Snowbirds

Well its official, we are snowbirds! As I sat here today with all my windows open, debating if I should shut them so I could turn the air on, I saw way too many "its snowing!!" pictures and posts back home, we left in the nick of time!

Our road trip down was pretty uneventful.  We made it to Redding Monday night and was up bright and early Tuesday to finish the journey back to Long Beach.  We had to be here by 6pm and pulled in at 5:40 with 0 miles left to empty :) The kids did as well as you can expect a 2 year old and 5 week old to do.  There were many times I just had to focus on my breathing or I would have a mental breakdown, but its kind of like childbirth, you forget the pain and are willing to do it again relatively soon after.

A few weeks before we were planning to leave to SoCal I started calling around to RV parks...I called 7 and they were all full and I got on several waiting lists.  I've seen how it works down here with people on the phone  and their "waitlists" but I thought I would give it a shot anyway.  I didn't get anywhere and we didn't want to risk having nowhere to go so I called the park we stayed in the first time and she got us right in.  Its not that bad, I HAD been anticipating and looking forward to a few more amenities like a pool and play structure for the kids but what are ya going to do. Hey at least I know where the gym and grocery stores are and how to get to the beach! We are in a nicer spot than last time so it'll do for now.

We spent Tuesday night getting a lot of things set up and then we relaxed for the night.  Wednesday we went straight to Disneyland.  I was so excited to go with Bashlyn now that she has really started watching the Pixar movies.  She was still a bit overwhelmed but I'm sure after a few more times she'll love it.  She did get pretty excited when she saw Mater and McQueen driving down the streets in radiator springs!

We had such a great summer back home.  We were definitely way busier than we wanted to be but we had 4 years of chores and errands to run so it took up a lot of time.  We went on so many beautiful hikes, spa days, coffee dates, smoothie dates, and so much more.  It was incredible watching the bond grow between Bashlyn and Brandon.  My favorite though was watching the bond grow between Bashlyn and Nana.  It was just beautiful to watch and I am so thankful Bashlyn and Coleman have such a great Nana in their lives.

Its still surreal that we are in Long Beach when we were just in Idaho on Monday.  This lifestyle is wonderful but it is also hard.  Goodbyes are so hard, and the travel and breakdown and setup, its all taxing and takes a lot of time and energy.  The greatest thing about being a Journeyman Lineman is the freedom but I also think its the hardest thing.  Its hard to know if you are doing the right thing, its hard to know if you'll regret a life choice later on down the line.  For now the best thing for our family is to spend as much time as possible together, with daddy not working, and plugged in to our tiny little babies.  They are only small for such a short amount of time and we want to soak it all up.  The nice thing is, no decision is ever permanent.  What our plans are for this year may change next year or they may stay the same.  We can literally do whatever we want and its very exciting!

We'll be settling in here for the next 7 months or so.  The latest we want to be back in Idaho is the first week of June. Until then I'll be hanging out here trying to figure out life as a mom of 2 while I'm swimming, biking and running in preparation for one of the greatest days ever: Cda Ironman 70.3. I'll be sure to keep you posted on all the adventures that go along with this crazy commitment :)