Our Home: Piper

Our Home: Piper

About Me

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Coeur d Alene, ID, United States
I'm Astra, I married my best friend on July 28th 2012 and August 4th moved into a 23 ft travel trailer. I am currently traveling around the country with my husband as he works on the power lines. I am learning a lot about life on the road, traveling from RV Park to RV Park in a 5th wheel. I am extremely happy in life right now and am just enjoying every minute of it! I graduated from Lewis & Clark State college with my BS in Managerial Accounting. I have put my career on hold but it is all worth it to be with my husband. LIFE IS GOOD!

Thursday, November 5, 2015

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 :)

3 comments:

  1. Hi Astra, I came across your blog durning the summer while searching Info about Mslcat. I tried to post then but it never posted. Anywho, THANK YOU! For sharing all your experiences as a linewife! Our family has been on a journey as well for the last 2.5 years since my husband went to line school. We moved from Cottonwood, Ca in 2013 to West Texas. We now are living in Central Texas. My husband has worked for a contractor and now works for a utility but the apprenticeship is lacking and is Non Union. we didn't know much about he difference and knew hardly nothing of the JATC. He is currently waiting for interviews( which has seemed like forever, but that's ok) with Mslcat and applying with Northwest. Your blog has been so amazingly helpful as an insight into what we can expect once he does become indentured. Congrats! On your new little angel :). And best to you and your family on Southern California. And thanks again for sharing!
    Best,
    Kimberly

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  2. Thank you Kimberly! I'm so sorry I'm just now seeing this. Good luck to your husband and I hope he gets in soon (if not already :) ) stay with the plan to get into a union apprenticeship, it will change your life forever and is so worth it! Keep in touch!
    Astra

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  3. Thank you :) he interviewed and did not rank very well :( but I think coming out of it, any future interviews he can be more prepared. Cal/nev will be accepting applications the end of the month so we are gearing up for that. It would be amazing to be close to home and have the opportunity to see missed family and friends more often. So I read your new post! I feel you about planning for the future! Good luck to you all! I find myself so confused and worried and as soon as I pray and give my worries to God he shows us the way. My husband and I grew up in NorCal. We were settled in Cottonwood which is a small community 15 minutes south of Redding. Wonderful little town with really great schools and affordable homes on acreage. Hawaii sounds awesome too ;)

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