The World is My Backyard

I live in a house that is just over 800 sq. ft. If you cut that in half accounting for the 50% that is above most of our heads, that means that the six of us have approximately 400 sq footage of actual living space, divide that by six and we each have about 67 square feet each. Yes, we bump into each other as we walk down the hall to the bathroom or the bedrooms, I frequently knock over my 3 year old as she quietly stands behind me, and if I get the chance to sit down on the couch to take in a few minutes of relaxation, I sometimes feel like the walls are closing in around me. I have always had a slight case of claustrophobia....it's no wonder I am intrigued by the great outdoors.

I consider myself fortunate that we have a fenced in yard for the kids to play in. When the boys, especially, get extra rambunctious, I can boot them outside without worry. But even going outside the house, can feel closed in. The fence that provides for safe play also provides a restraint.



Hey...it's my dream.

My children and I were born to run free! To explore the high mountains, to drive the rambling roads, to climb over boulders, and to run until we can run no more (which, lately isn't that far, lol!). I have this deep desire to live on the road for a period of time, long enough to get to know this country in an intimate way. I wish to show my kids that all those places they are learning about in school are not too far out of reach. This will happen. I can't see right now how it will, but I know it will because I believe that if you want something badly enough, you can make it happen. I am going to start making plans now, and shoot for the trip to begin in 2018 after Samuel turns sixteen. Then he can help with the driving.

2018, that number on the screen looks so futuristic, like the sci-fi movies my dad likes, the ones where the whole earth has been destroyed and now looks more like the past than the present. But seven years will fly by, I know because seven years ago seems like yesterday.

The reason I like to take the kids camping, hiking, climbing, tubing, etc., is because I can let their inner cavemen and cave women run wild. Now these outings can be technical pains in the neck for me; don't forget extra clothes, enough food, sunscreen, water, chairs, blankets, first aid kit, cooking apparatus, toys, towels, toothbrushes.... but it's about letting them run free and letting them be the wild little things that they naturally are. It's also about expanding our boundaries. It's one thing to run around the yard, or up and down the road without mom breathing down your neck, but it's another to climb the heights of Mt. Rainier, hop the waves of the Pacific Ocean, or explore the woods of the national forests.

Someone once said, "The world is my oyster" (I must be slow, because I never really got that saying), but I say, "The world is my backyard".

 Above Left: Samuel on the way to Camp Muir, Mt. Rainier, Above Right: Cecelia at Ocean Shores, Left: Benjamin at the pumpkin patch, Right: Isabelle at Ocean Shores, Below: Hunter at Teanaway Creek