly have an adventure of a lifetime, living from moment to moment and realizing that when you put your mind to something…you just need to take little steps each day to make it happen.  I really identified with her thinking and was inspired by her courage. 

There are many times each day that I think, “Are we really going to go on this crazy family adventure in just 17 days?” 

The boys had their last day at Prairie View on Friday.  It was truly a bitter sweet day.  Jordan has spent the last 7 years there and has had amazing teachers and friends along the way.  We feel so blessed.  When we return to Spokane in August he will start at the middle school…how time flies!! Benjamin and Bradley were sent off by their amazing teacher with their own sketch pads, special pencils, pencil pack and artist erasers.  We were so blessed by her thoughtfulness.  I realized the enormity of responsibility we were taking on to be their “teachers” for the next 6 months…as we were leaving their amazing teachers.  We will stay in touch with their classes as we share our adventures from the road. 

We are getting all packed up and figuring out what we need to pack…hopefully with the theme of less is more!!  Sometimes it is hard to remember that we don’t need everything for this trip…we don’t want to tow our entire house behind our truck.  We hope to leave  Spokane on January 8^th, pick up our trailer in Las Vegas and pull into Uncle Kyle’s in Phoenix by the weekend.  We ask for your prayers as we travel on hopefully dry and sunny roads.

Merry Christmas to you all...when you are making your New Year’s Resolution this year remember to DREAM BIG…you never know what dreams will come true…one day at a time.

Happy Thanksgiving 2013

THANKSGIVING---2013

We have so much to be thankful for this year.  Here are a few highlights from Thanksgiving.

The annual TURKEY BOWL.  We invited both flag football teams, some friends and their families to play in a game of ultimate football.  We had so many people that we had to divide onto two fields.  It is always a highlight of the day for Curt.(and the boys)  I just try and make it out alive without any injuries.

We went to see Nana(Karen) and Papa Bob at Riverview.  Karen was having a good day.  The highlight was when Bob asked her, "Do you love these guys?"  And with the sweetest smile and laugh(the only smile of the day) she quickly answered, "Of course I love these guys."  We are so thankful for those precious moments with her.

We spent the afternoon at Grandma Susie's beautiful home/lodge!!  She is an amazing cook and hostess.  The table was beautiful...she had Benjamin come earlier in the week to make place-cards for each spot.  The food was so delicious and we had enough left overs to eat all weekend. 

 It was also so nice to have Uncle Dave, Papa Bob, Dick and Aunt Claire with us for the day. 

 We are so thankful for them all!

Last, but not least...we are thankful that Jordan is finally loosing some teeth...5 to be exact in the last week.  We hope that the adult teeth come in nice and straight...we are praying he won't need braces!!

BIG Adventure News!!

Can you guess where the Mulder family is going??

AROUND THE UNITED STATES on the ultimate Mulder adventure.  We will leaving Spokane shortly after Christmas and travelling until August 2014!!  YEP..7 months on the road.  Our trailer is in Las Vegas at a good friend's house, just waiting for us to come and pick it up and take it back on the road.  We will be traveling counter clockwise around the United States, mostly around the border states (you know how much I love the ocean).  We will make it all the way south to the Florida Keys, as far north as Acadia National Park in Maine and so many places in between.  We will stay in about 50 different places, from 4 days to a week, depending on the location.  We plan to reconnect with many friends along the way.  

Many people have asked...how did you come up with this idea.  About 1 1/2 years ago we were hiking at Riverside State Park and we started dreaming about what it would be like to take a "family sabbatical."  There were so many things that needed to fall into place in order for it to happen.  Lots of prayer, planning, and thinking have gone into this crazy plan.  We started with a huge United States map and sticky noted all the places we would love to see.  From there we narrowed it down to about 50 spots that we could reasonably see in 9 months.(We already did 2 months this summer)  We have spent the last year planning for endless hours, researching campgrounds, making reservations and seeing this dream come to a reality. We have narrowed it down to 6 pages of spreadsheets outlining our itinerary, campgrounds and some highlights in various cities. Truly, God has blessed each and every step of this process.  From the major, like getting a truck strong enough to pull a fifth wheel in a miraculous way, finding two amazing families to live in our house while we gone, to the minor, like getting a campsite in the Florida keys, all the doors kept opening for us.  

Another common question we have heard is, "Why?"  There are many answers that we think about but I think it boils down to a few priorities for this trip.  1)  We want to spend time together as a family, especially while our kids are still young and enjoy spending time with us.  We hope that this "break" from our regular lives will provide lots of opportunities to talk, learn, play and experience this amazing country. 2)  Jordan, our oldest, will start Junior High next year and we feel like it is now or never.  3)  We have seen over and over that life is short and you really don't know how long you have on this earth.  So why not take a year of our "retirement" as a family.  4)  On a lighter note...the boys want to ride as many roller coasters as possible across this great country!

We hope to update this blog regularly while we are travelling.  We know that many great adventures lie ahead!!  Thanks for sharing in our BIG NEWS!

Fall Football

Flag Football 2013

We have had a great Fall of flag football.  Curt has been Jordan's coach for the last 4 years and started with Benjamin and Bradley's team this year.  It is so fun to watch Curt coach...he is very gifted.  He is so positive with the kids and teaches them a ton about the game of football.(and life)  Frosty would be PROUD!  It was especially fun this year to have many of the same families play on the the "bigs" team and the "littles" team.  We are so blessed to have such wonderful families on both teams.  Jordan's team was called the Spartans.  They had a great season...winning all but 1 game.   They will play in the "Candy Bowl" this weekend. The little boy's team was called the Buckeyes.  It was so fun to watch them gain experience and confidence each week.  They finished with a record of 5-2...WOW!!  They didn't have quite enough to play in the Candy Bowl...so we are taking a fun trip to Seattle next weekend.

We had beautiful weather for most of the games...which was a treat for me.  I love the Fall weather in Spokane.  Here are a few action shots from their last games.  

Papa Bob and Uncle Dave are always at the boys games...AMAZING!

Here are the Spartans...

and the Buckeyes!

Snowdon Elementary

Phil Snowdon School Elementary--October 9, 2013

What an AMAZING tribute to an AMAZING man.  Snowdon Elementary is everything that we dreamed it would be...a perfect place for children to learn, grow and be challenged to become the best that they can be.  There is truly nothing that I could imagine that is a more fitting tribute to my dad than an elementary school named in his honor. I am sure that he was smiling from heaven at such a special day dedicating such a great school.  Thankfully, all of our family was able to attend in our new Snowdon Elementary Cougar shirts.    

 Uncle Kyle and his PEEPS!!

 All his GRANDKIDS

The gym was the kids favorite spot.(and probably would have been Grandpa's too!)

National Park Mania!!

We had a great last week of our 2 month adventure.  We visited 4 National Parks after leaving Las Vegas.  We went to Zion, Bryce, Mesa Verde and Arches National Park.  They were so amazingly beautiful.  National Parks are always something special...and these four parks were no exception.  The boys were especially excited to fill in the states of Nevada, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado our our map. 

Zion was spectacular!  We went on a river hike through a huge canyon.  We were a little nervous about flash floods...but thankfully it did not rain.  The boys liked hiking in the water.

 Bryce canyon was also such a great park  We went on an AMAZING 3 mile hike down to the bottom of the canyon.  It had earned the title of the world's best 3 mile hike...we agree!!

 On our way from Bryce National Park we stopped by Coral Pink Sand Dunes.  The red sand was so fine and super fun to jump in.  My friends and I camped there during college...it was fun to go back.

 We took a small detour on our route to pass through Monument Valley and the Four Corners. 

 Our next stop was Mesa Verde National Park.  It was such a unique spot with Pueblo Indians ancient cave dwellings.  They literally built villages in the cliff sides.  We were able to go down and actually explore the ruins and we found out alot about their history.  Jordan has studied this in school and was super excited to see it in person.

 Our last stop was Arches National Park.  There were very unique red rock arches in this park.  It was a warm day when we  visited, but we still got in a 3 mile hike to some beautiful arches. 

It is hard to believe that we are home after such a great trip.  We got to see so much of God's amazing handiwork in creation and had a great time together as  family.  We hope that we can be "on the road again" soon.!!  Have a great start to the new school year and thanks for sharing in our adventures.

Laguna beach...FUN!!

Laguna Beach, CA         Crystal Cove State Park

We are having a great week in Laguna.  I just love everything about the beach.  We are staying at a wonderful campground called Moro Beach, Crystal Cove campground.  It has a great view of the ocean and tons of bike paths and walking trails behind the park.  It is definatley one of the nicest places we have ever camped.  Another highlight of the campground is that it is a very short bike ride away from Trader Joes and Starbucks.(what else do you need?) 

 On Thursday we will head to Las Vegas to visit some friends.  We will leave the trailer there and head to 4 National Parks.(Zion, Bryce, Arches and Mesa Verde).  It is not easy to pull a big trailer in the National Parks...so we will stay in a friends cabin and a few hotels.  We will be home in 2 weeks, just a week before we all start school.  I will probably not update the blog again until we get home...as the National Parks have very little internet or cell phone service.  Here are a few pictures from the beach.

 My sweet little beach boy, Benjamin!!  Such cool shades.

 We had a great time visiting my Aunt Debbie and Uncle Jim.  We spent one night with them in Highland, on our way to the beach.  The boys had a great time swimming in their pool.  Over the weekend they hosted a delicious BBQ at the beautiful and amazing beach house.  They brought out a life size Jenga game, which was a hit with the boys.  They are always so gracious in hosting us...we love visiting them.

 My darling beach boy, Bradley.  He really loves boogie boarding.  We bought two boogie boards in Santa Cruz and found this one in the parking lot when we arrived.  Nothing a little RV good and duct tape couldn't fix. (haha). 

 Bradley catching a wave.

 Curt is so happy that the boys like to boogie board with him. He is so great to play with the boys for hours on the beach.  They go from boogie boarding to skimboarding to playing football.  Those are very lucky boys!(and I am a lucky wife to have time to read my book in the sun)

Spring Fling(Summer style)

San Clemente, CA....Spring Fling family reunion

Meredith's 80th birthday celebration!! 

 This weekend we celebrated with my mom's side of the family at their annual Spring Fling. It usually takes place around Easter...but was a little delayed this year...which worked out great for us because we got to attend.  The day was filled with games, food and celebrating our AMAZING grandma...Meredith.  She has been so influencial in all our lives and we wanted her to feel celebrated.  We presented her with a photo book of 80 reasons why we love her.  Each family put in their own photos and their four reasons to celebrate Meredith.  I hope it will be a book she treasures forever. 

 The boys always love to see Uncle Kyle. 

 Aunt Cathy did a wonderful job organizing the party.  We played blanket volleyball, 2 legged races and she even brought a special science experiment for the boys.(so SWEET)  They made lava lamps complete with lots of oil, alka-seltzer and food coloring. 

 This is my wonderful mom and grandma, Meredith.  It was such a blessing to spend time together.  We swam, had water gun fights, went to lunch and found treasures at a local thrift shop.

Pictures from Crater Lake National Park

Crater Lake National Park